Tweet Facebook Mail Sin City blew a kiss goodbye to the Tropicana before first light on Wednesday (local time) in an elaborate implosion that reduced to rubble the last true mob building on the Las Vegas Strip. The Tropicana's hotel towers tumbled in a celebration that included a fireworks display. It was the first implosion in nearly a decade for a city that loves fresh starts and that has made casino implosions as much a part of its identity as gambling itself.
LIVE UPDATES: Hurricane Milton smashes tornado record before landfall Sin City blew a kiss goodbye to the Tropicana before first light on Wednesday (local time). (AP) "What Las Vegas has done, in classic Las Vegas style, they've turned many of these implosions into spectacles," said Geoff Schumacher, historian and vice president of exhibits and programs at the Mob Museum. Former casino mogul Steve Wynn changed the way Las Vegas blows up casinos in 1993 with the implosion of the Dunes to make room for the Bellagio.
Wynn thought not only to televise the event but created a fantastical story for the implosion that made it look like pirate ships at his other casino across the street were firing at the Dunes. READ MORE: Israel promises 'lethal' and 'surprising' attack on Iran It was the first implosion in nearly a decade for the city. (AP) From then on, Schumacher said, there was a sense in Las Vegas that destruction at that magnitude was worth witnessing.
The city hasn't blown up a Strip casino since 2016, when the final.