My City Cast Las Vegas colleague visited the beleaguered Tropicana the other night. Here's his account:
I hadn’t recently been in the Tropicana. Despite its “classic Strip” status, the 1957 hotel lacks much of its original elegance and relevance. The property is a sad whitewash paint job and ridiculously ’80s-fonted “Tropicana” lettering (think “Miami Vice” meets Hot Topic) primed for implosion.
When the Oakland A’s announced it as the “binding” site of their tentative baseball stadium, I thought:
1. Oh, no, not the historic Tropicana.
2. Wait, the Tropicana is basically a shit show these days.
3. Ugh, another stadium tying up traffic.
4. Ugh, public money for a billionaire sports team owner.
5. Save the Tropicana!
6. Time to visit to remember something nice.
A challenge, that last one. Beyond the colorful leaded glass ceiling (above), what’s left? But then an announcement: former horror-punk Glenn Danzig would perform one night only in the showroom — doing the songs of Elvis!
A sincere tribute in a surreal package poised to become a treasured memory, “Danzig Does Elvis” promised to help me find what I sought, and once we were inside the lush, 1975 showroom, the ridiculousness of the night in this dysfunctional hotel was in full effect. And it only got better.
Danzig was in excellent form, down to kicking a photographer in the lens for disobeying the “no-photos” sign. About halfway through, a scantily clad woman jumped onstage. Danzig and his tight trio of musicians were unfazed.
Then, just bliss. One expertly executed Elvis song after the next reminded me of what I love most about Las Vegas — the ever-present possibility, good or horrific, for the sublimely bizarre. And here at the Tropicana, another legend on the possible chopping block, I got my parting gift.
Danzig ended with “Mystery Train/Tiger Man,” filled with gusto and bravado. The house lights went up and the crowd shared a look of amazement. A Vegas night to remember, for sure. Oh, Tropicana. You’ve been through so much, and yet Danzig chose you as the site of possibly your last spectacle. Las Vegas! We’ve still got it, and that deserves celebration, even after everyone has “left the building” — whether that’s Elvis, Danzig, or the building itself.
