The Tropicana Hotel and Casino ushered in its 40th anniversary in AC late last year. The Tropicana Hotel and Casino is the largest resort and casino on the world famous boardwalk. Tropicana AC is the 3rd largest hotel in New Jersey and contains 2,364 rooms and at least 3000 slots. There are also more than 30 shops available for guests and a massive parking space to accommodate the guest’s cars.
The hotel also has one of the most frequented restaurants including its signature Italian fine dining restaurant which has been part of the brand for more than 40 years. In honor of the casino brand’s 40th birthday, Tropicana celebrated by organizing a series of festivities which included an exclusive dinner and wine pairing that was held at the casino’s signature restaurant Il Verdi.
Tropicana also organized a party that featured live entertainment, food and drinks at the Grand Exhibition Center and invited rewards members. During the event, the brand created a time capsule containing different items from the casino hotel and the city’s history. Apart from the guests, also in attendance was the mayor of Atlantic City- Mayor Marty Small Sr.
Tropicana has gone through some major changes in the last 5 years. In 2018, Eldorado Resorts acquired permission to own Tropicana Casino as part of a $1.85 billion acquisition. The sale, initiated by Carl Icahn, was completed later in the 4th quarter of 2018.
As part of the deal, Eldorado Resorts acquired the operating assets of 7 brands in 6 states including the Tropicana Laughlin Hotel and Casino and the MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa in South Lake Tahoe located in Nevada, as well as Tropicana Evansville in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tropicana New Jersey.
With the merger now finalized, Tropicana AC is now part of the Caesars family. Today, the Caesars brand is now the largest and most well-known casino brand in the US. The brand is now in full control of 55 casinos located all over the world and 16 in the country.
Now, as Tropicana turns 40, it is expected that Caesars will do everything possible to cement the AC casino as premier leader in the New Jersey gaming and hospitality industry. As you can expect, the global pandemic has created humongous marketing and advertising challenges with travel restrictions still in place in many parts of the world. Even though things have somewhat normalized with the vast distribution of the vaccines, many brick and mortar casinos are still yet to normalize operations to pre-pandemic days.
Apart from Tropicana AC, Caesars also operates several other casinos in the Garden State including Harrah’s Resort AC, Bally’s AC, as well as Caesars AC. Last year in April, Caesars announced ITS $400 million master plan investment in its top 3 casino properties in the Garden State- Caesars, Harrah’s Resort and Tropicana Atlantic City.
The master plan investment will see the 3 properties receive fresh new interiors, as well as the addition of new dining concepts and amenities over the coming 3 years. Caesars Entertainment plans to revitalize the properties over the next 3 years. This project will begin with refreshing its flagship brand, Caesars AC, before moving on to the other properties.
The renovation process is already underway as the first project debuted last summer. These exciting plans over the coming years will revitalize Tropicana and will continue positioning Tropicana and the other Caesars brand as leading resorts in the AC market.
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Tropicana only getting better each year
For 40 years now, Tropicana has been committed to Atlantic City’s success as a gambling and tourist destination. As such, the brand has always taken great care to restore, renovate or upgrade in order to remain an integral and competitive part of the gaming market in AC. While other brands have struggled to remain afloat, Tropicana has managed to avoid falling on hard times for the most part.
In 2016, Tropicana embarked on one of the most extensive renovation projects that it has ever undertaken. The renovation project, estimated to cost approximately $25 million, saw the hotel rooms, casino floor, as well as the restaurants upgraded as part of the hotel’s multiyear renovation of the popular boardwalk casino property.
During this renovation project, 16 floors of the oldest part of the hotel complex- the North Tower were renovated. The tower consists of 437 rooms and an array of junior suites. Eventually, the hotel would consequently embark on a 4-year master plan that saw the renovations to all its 4 towers completed. These renovations completely transformed the facility, which led to even more growth for the well-known casino brand.
During the first renovation, the North Tower guest rooms were revamped to include modern furnishings, brand new carpeting, textured walls, as well as brand new bathrooms. These renovations greatly helped Tropicana to set itself up as the leading casinos for overnight stays. Renovations have always been part of the casino industry as it is a requirement for any casino brands that want to remain competitive.
As part of this renovation, Tropicana also enhanced the casino floor by adding more than 100 new slots, which immensely helped to boost the slots revenue. Brands that fail to reinvest in their properties risk failure, especially in the wake of newer, flashier brands that have continued to emerge.
Despite the tough competition, Tropicana has continued to put its best foot forward managing to maintain its long standing position at the top of the revenue table. Though Tropicana’s AC casino is the flagship of the head company Tropicana Entertainment, the company also operates several other casinos and resorts in various parts of the country. The Tropicana brand is available in Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi, as well as Louisiana.
Final Thoughts
Surviving for 40 years in one of the most competitive gambling markets in the world is no small feat. Indeed, a 40th anniversary is an accomplishment that is worthy of a grand celebration. Tropicana remains bullish on the AC gambling scene and it is because of this commitment to growth that will further position the brand for continued long term grown and success.
