Champagne Brunches At New Club

When the new ‘Bagatelle Beach’ club opens in May at the “Tropicana” a popular tradition from its location in New York’s Meat Packing District is being bought to Las Vegas that’s the Bagatelle Champagne Brunch. The brunch features the ‘never too early for a party theme and according to owners One Group has a European flair. We don’t know what a European flair means and the name of the club sounds like a bagel shop but it does sound interesting as well as maybe checking out.

“Tropicana” Clubs Rebranded Again

Last year there was a great deal of press coverage locally in Las Vegas and nationally when the day club Nikki Beach and its nightclub version Club Nikki at the newly remodeled “Tropicana.” The newly opened clubs didn’t last long as the “Tropicana” took over these clubs again after a few months and rebranded them as the SPF Beach Club and RPM Nightclub. The question at the time was how long the “Tropicana” would run the club before they brought in an outside management group? The “Tropicana” has now announced that the ONE-Group from New York has now leased both clubs and will take over April 1^st; the day club is going to be called ‘Bagatelle Beach’ with the night club to be named later. 

Mob Attraction Reopens Today

The ‘Las Vegas Mob Experience’ at the “Tropicana” interactive portion is due to reopen today with a new name its now called ‘Mob Attraction Las Vegas.’ The interactive part of the exhibit closed down in September and its actors were laid off because of financial problems. The newly reopened attraction returns the exhibit to 26,000 square feet which was cut down to 15,000 square when the interactive part was closed. The attraction uses mob related artifacts with interactive elements and also in the past the actors which are due to return. This attraction is far enough away from the new ‘Mob Museum’ in downtown Las Vegas but the question remaining is can this attraction compete with that museum. Reviews of the ‘Mob Attraction Las Vegas’ in the past have been only okay as people liked the historical exhibits but weren’t crazy about the interactive part and said the exhibit was good but overpriced. Hopefully the new interactive part is better if you visit the exhibit send your review to lasvegasinsideout@gmail.com  and we will share it with the other readers.

Jamie Gold Poker Room At The Trop

This weekend is the official opening of the new Jamie Gold Poker room at the “Tropicana” with a celebrity red carpet on Friday 17^th February. The opening night party is being held at the recently opened RPM Nightclub and begins at 10:30pm and ticket prices are $30 for men and $20 for women; if you are a Las Vegas local you get a great bargain and you can get in for free with a state of Nevada identification. Then on Saturday at noon the first tournament starts with a second chance tournament at the same time on Sunday. 

Club Nikki Becomes RPM

When the "Tropicana" ended its partnership with Miami based Nikki Beach back in September for its nightclub the question was what would the "Tropicana" rename the club as; Well it looks like we now have an answer as the club will be renamed New Years weekend to the new name of RPM Nightclub. The name is okay and the 16,500 square foot club will be open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Im not a big fan of clubs myself and with so many in town its always tough to get attention but at least the "Tropicana" is making some announcements after a couple of rough months for the newly remodelled property.

Brad Garrett Comedy Club Moving

"Tropicana" Walkway Over PoolIn a recent article we mentioned that one bright spot at the "Tropicana" right now is the Brad Garrett Comedy Club and now comes news that the club is moving to the MGM Grand across the street. The current location at the "Tropicana" is to remain open until Jan 2012 and then the new location at the "MGM Grand" is set to open in March 2012. This latest development seems to be another blow to the "Tropicana" although you cannot blame Brad Garrett who should get more traffic for his club in a bigger resort.

Is The "Tropicana" Losing Momentum?

Tropicana At NightWhen it seemed everyone else in town was knocking down old properties to build new lavish resorts the "Tropicana" announced that they were going to remodel the hotel. At the time common opinion seemed to be that it was a mistake not to start from scratch with such an old property. Then the recession hit and most of the new properties such as "Fountainbleau" and "Echelon" never got finished and suddenly the "Tropicana" owners looked like geniuses. The newly remodelled property has been very well done on the limited budget and the new rooms and public areas are gettting rave reviews. The problems haven't been with the property itself rather with things such as the Mob Experiance and the Nicky Beach Club as well as smaller issues with entertainment. The Mob Experiance is for the most part closed as it retools for a possible future reopenning the attraction from most reports was good but overpriced for what it was; Will the Mob Experiance reopen who knows but while its mostly closed is a negative for the property. The Nicky Beach Club garned huge press when it openned in the "Tropicana" pool area but now the "Tropicana" has taking over running of the club and restaurant from the Nicky Beach company. The showroom entertainment has also been strange with many older skewing performers at the same time the hotel is trying to project a young South Beach Miami kind of feel although a bright spot seems to be the hotels Brad Garrett comedy club. The latest news from the property is that the Thomas Mc Cartney the President and Chief Operating Officer has resigned with his final day Halloween October 31st. The "Tropicana" seems to have have lost a bit of its momenum recently but the property looks good and hopefully they can work there issues at this classic Las Vegas property.

Shuttered "Plaza" Hotel Tonight

This is a picture taken tonight of the main entrance of the shuttered "Plaza" Hotel in downtown Las Vegas at one end of the Fremont Street Experiance. The casino is still open with access from a side entrance but the hotel itself is undergoing a $20 million remodel on the rooms which are due to open this summer. The money being spent doesn't sound much for the 1,037 hotel rooms but the "Plaza" was able to pick up quality furnishings at auction that were due for other stalled hotel projets in town. The "Plaza" has been in decline for years and other than spending some money to brighten up the casino a few years ago the property was dated. I don't now if the updated "Plaza" will look as good as the "Tropicana" remodel but any owner looking to spend money to upgrade there product is a plus in a really tough market at the moment. 

"Stratosphere" Remodel Under Way

With the continuing recession many hotels have differed maintenance or closed whole wings of there hotels such as the "Sahara" or even closed their hotel rooms such as "Binions"; But a few companies are using the time to upgrade there rooms so they are ready when the economy picks up such as the Tropicana, the Plaza downtown and the "Stratosphere" on the north strip. The "Stratosphere" was known for its cheap and basic rooms which like many in Las Vegas was starting to look dated and now they are remodeling them in a $20 million dollar remodeling program which if works out will should cost $15-$20 per room per night than the older rooms. Its tough times in Las Vegas and $20 million isn't a huge amount for the number of rooms but any company that is willing to spend money to improve there product in these tough times should be applauded. If the remodel goes have as well as the "Tropicana" remodel it should do very well.

Tropicana Turns White

The Tropicana for years has been slowly going in to decline which is kind of sad for a hotel that back in the eighties was one of hottest places in town. The new owners of the Tropicana are spending some money to upgrade the place. First of all they have remodeled one of the hotel towers as well as remodeling the pool area. The front of the Tropicana has new landscaping as well as a long overdue paint job. Inside the casino they have added white marble which has lightened up the casino and, is a big improvement. As you can see from the picture they have also continued the white marble and walls theme on the walkway over the pool area. This walkway until recently had vendors in small booths selling stuff and, for many years before that used to have birds such as parrots in cages.  Overall i do like the changes being made at the Trop although the white maybe needs to be broken up more as you do get a little bit of a feel of a hospital instead of the tropical theme they seem to be going for. Right now in the casino they are partly done with the remodeling and the comparison between the old and new is amazing, it will be interesting to see what it all looks like when completed.