Tropicana Las Vegas is located on the Las Vegas Strip, in the township of Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Resort Inc. and operated by Alex Yemenidjian's Armenco Holdings. It offers 1,658 rooms and is attached to a 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m²) casino. Tropicana Las Vegas also has 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m²) of convention and exhibit space.

This location, Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection, has the most hotel rooms of any intersection in the world and is extremely busy. Pedestrians are not allowed to cross at street level. Instead, the Tropicana is linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to its neighboring casinos: to the north across Tropicana Avenue, the MGM Grand Las Vegas, and to the west across the Strip, the Excalibur.

History[link]

In 1955, Ben Jaffe, an executive of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, came to Las Vegas and bought a 40-acre parcel at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Bond Road (now Tropicana Avenue).^[5] Jaffe aimed to build the finest hotel in Las Vegas, featuring a Cuban ambience, with four room themes for guests to choose from: French Provincial, Far East, Italian Renaissance, and Drexel.^[5]

Construction ran over schedule and over budget, due in part to competition for labor with the under-construction Stardust down the road.^[5] Jaffe had to sell his interest in the Fontainebleau to complete the project, which finally opened in April 1957.^[5]

Jaffe first leased the property to his associate, Phil Kastel. The Gaming Control Board raised suspicions over Kastel's links to organized crime, which were confirmed in May when a note bearing a Tropicana earnings figure was found in the possession of mobster Frank Costello.^[5] Jaffe next turned to J. Kell Housells, owner of the Las Vegas Club. By 1959, Housells bought out Jaffe's interest, gaining a majority share in the Tropicana.^[5]

In the 1960's, the Tropicana fared poorly from competition with larger hotels like Caesars Palace and the Las Vegas Hilton.^[5] Houssels sold out in 1968 to Trans-Texas Airways.^[5] Deil Gustafson took control in 1971, but sold a 51% share to chemical heiress Mitzi Stauffer Briggs in 1975. Briggs began construction of the 22-floor Tiffany Tower in 1977.

A skimming operation by Kansas City organized crime members was discovered, and the owners were forced to sell out. Ramada Inns, Inc. bought the Tropicana in December 1979.

A 21-story Island Tower was constructed in 1986.

Ramada spun off its gaming properties, including the Tropicana, in 1989 as Aztar Corporation. Aztar was acquired by Columbia Sussex in January 2007, but Columbia's gaming businesses went into bankruptcy in May 2008.

The Tropicana, which had a $440 million secured loan against it,^[6] was bought from the bankrupt company in July 2009 by its creditors, led by Canadian private equity firm Onex Corporation and former MGM Mirage CEO Alex Yemenidjian, who took over as CEO.^[7]

The remainder of Columbia Sussex's gaming arm, reorganized under new ownership as Tropicana Entertainment Inc., promptly sued the Las Vegas property, demanding royalties for use of the Tropicana name. The case was settled in August 2011, with the Tropicana Las Vegas receiving exclusive rights to use the name in the Las Vegas region, royalty-free.^[8]

Film history[link]

• A scene from Folies Bergere is featured in the 1964 Elvis Presley film Viva Las Vegas.
• In the 7th James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, 007 stays at the hotel Tropicana, claiming it looks "quite comfortable".
• The Las Vegas sequence of The Godfather was filmed in the Tropicana.
• The hotel is also referred briefly in The Godfather Part II and a few deleted scenes take place inside the hotel. To avoid copyright issues, the name of the hotel was changed to "Tropigala" during filming, although the original name remained in the final draft of the script.
• It was featured on the TV Show Charlie's Angels in the episode "Angels In Vegas" in 1978 with Dean Martin guest starring.
• It was featured on the TV Show Angel in the episode "The House Always Wins" as the casino where the character Lorne had his show.
• A show was taped here for Malcolm in the Middle in 2003.
• A two part episode of Designing Women, Season 7, is set here. Anthony meets and marries a showgirl from the Folies Begere.
• The game shows Dealer's Choice & Las Vegas Gambit were taped here.
• The first half of the first season of the revival of the game show Let's Make a Deal was being taped here. Hosted by Wayne Brady, it began airing on CBS October 5, 2009.^[9] The show moved to Los Angeles during a reconstruction period.

Expansion[link]

On November 2, 2006, Tropicana Entertainment publicly announced a $2 billion renovation of the Tropicana planned to be completed in 2010, making it the largest resort casino in the world. Unlike previous Las Vegas projects however, there would have been no demolition of the entire resort. The existing Paradise and Island towers would have received both interior and exterior renovations and 4 new towers would have been built on the property (the last will be branded as a separate hotel).

The plans included a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) casino, five hotel towers totaling 10,000 rooms and a sprawling 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m²) retail promenade. Other amenities included spas and fitness centers; more than 20 restaurants and lounges; a 1,500-seat entertainment venue for big-name headliners; and a water–ride attraction. All improvements to the property were put on hold since the recession began in 2008, and became moot when Tropicana Entertainment filed for bankruptcy.

In August 2009, the Tropicana's new CEO, Alex Yemenidjian, announced a "$165 million" plan to renovate the property around a South Beach style, to be done in several phases. The first phase would renovate the Tropicana's back office facilities with completion planned for the end of 2009. The second phase would renovate the conference facilities, rooms, and common areas, with construction to finish at the end of August 2010. The third phase, including a Nikki Beach Night Club and Nikki Beach multi-million dollar pool renovation is planned to be completed by April 2011.^[10]

In February 2011, the Tropicana opened a new sports book, operated by Cantor Gaming.^[11]

Amenities and entertainment[link]

Entertainment[link]

Brad Garrett's Comedy Club opened at the Tropicana in July 2010. It closed in January 2012, and reopened at the MGM Grand in March 2012. Garrett said he was unable to turn a consistent profit, and that his decision to locate at the Tropicana was partly nostalgic, because the room was once a club run by Rodney Dangerfield.^[12]

The Mob Attraction Las Vegas features artifacts of famous mobsters such as Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky, with video presentations hosted by James Caan.^[13] Live actors recreate scenes in casino backrooms and police stations.^[13] The attraction was opened as the Las Vegas Mob Experience in March 2011 by Las Vegas businessman Jay Bloom, but after six months of poor attendance, technical problems, and litigation, the bulk of it closed for retooling,^[14] and its parent company then filed for bankruptcy.^[15] Investor John Vipulis bought the attraction for $2.1 million and reopened it unders its new name in March 2012.^[16]

Bodies: The Exhibition, a presentation of 21 human bodies that have been dissected and preserved for the collection and Titanic—the Artifacts Exhibition, were featured from 2005 to 2008. Both shows are now at the Luxor.

Fine Dining[link]

Shopping[link]

Along with the retail shop Essentials, located in the lobby adjacent to the main entrance, there are several Mini Boutiques located in Palm Way on the second floor. These include, Marshall Rousso Accessories, Tropicana Logo, Flip Flop Stop, Accessories, and Gemstones & Globes.

Other Amenities[link]

In addition to the casino, the Tropicana includes a swimming pool.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tropicana Hotel official site
• The Las Vegas Mob Experience

Coordinates: 36°05′57″N 115°10′15″W / 36.0992°N 115.1708°W / 36.0992; -115.1708

v t e Las Vegas Strip South end Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign West side casinos Aria Bellagio Caesars Palace Circus Circus Cosmopolitan Echelon (on hold) Excalibur Luxor Mandalay Bay Mirage Monte Carlo New York-New York Slots-A-Fun Treasure Island East side casinos Bally's Bill's Casino Royale Encore Flamingo Fontainebleau (on hold) Harrah's Imperial Palace MGM Grand O'Sheas Palazzo Paris Planet Hollywood Riviera Tropicana Venetian Wynn Former casinos Boardwalk Castaways Desert Inn Dunes El Rancho Casino El Rancho Vegas Hacienda Klondike Landmark New Frontier Sahara Sands Silver City Silver Slipper Stardust Thunderbird Westward Ho Shopping The Crystals Fashion Show Mall The Forum Shops Grand Canal Shoppes Miracle Mile Shops Attractions Adventuredome The Roller Coaster Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Speed – The Ride Transportation CityCenter Tram The Deuce Las Vegas Monorail Mandalay Bay Tram RTC Transit Strip Gaming Area

Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years,^{[citation needed]} earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment. His well known songs include 1972's "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast" (his biggest hit, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard chart), "Years" (1980),^[1] and his vocal version of "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" (1965). He is best known for his signature song, "Danke Schoen" (1963).

Life and career[link]

Newton was born Carson Wayne Newton in Norfolk, Virginia, to Evelyn Marie "Smith" (née Plasters) and Patrick Newton, who was an auto mechanic.^[2][3] His father was from Fredericksburg, Virginia, and of Scotch-Irish-Powhatan descent, and his West Virginia-born mother was of German-Cherokee ancestry^{[not in citation given]}.^[4][5][6] While his father was in the U.S. Navy, Newton spent his early childhood in Roanoke, learning the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at the age of six.

While Newton was still a child, his family moved to a home near Newark, Ohio. He began singing in local clubs, theaters, and fairs with his older brother, Jerry. Because of his connection with Newark and still having family there, the city selected Newton to be the grand marshal of its bicentennial parade in 2002. Wayne's severe asthma forced the family to move to Phoenix, Arizona in 1952, where he attended North High School (Phoenix, Arizona). The brothers, as the Rascals in Rhythm, appeared with the Grand Ole Opry roadshows and on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee; and performed for the president and auditioned unsuccessfully for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.

In the spring of 1958, toward the end of Wayne's junior year in high school, a Las Vegas booking agent saw a local TV show, Lew King Rangers Show, on which the two Newton brothers were performing and took them back for an audition. Originally signed for two weeks, the brothers eventually performed for five years, doing six shows a day. On September 29, 1962, they first performed on The Jackie Gleason Show. He would perform on Gleason's show 12 times over the following two years.

Many other entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin, Danny Thomas, George Burns, and Jack Benny lent Newton their support. In particular, Benny hired Newton as an opening act for his show. After his job with Benny ended, Newton was offered a job to open for another comic at the Flamingo Hotel, but Newton asked for, and was given, a headline act. In 1972 his recording of "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in July 1972.^[7] Influential music director Rosalie Trombley of CKLW "The Big 8" radio in the Detroit area decided to add the record to her radio station to embarrass her ex-husband, who wasn't faithful about seeing his children, as Trombley explained in the documentary Radio Revolution: The Rise and Fall of the Big 8. From Detroit, "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" took off and broke nationwide.

From 1980 to 1982 Newton was part owner of the Aladdin Hotel, in a partnership that led to a number of lawsuits and a failed attempt by Newton to purchase the entire hotel in 1983.^[8]

From 1980 through 1982, The Beach Boys and The Grass Roots performed Independence Day concerts on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., attracting large crowds.^[9][10] However, in April 1983, Newton, a friend and supporter of President Reagan and a contributor to Republican Party political campaigns, performed at the Mall's 1983 Independence Day celebration.^{[10][11][12][13]}

In 1994, Newton performed his 25,000th solo show in Las Vegas.

In 1999, Newton signed a 10-year deal with the Stardust, calling for him to perform there 40 weeks out of the year for six shows a week in a showroom named after him. Orchestrated by his business partner, Jack Wishna, this "headliner-in-residence" deal was the first of its kind. In 2005, in preparation for the eventual demolition of the casino, the deal was, from all reports, amicably terminated; Newton began a 30-show stint that summer at the Hilton. His last show at the Stardust was on April 20, 2005.^[14] During a break in his on stage performance, he announced to the crowd that night he wanted to spend more time with his wife and new daughter as the main reasonings for canceling the contract. Newton said the Boyd family made him a very nice offer to stay on past the demolition of the hotel and casino and to play in other Boyd venues, but Newton declined citing "another deal in the works for Vegas", but he did not mention the Hilton specifically. News crews were expecting this performance to end on time, to make their 10 pm and 11 pm shows, but the show finally ended around 11:30 pm, thus eliminating the possibility. Mr. Las Vegas went on at 7:30 that night, and sang nearly his entire repertoire and songs of other Vegas mainstays as well.

Newton was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2000.^[15]

In 2001, Newton succeeded Bob Hope as chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle. In January 2005, Newton started a reality television show on E! called The Entertainer. The winner got a spot in his act, plus a headlining act of their own for a year. And during player introductions at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, Newton sang Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas."

Newton was the grand marshal of the 80th Annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, Virginia, May 1–7, 2007.^[16] He canceled a sold-out show to join the Festival.

Newton was featured on the 2007 fall season of Dancing with the Stars partnered with two-time champion Cheryl Burke. He became the third contestant to be eliminated from the contest. During the taping (which takes place at CBS Television City), he also became the first guest on The Price Is Right, which tapes next door, under host Drew Carey, who began adding guests to the show, especially to present prizes. Newton appeared after a trip to Las Vegas was shown.

In 2008, Newton received a Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a national memorial to President Wilson, commemorates "the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson." The award honors leaders who have given back to their communities.

Beginning October 14, 2009, he began performing his newest show "Once Before I Go" at the Tropicana in Las Vegas.^[17]

Family[link]

In 1968, Newton married Elaine Okamura, and they adopted a daughter before divorcing in 1985.

In 1994, Newton married the former Kathleen McCrone, a lawyer from Rocky River, Ohio. The couple have one daughter, who was born in 2002.

Finances[link]

In 1992, Newton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize an estimated $20 million in debts, much of which was accumulated while suing NBC for libel; he claimed the network had reported that he partnered with the Mafia to buy the Aladdin. His bankruptcy declaration included a $341,000 Internal Revenue Service tax lien. By 1999, he was financially well off again.^[18]

In August 2005, the IRS filed a lawsuit against Newton alleging that he and his wife owed more than $1.8 million in taxes and penalties. One of Newton's tax lawyers disputed that, saying, "We believe the IRS owes him money."^[19]

In late 2009, officials at Oakland County International Airport in Waterford, Michigan claimed Newton owed the airport more than $60,000 for unpaid parking fees, which they claim he owes after having abandoned a $2 million Fokker F28 plane there more than three years before.^[20] The plane was originally flown in for renovations in 2005. After they were completed in 2007 the plane was moved to an outside parking area. The monthly parking fee is currently $5,000. An aircraft of this type needs to have its engines run at least once a month to retain its airworthiness. In 2009 it was discovered that the interior of the craft was rotting, and filled with mold.^[21] The plane has since been disassembled, transported, and reassembled on his estate grounds.^[22]

In February 2010, Bruton Smith sued Newton claiming Newton was delinquent on a loan he had personally guaranteed and then bought from Bank of America. Smith is seeking foreclosure of Newton's Las Vegas ranch Casa de Shenandoah.^[23]

Also in February 2010, Clark County sheriff's deputies and a fleet of moving vans were refused entry to Newton's ranch at E. Sunset and S. Pecos roads. The officers attempted to serve civil papers and seize property as part of a $501,388 judgment against Newton awarded to Monty Ward, his former personal pilot, but security personnel employed by Newton refused to accept the papers. Ward, who filed suit in 2006, won the judgment for past-due wages in January 2009 and since then had attempted to garnish the wages of Newton when he performed at the MGM Grand and later the Tropicana hotel-casino. As of January 27, 2010, the value of the judgment was reportedly growing at a rate of $126.86 per day.^[24]

In a 2009 lawsuit, Newton was accused of failing to pay $32,384 for hay delivered to his Las Vegas ranch, presumably for consumption by his horses at the ranch. As of February 27, 2010, the lawsuit was still pending in Clark County District Court, with Newton and his attorneys having filed no response in court.^[25]

In another 2009 suit, he was accused of owing GMAC $36,999 for a lease on a Cadillac. The suit was ultimately dropped.^[26]

Namesakes[link]

The road serving the main terminal of McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is named Wayne Newton Boulevard in his honor.

Singles[link]

Filmography[link]

• 80 Steps to Jonah (1969)
• North and South (1986) (Captain Thomas Turner)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) (voice only, archival)
• Licence to Kill (1989)
• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
• The Dark Backward (1991)
• Best of the Best 2 (1993)
• Night of the Running Man (1995)
• Vegas Vacation (1997)
• Ocean's Eleven (2001) (cameo)
• Who's Your Daddy? (2003)
• According to Jim (2003) (cameo)
• Elvis Has Left the Building (2004) (cameo)
• Smokin' Aces (2006) (cameo)
• The Hangover (cameo)
• Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011) (voice only)

TV credits[link]

• The Lucy Show (Season 4 Episode 14, 12-27-65) Where the 23 year old Newton plays a fictional character named. . ."Wayne Newton". He sings 3 songs in the half hour episode: "Side By Side^{[disambiguation needed ]}", "Bessie The Heifer" and "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You".
• Bonanza (1966) In 1966, Newton played the character "Andy Walker" in two episodes of the TV series Bonanza.
• Here's Lucy (Season 1 Episode 9, 11-25-68) "Lucy sells Craig to Wayne Newton" and (Season 2 Episode 22, 2-16-70) "Lucy and Wayne Newton".
• In 1979, Newton appeared on the TV series "Vegas" as Justin Marsh, a race car driver mixed up in crime and friend of Dan Tanna, in an episode entitled "the Classic Connection".
• In 1986, Newton appeared as CSA Capt. Thomas Turner in the TV mini series North and South, Book II.
• In 1990, Newton appeared on the TV series Full House in the episode titled "Viva Las Joey".
• In 1991, Newton appeared on the TV series Roseanne in the episode titled "Vegas, Vegas".
• In 1991, he played an opposing counsel in an episode of the TV series L.A. Law.
• Newton made several guest appearances in the TV series Las Vegas.
• In 1995, Newton played the manager of a Las Vegas casino in the TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the episode titled "Viva Lost Wages".
• Also in 1995, Newton appeared in a CBS TV special about the then-upcoming film Die Hard with a Vengeance, along with rapper Ice-T, basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
• Newton also appeared on an episode of the TV series That '70s Show.
• Newton appeared as himself on NBC's The Pretender in the episode "Cold Dick" in 2000.
• Newton appeared on MTV's reality show Pimp My Ride.
• Newton appeared on My Wife and Kids.
• Newton appeared on an episode of 7th Heaven titled "Wayne's World".
• Newton also had a guest appearance on one of the episodes in the Perfect Strangers series which ended its run in 1993.
• Dancing with the Stars (US Season 5) (2007) (Contestant)
• Celebrity Family Feud (US Season 1, 2008) (Contestant)
• The Price is Right (2008 or 2009) in which he made a guest appearance for a contestant to win a trip to Las Vegas, but lost the game.
• Newton was featured in the final leg of Season 15 of the hit CBS reality TV game show The Amazing Race. The Finish Line was at his house.

Video games[link]

• Fallout: New Vegas (2010) Newton stars as the voice of Mr. New Vegas, a programmed DJ of an in-game radio station: Radio New Vegas.

References[link]

• [1]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wayne Newton

• Wayne Newton at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeff Brandt's Wayne Newton Website
• Newton rolling in dough, October 31, 1999
• An interview on CNN