‘Ramp-down’ as Tropicana Las Vegas shuts doors will ease end for workers, officials say

Greg Haas
·2 min read
‘Ramp-down’ as Tropicana Las Vegas shuts doors will ease end for workers, officials say

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Don’t ask for a late checkout at the Tropicana on April 2. The doors lock at noon, and that’s the end of it. Restaurants, shops and hotel business — all done for customers.

Officials with Bally’s Corporation — parent company of Tropicana Las Vegas — were on hand for a Nevada Gaming Commission meeting on Thursday, where they described the steps that will happen with employees when the resort closes.

On Monday, the company honored each of its more than 700 employees on the hotel’s marquee on the Las Vegas Strip. By April 2, there will be about 600 employees still with the company and a 90-day “ramp-down” will begin.

Ameet Patel, Senior Vice President and Western Regional General Manager for Bally’s, said 70% to 80% of employees at the Trop have opportunities at other Las Vegas resorts or within the company.

Patel said workers in maintenance, engineering and security would be needed through the end of the 90-day period, performing tasks like shutting down rooms and turning off water.

Workers who have found new jobs will transition out during the ramp-down. Some will be immediate. Schedules are sometimes aligned to when an employee can join another company to go through orientation.

And not everyone is moving on, Patel noted.

An astonishing 26% of Tropicana’s workforce has been with the company for 20 or more years. Patel said three employees have been at the Tropicana for 50 years. The next step for many of those workers is retirement.

Whatever the individual employee’s path, Tropicana management has been trying to make it easier for them, Patel told commissioners.

Many have already moved on.

Dan R. Reaser, counsel for Bally’s, said “a good many employees had opportunities at Fontainebleau and at Durango.”

As dealers left for other jobs, the Trop adjusted. “We actually just started taking games out of play,” Reaser said, noting that there was some impact on revenue.

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