Tropicana Laughlin

* Tropicana Laughlin
* Tropicana Express
* Ramada Express

* Tropicana Laughlin
* Ramada Express

Tropicana Laughlin, also known as the Tropicana, formerly the Tropicana Express and Ramada Express, is a railroad-themed hotel and casino located on 2121 South Casino Drive in Laughlin, Nevada. It is currently owned by Gaming and Leasure Properties and operated by Eldorado Resorts. It opened on June of 1988 and was formerly known for it's train station, including a free locomotive that would go throughout the property. It is currently the third largest hotel in Laughlin behind Harrah's Laughlin and the Aquarius with 1,498 rooms.

The property comes with two hotel towers, the 12-story Casino Tower and the 24-story Promenade Tower. In between the towers are a train-shaped pool and hot tub. The 52,850 square foot casino contains over 1,000 slot machines, along with eighteen table games and a 10,000 square foot convention space. Notable restaurants include the Brew Brothers Tap House, the Steakhouse, Passaggio Italian Gardens, the Poolside Cafe, Taqueria Del Rio, Carnegie's Cafe, Dip & Dogs, and the former Round House Buffet, which closed in 2019.

## History

### **Ramada Express**

On June of 1988, Ramada's now defunct subsidiary company, the Aztar Corporation opened the Ramada Express, the third casino to be built by the company. Originally it included 406 rooms inside what is now the Casino Tower and a 30,000 square foot casino. One notable thing about the Ramada Express that stood out from the other casinos in Laughlin was that it included a passenger train that would go from outside near the main entrance out front to around the entire property. It was nicknamed "The Gambling Train of Laughlin".

The hotel and casino remotely stayed the same until 1991, when Aztar began expanding the property. Groundbreaking of the expansion began in late 1992, with construction being completed at a total cost of $75 million in September 1993. The expansion came with the 1,100-room Promenade tower, 50,000 square foot of casino space, a parking garage, and an expanded amount of restaurants and meeting spaces.

### **Tropicana Express**

In January 2007, the Aztar Corporation was acquired by another company, Columbia Sussex, for $2 billion and after a complicated bidding war against two other companies, Pinnacle Entertainment and Ameristar Casinos. The property, along with the Tropicana Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Evansville were all merged into a new company known as "Tropicana Entertainment". After the acquisition, the company had announced that it would be renaming the hotel and casino into the Tropicana Express, named after the other Tropicana-based casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Evansville. This was the second casino to be renamed that year, with the Flamingo Laughlin being changed to the Aquarius earlier that year. The name change took affect on July 28, 2007, and a $11 million renovation soon followed that would change the slots, entertainment, dining options, and hotel rooms.

A renaming ceremony was held at the casino, with performers from a new adult-oriented show that would take place inside the casino's Pavilion Theater named the "Follies Magnifique".

### **Tropicana Laughlin**

In 2009, the Tropicana Express was renamed again to Tropicana Laughlin, although it still used the "Express" name throughout the property and website.

Starting on April of 2012, Tropicana Entertainment began removing the entirety of the once popular train ride and donated both the Lucky Lady and Gambling Train of Laughlin, along with several other props, including train tracks and parts of the former train station to the Las Vegas Railroad Society. The entirety of the railroad system had been removed by 2015. Today, as of April 2018, the rolling stock of the train can still be seen inside the Craig Ranch National Park in North Las Vegas, Nevada, while the train station is now home to the Brew Brothers Tap House.

In 2018, Tropicana Entertainment was acquired by Gaming Leisures and Properties and Eldorado Resorts, leaving the Tropicana Laughlin to be owned and operated by both companies. By that time, half of the remnants of the Tropicana Express/Ramada Express's railroad theme was gone, including the original facade, railroad system (excluding a bridge that goes over the parking lot to the parking garage), and the original sign, which was partly replaced by a large LED screen. In 2019, the hotel quietly closed its buffet, the Round House to be later replaced in the near future.

The Tropicana Laughlin temporarily closed on June 4, 2020 after Nevada's governor, Steve Sisolak had ordered a closure on all nonessential businesses due to concerns of the coronavirus pandemic. After constant extensions to the closure, the Tropicana Laughlin, along with the majority of other casinos, reopened on June 4, 2020.

## Restaurants

### **Current**

#### **The Brew Brothers Tap House**

Where the former train station was located, it a tap house/brewery that offers 16 types of bar taps and a variety of appetizers, salads, burgers, and other related food items.

#### **The Steakhouse**

A steakhouse that includes exceptionally large steak choices. It has been voted as the best steakhouse according to the Tropicana Laughlin's website for over twelve years.

#### **Passagio Italian Gardens**

Family-style Italian restaurant that centers around a garden theme. It is famous for its pizza and various types of pasta.

#### **Carnegie's Cafe**

Breakfast restaurant and cafe focusing on coffee and omelettes. It has lunch options as well.

#### **Poolside Cafe**

Bakery and cafe that includes coffee, frozen yogurt, sandwiches, and even smoothies.

#### **Dip & Dogs**

Hot dog located across from the Steakhouse near the pool that shares its food with Thrifty Ice Cream and Nathan's Hot Dogs.

### **Former / Defunct**

#### **Round House Buffet**

Tropicana Laughlin's former buffet. It included various breakfast and dinner options including a rather large carving station. Closed in 2019.

#### **Del Soul Mexican Grill**

Mexican restaurant that was once famous for its signature chimichangas and a select 20 tequilas.

## Thematic Influence

The Tropicana Laughlin is heavily influenced off of a railroad theme. The pools in the hotel are in the shape of a train, one being the body, a hot tub being a large wheel, and another smaller pool being smoke coming out of a smokestack. The lobby inside the hotel is filled with classy-looking lamps and Victorian-esque decor.

Throughout it's history, the number of train-themed props and decorations had dwindled. Before the removal of the railroad system, the train station was filled with mannequins of conductors, along with faux barrels, carts, and construction vehicles. The marquee itself included railroad-crossing signs.

## Extra Facts

### **Social Media:**

* ***Twitter:*** https://twitter.com/TropLaughlin
* ***Facebook:*** https://www.facebook.com/TropLaughlin
* ***Instagram:*** https://www.instagram.com/troplaughlin/
* ***YouTube:*** https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7dzmd4KjYQfNXQrQ0dK8Q

### **Other Sites**

#### **Official Sites**

* ***Tropicana Laughlin (Current):*** http://troplaughlin.com/
* ***Tropicana Express (Archived):*** http://tropicanax.com/
* ***Ramada Express (Archived):*** http://www.ramadaexpress.com/