LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – With all of the excitement surrounding the Tropicana implosion, a lot of people want to witness the history in person.
FOX5 heard from plenty of spectators who want to be as close as possible to take it all in.
There was a sense of excitement from everyone, aside from one woman who didn’t wish to go on camera saying the city doesn’t need any more stadiums.
Speaking of venues, the Tropicana is a special place for Bill Kaperak of Seattle.
“Earlier this February, my wife and I got married and we stayed here just after we got married and this wasn’t officially our honeymoon, but we stayed here just after we got married, so unofficial honeymoon,” Kaperak said. “Acouple tears were shed.”
From one emotion to the next, it’s pure nostalgia for Lee Hawkins, who made the journey to Las Vegas from just outside of London to watch it all come down.
“One of the reasons I came this time was to see the implosion of the Tropicana. This is my sixth trip to Vegas, and it’s an iconic hotel,” Hawkins said. “I was here in May when they closed it and started to demolish it then, so just really following up on it and seeing obviously it through to the end.”
Another person who’s been coming to Sin City year after year is Robin Grunbaum from California.
Robin says she was born when the Tropicana went up and she’s excited to see it come down, but says her view at the Luxor across the street could be better for the big boom.
“It’s hard to believe we’re both this old, but we are. We’ve got a fabulous room, the only thing is I wish they would have washed the windows because they’re a little bit dirty, but our view is fantastic,” Grunbaum said.
The view of The Strip will be completely different without the Tropicana. Which is exactly why Matt Pertile from Pittsburgh says pulling an all-nighter is mandatory for such a momentous occasion as the last implosion was a few years ago with the Riviera.
Pertile has been coming to town for over a decade, and is excited for the future of the city.
“My brothers and I, we’ve been coming here for the last 12 years. One of the very first places we stayed was Luxor, and we always loved going over to the Tropicana to see the big, white hotel, and now that it’s coming down I think it’s important that we come and check it out,“ Pertile said. ”See some history.”
History is exactly what Julie Perdew, who is in a long line of tailgaters wants to experience again, as she’s seen the the Stardust, Riviera and Desert Inn come down.
But this implosion has her more pumped and prepared than ever.
“I love it. I have a face mask and we are going to be outside, but as soon as we see the dust, we’ll just jump in. That’s what I’ve done in the past,“ Perdew said. ”I’m prepared for that.”
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