The Las Vegas Strip is home to more than 150,000 hotel rooms.
These range from low-end "place to sleep and shower rooms" to luxury suites that offer pools, basketball courts and unimaginable amenities.
It's a massive concentration of hotels in a 4.2-mile stretch, with the majority of the rooms clustered in the south and central sections of the Strip. That's where Caesars Entertainment (CZR) and MGM Resorts International have their properties and both companies span the gamut.
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You can stay in a lower-end Caesars property like the Flamingo or a comparable MGM (MGM) resort casino including the Luxor or Excalibur, or upgrade to top-tier brands. Prices for all levels of Strip rooms, however, vary a lot based on demand.
During a major event like the Las Vegas Grand Prix or the Super Bowl, prices get pushed higher across the board. A room at Luxor or Flamingo might sell for as little as $20 during a quieter period and could go for hundreds when the city is hosting a major event.
That's happening more often now as Las Vegas has become a major sports city. Las Vegas Raiders games, for example, bring in large crowds of tourists, which make those eight weekends a year a very busy time. And hotel-room prices rise.
Events like CES, World of Concrete, major concerts, trade shows, and other events can make a cheap hotel room expensive. That's not the only reason room prices get pushed higher, and the Strip's second-oldest resort casino is experiencing that as it heads toward its final days.
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Tropicana fans want one last visit
While the Tropicana has seen better days, its history dates to 1957 when it was considered a high-end property. Over that 66-year period, the brand has amassed a loyal following that wants to pay its respects one last time.
That has given Bally's (BALY) , which owns the property, one last hurrah in its brief ownership of the property. For the final few days the storied resort casino will be open, prices have surged to major-event levels.
"As of Tuesday morning (March 5), nightly rates for the hotel were $499 beginning Thursday, March 28, through the last booking night available, April 1, and do not include taxes and resort fees. That’s a roughly 260% increase from Saturday night’s rate of $139," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
That's a massive premium for nostalgia given that $130 will get you a room at Caesars Palace that same night and $195 is enough to secure a studio suite at that property. MGM fans can book a room at MGM Grand for $228, less than half what it costs to stay in a dated Tropicana room.
What's next for Tropicana?
When Tropicana closes on April 2, it will be demolished to make way for a stadium for Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. It will take a full year to bring down Tropicana and clear the site before construction on the planned $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat baseball stadium can begin.
Bally's plans to rebuild a casino on the property, but has spoken of that effort only vaguely.
"In Las Vegas, the formal closure of the Tropicana on April 2nd will pave the way for the demolition of the casino and hotel over the coming months with the support of our financing partner, GLPI," Chief Executive Robeson Reeves said during Bally's' fourth-quarter-earnings call.
"Following demolition, site prep, and approval of formal plans, construction of the Las Vegas A's stadium will likely begin sometime thereafter. We continue to assess our available options for the very valuable development lands next to the stadium."
When the company rebuilds a resort casino on the property, it likely will carry the Bally's name, not Tropicana.
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