Digital Wager Wire highlights the most important events impacting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industry landscape each Wednesday and Sunday.
Tropicana Demolished to Pave the Way for Athletics
At 2:30 Wednesday morning, the iconic Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas was imploded, ending one of the last vestiges of the mob-era Sin City of the 1950s through 1970s. The Trop, as the locals called it, was the playground for the rich and famous who wanted to rub elbows with wiseguys and gangsters. Getting close enough to be warmed by the fire of their fearsome reputations but not so close as to get burned was the goal for singers, entertainers, and celebrities of that era.
However, corporate America would soon take hold, and financial analysts began running Las Vegas while the wiseguys steadily lost their grip on the money rooms and the seemingly endless supply of cash, which they surreptitiously diverted to fund other enterprises as well as their lavish lifestyles.
But that was a long time ago, yet the Tropicana continued to stand and evoke the nostalgia of that golden era. However, now it is nothing but a pile of rubble, of which a portion will be transformed into the Athletics’ new home in Las Vegas.
The Tropicana, 1957 – 2024. pic.twitter.com/04akctLVgK
— Las Vegas Issues (@VegasIssues) October 9, 2024
In the interim, the A’s will play at Sutter Health Park, a 14,000-seat stadium and home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats for the next three seasons beginning in 2025. In April 2028, the Las Vegas Athletics will make their debut in their state-of-the-art digs that will be ready for balls and strikes on nine acres of what was once the Tropicana.
“The demolition of the Tropicana represents an important milestone in the process of bringing A’s baseball to the world-renowned Las Vegas Strip and the community of Southern Nevada,” said Bally’s Corporation chairman Soo Kim in an earlier press release.
Bet365 Extends Partnership With Playtech
British bookmaker bet365 recently announced the extension of its partnership with gambling software development company Playtech. The two began collaborating in 2020 when bet365 engaged Playtech to bring its catalog of online gaming offerings to the New Jersey virtual casino market under bet365’s banner.
But now bet365’s Pennsylvania customers will get to experience Playtech’s digital catalog after the two agreed to work together in bringing the same customer satisfaction to their Keystone State clientele as they did in New Jersey.
A bet365 spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Playtech into Pennsylvania. Our collaboration has consistently delivered innovative and exciting gaming experiences for our players. We look forward to developing upon our already solid partnership as we continue to grow our offering and achieve new milestones together in the US market.”
The partnership follows a similar path taken by bet365 with another software gaming company, Inspired Entertainment, which also has its catalog included in bet365’s New Jersey app and has now added Pennsylvania as its newest market, bolstering bet365’s digital casino options in that market.
A spokesperson for bet365 added, “We’re thrilled to be expanding our partnership with Inspired, in a milestone announcement for bet365. (…) The partnership marks a significant advancement in our US expansion, showcasing our commitment to providing the most innovative and engaging gaming experience.”
Brooks Pierce, President and CEO of Inspired stated, “We’re thrilled to be expanding our partnership with bet365. Our goal is to deliver high-quality content that meets the evolving needs of players in North America. (….) bet365 knows what its customers want, and we’re confident that we can drive growth and provide an exceptional gaming experience for bet365’s Pennsylvania customers.”
