Bally’s Corp. Offers Pop-Up Casino on Former Tropicana Site
It hasn’t been publicized, but you can gamble at the Tropicana again! Sorta.
There’s a regulatory requirement that live gaming must be made available to the public every two years to keep a gaming license active. So, casino companies host temporary casinos on their sites, even when there are no actual casinos on those sites. There will be a quiz.
That’s what’s happening right now at the Tropicana site. Slot machines are available from today (March 30, 2026) through April 2, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
We don’t have further details at this juncture (like where the slot machines are), mostly because casinos don’t really want a swarm of people visiting these temporary casinos. They’re a formality, not a revenue-generating opportunity.
The vendor gets any money lost in the machines, not the company that sets up the pop-up casino, in this case, Bally’s. They’re the casino operator, while Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is the land owner.
They’re just checking a box to make sure they get to keep their unrestricted gaming license should they ever build a casino on the site. They won’t, but that’s for another time.
A restricted license holder can have up to 15 slot machines, which is typical for places like Dotty’s, PT’s, Sierra Gold or other bars and taverns, along with most grocery stores and gas stations. Also known to the big casino companies as “small potatoes.”
There are typically 16 slot machines available at temporary casinos.
They cost about $50,000 to $60,000 to set up.
You may have seen these pop-up casinos at the Moulin Rouge site or where Las Vegas Club and Mermaids used to be downtown (now Circa).
While your chances of winning in these temporary casinos aren’t great, it’s well worth a stop if you’re a Las Vegas casino fanatic.
There’s no drink service. Or any service whatsoever, really.
It’s all licensing theater, the checking of boxes.
Big thanks to Anthony Euerle for passing along this tip on the Twitters. Otherwise, this temporary casino might have flown completely under the radar.
We’ll pass along any additional information we might get. Have fun, be nice and good luck.
This is as close to a casino as there will be on the Trop site for 5-10 years, best-case scenario. Don’t make it awkward.
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