Longtime Tropicana Workers Hit Severance Pay Jackpot

Holding signs of appreciation, employees at Tropicana Las Vegas leave work for the last time, as the iconic casino property closed for good on Tuesday, after 67 years. (Image: courtesy of YouTube/TropLV)

The Tropicana Las Vegas officially shut its doors on Tuesday. The iconic hotel and casino – one of only four with a major Las Vegas thoroughfare that crosses town and the Strip named after it – now begins its slow walk toward inevitable implosion.

But all was not sad at these farewells. On the contrary, the day was rather festive, particularly for longtime non-gaming employees, who are set to receive a nice payout as they bid their former workplace farewell.

As part of a new labor contract finalized in January between the Tropicana and Culinary Union, nearly 350 food and cocktail servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, and laundry and kitchen workers will be walking away with health care and pension benefits for six more months, and $2,000 in cash for every year of service. 

As a result, guys like David Esser, Julio San Pedro, and JC Wash can look forward to severance jackpots of $96k, $106k, and $114k, respectively. There were at least a dozen other service employees who had more than 30 years with the classic casino-resort.

The Tropicana seemed to have a strong relationship with its workers, many of whom stayed at the property even as ownership changed and the overall fortunes of the aging casino dwindled. 

Though we have not verified any well-deserved individual windfalls, it sure does seem like there were reasons for all the smiles among so many people who now have to look for a job … and some who just may decide instead to retire.