Tropicana Commemorates Demolition With Huge Fireworks, Drone Display

The Tropicana, a famed Las Vegas Strip hotel and casino, ended its nearly 70-year run with a showstopping display ... courtesy of fireworks, drones and 2,000 pounds of explosives.

Check it out ... before the huge amount of explosives were detonated, the famed resort thanked Sin City for its many years, setting off colorful fireworks and putting on a drone presentation -- made up of 555 drones creating a casino chip design that featured the Tropicana logo.

As the light show came to a close, the Tropicana stood tall for a few moments -- before crumbling to the ground in less than 30 seconds ... bringing with it the hotel's iconic history of Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra performances, Folies Bergère shows, and more.

The demolition occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and marked the city's first implosion in years. The property was torn down to make room for an MLB stadium ahead of the Athletics' move from Oakland, California to Las Vegas.

Arik Knowles, the Tropicana's general manager and vice president of hospitality, told the crowd Wednesday not to think of the demolition as an ending ... rather "the beginning of something even greater."

While an intimate invite-only event was hosted to take in the implosion, countless tourists reportedly flocked to the Nevada city to see the damage. Not only did room rates spike in hotels near the demolition site, but the neighboring Mandalay Bay even hosted a watch party on its rooftop.