LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Tropicana implosion is just days away, happening at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
After nearly seven decades as a star on the Las Vegas Strip, the last preparations are being made to detonate this icon into history.
WATCH | Tropicana Las Vegas closes its doors for good
I spoke with the team behind the implosion to find out how they'll bring down the two Tropicana hotel towers.
Debby Lamm has a special connection to the Tropicana and said she's not ready to see it go.
I asked her what will go through her mind when she sees it up for the last time and then after it is imploded.
"When I see the lot completely gone, it’s going to be sad, very sad," Lamm said.
Lamm's inaugural trip to Las Vegas was in 1981 with her husband.
“It was our very first place in Vegas and actually our very first vacation," Lamm said.
Since that day, they stayed at what was once considered the Tiffany of the Strip another 10 times, creating lifelong memories there.
“Well my husband passed away a couple of years ago, so it was all the memories of him and I being there together," Lamm said.
She reminisced on those memories as the Tropicana's end draws near.
“You don’t have many of the really older iconic structures left, so I realize it’s special in the community. It’s really an honor to be a part of it," said President & Owner of Controlled Demolition Inc. Mark Loizeaux.
CDI and GGG demolition are the two companies in charge of the implosion. Loizeaux says a lot of preparation has gone into the moment of destruction.
“In a concrete structure like the club tower, we’re dealing with sticks of dynamite like you see in the cartoons," Loizeaux said. “Now, conversely, in the steel structure, the Paradise Tower, that’s structural steel. We have phalanges there that are up to three inches thick, we use something called a linear shape charge to sever that steel.”
Loizeaux tells me they're still making the last demo preparations but explosives are already placed in the hotel towers and protected by a black material that can be seen on the outside of the buildings.
Just after the fireworks show, he says the button will be pushed, the explosions will go off and both buildings will drop almost simultaneously.
“And then you’ll start hearing bang bang bang bang, boom boom boom, this structure will come, this structure will begin to nose down, this one will come behind it," Loizeaux said.
Lamm said while she's sad to see the Tropicana go into Las Vegas history, she hopes everyone will remember its glory.
“The people who got to stay there, I hope they have good memories like I did," Lamm said.
WATCH | People pack Tropicana Las Vegas for one last look before it closes for good
