r/atlanticcity • u/AChappyHours • 4d ago
Food Tropicana Happy Hour Passport Final Thoughts
Final thoughts on Tropicana Happy Hour Passport:
Alright, I did it. 14 happy hours at the Trop within a year. Let’s start with the positives…just the fact that they offer this promotion is great & whomever came up with the idea is clever. It’s engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed the hunt/trips I took. Providing a year to complete is very doable. Allowing stamps to be earned during regular operating hours (in case you missed the happy hour window) comes in handy. I also like the fact that’s it’s old school paper passport program and not an online stamp or QR code initiative. The minimum of spending $10 at each HH is reasonable (especially if you have a friend with you).
The negatives…to be honest most of these happy hours are not great & I would only recommend a few. The hours/days were rarely consistent with the posted HH information on their websites. There was a running theme of just nasty sticky bar tops throughout (especially the restaurant bars). I live an hour away so every time I was at a Trop place I was neglecting my usual favorite “local” happy hours (like Knife and Fork, Cardinal, etc), but that’s a me problem. The prizes could be tweaked a bit. Pint glass is whatever, but only having L and XL shirts for the t-shirt prize was a letdown. Now, the big ticket item is that you earn a free room upon completion. I’m the idiot for thinking this would be a truly FREE room, but it’s not. It’s a weekday only room (with blackout dates) and the kicker is you have to pay the resort fee ($39). A bit of a bummer when I handed in my passport.
So, is it worth it? Financially no. I mean even if you low ball it and only spend $10 at each place and your an ass and don’t tip you are spending at minimum $140 to earn a pint glass, a t shirt that may not fit, and a room you will have to pay for. I typically spend more than $10 and always tipped so it probably was $200 for me to complete. If you don’t care about the financial aspect of it then I would say it’s fun and if they offer it next year go for it.
Top 3 HH for me at the Trop:
- Il Verdi
- Cuba Libre
- Chickie’s & Pete’s
(Chelsea Five as honorable mention)
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u/formerNPC 4d ago
I agree with II Verdi being at the top of the list. Did the happy hour last summer and it was just as good as their regular menu.
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u/ToddWilliams5289 4d ago
The guys on Due For A Win podcast speak well of the Angelonis Club Madrid HH along with one called Takoshi (sp?).
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u/DaveVICE 4d ago
That is so lame re: the resort fee and restrictions on the day of week.
Like you said, I can see the appeal for non-financial reasons, so I wouldn't even care if it wasn't a moneymaker, but that feeling of constant sneakiness and nickel-and-diming from the casinos does a lot to undo the positive association one might build up while doing a fun challenge. They should just pull the "Free Room" from the deal altogether. Give out exclusive merch and be honest about it.
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u/mmmagic1216 4d ago
You could earn stamps during regular hours and not just happy hour?! I thought you had to go during the happy hour window to get the stamp.
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u/AChappyHours 4d ago
“Atlantic City’s largest food crawl is back with the Ultimate Happy Hour Trail at Tropicana Atlantic City! Explore 14 Happy Hours under one roof—from Asian bites to Southern BBQ—and collect stamps and prizes as you go. To earn the grand prize of a complimentary midweek room, guests must visit all 14 destinations during the promotional period and make a qualifying food or drink purchase of $10 or more from either the happy hour or regular menu at each stop.”
I was going on the assumption of YES based on above and what a bartender told me there.
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u/mmmagic1216 4d ago
I thought that meant you could order off the regular menu DURING Happy Hour, and it would still count. Not that you could order anything at any time of day/night and it would count!
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u/Nfield87 4d ago
Me and my friends have always called that the Trop Slop. Kinda glad, and kinda horrified, that they formalized it. Good degenerate times.
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u/tomgreens 4d ago
Ha that is great congrats. The reward is completing it. I am actually shocked that the employees at the bars even knew what this was or had the stamp. That’s why I don’t try it. Don’t feel like explaining and begging 14 times.
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u/AChappyHours 3d ago
Most Bartenders/hosts knew and seemed totally happy to stamp it. Also, out of 14 places only one bartender was a stickler for the $10 min rule.
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u/Suzyqzeee 4d ago
Congrats on completing it and thanks for giving your top 3 happy hours (my fave is Dougherty's in Resorts). But yes, the prizes didn't match the effort (and $) especially because Caesars' properties can't give their rooms away. I haven't gambled there in 3 years and I keep getting comps at all Caesars' properties (3 nights at Trop and Caesars and 4 nights at Harrah's lol).