Official: Riviera to be sold to LVCVA

The last time I visited was about two years ago and in my opinion it was a dump. If you think the Imperial Palace and Sahara were dumps, then the Riviera qualifies for the title in my opinion. Or they most have renovated the rooms and general areas tremendously during the last 2 years but I highly doubt it. I'm comparing the Riviera to all the other properties on the Strip.

 

I love staying at least 1 night in the old places before they are gutted and "re-branded"
I booked a 1 night stay at the Riviera for Sunday May 24th.
so.....I hope they are either still open or that they will "walk" their guests to another property.

My gut instinct? The Riviera will not close until after Rock-In-Rio is over...
"Closing" over Memorial Day Weekend would make sense.
Since Las Vegas always has multiple fireworks displays on July 4th, they could tie the implosion into the fireworks...
....or they could make the implosion an event by itself to draw out the suspense.

 

If the Riviera is gone we're likely never to stay at Circus Circus again as it will seem desolate at the bus stop where the Riviera used to be.

 

Absolutely!!! If they tear the place down in May, it won't be long before the threads will be posted how the Rivera was a Grand Ole Girl and what real Vegas was all about, how nothing else compares, those were the days...blah, blah, blah

 

We stayed there once and would stop in for shows or cheap gambling a couple of times a year.

The best thing about the pace was it's accessibility. You weren't forced to walk "all the way around" to get somewhere.
When we stayed there we ate at the cafe (Kady's?) they had all you can eat pancakes and after ten of them I wanted to roll back to our room.
I asked the waitress if there was a quicker way than going back to the casino and she said "Sure, Honey. Just go through that door and walk by the pool to your tower."

Take that Mandalay Bay... (and almost everywhere else)

 

Riviera to disappear next?

The LVRJ and several other websites are reporting the the Las Vegas Convention Center Authority is buying the Riv with plans to demolish it and spend $2.3 Billion to expand the convention center right out to Las Vegas Boulevard.

My experience there is that the place is a dump, pure and simple and is beyond redemption. One stay there years ago cured me of ever wanting to stay again.

The convention business in Vegas is a huge driver of the economy and this will move quite a bit of traffic to the North end of the strip (can you hang on long enough SLS?) and it will bring lots of construction jobs and then permanent jobs as well.

Counter that with the loss of nostalgia and another icon that bites the dust...

What do you think?

 

Imagine having that feeling and walking back to your room at Aria. The only downside to Aria is having to walk a mile just to get back to the room or the elevator

 

The reason why some of us comment on Classic Casinos/Hotels being torn down is because some of us know what Vegas was before Mirage/Excalibur came on board. Sahara, Riviera, THO, Desert Inn, Landmark, Silver Slipper, Frontier, Silverbird/Thunderbird etc was the heart of Vegas. Even afterwards, after 1998 when Bellagio came on board, many welcomed the new resorts but also frequented the older casinos/hotels.
Riviera may not be the Grand Ole Girl, but Vegas as whole, especially the North Strip, was Grand.
I will miss the Riviera if it's bulldozed, not what the Riviera is today, but what it was before most people in here and out there realize.

 

I won't bemoan the implosion of the Riviera. I miss Sahara and Stardust but won't miss the Riviera.

 

I totally agree. I too will miss the Riv. It was my home base when I first started going to Vegas twenty years ago. That is the Las Vegas that I fail in love with.
Today, there is nothing in Vegas that excites me anywhere near like that area of the Riv, CC, the Ho, and Stardust did.
When the Riv is gone, I will pretty much be done with Las Vegas. Thanks for the memories.

 

Makes sense to stay open until Rock-in-Rio, that's a huge revenue opportunity. That being said, does the Riv still have the staff to operate at capacity? My guess is no since they are currently running on fumes.

 

I won't say that because the only time I visited it was in 2011. It was probably the most dead I've seen a Strip casino in the evening (was a weekday tho). I may step in for few minutes this next trip though. Depends on how much I want to walk across the street from CC, which I do plan to visit.

The holds may not be that great at the Riv, but I assume she played bigger machines to play it off. For example, if you played a 92.5% payback Double Diamond Deluxe for $3/spin for $1000 worth of coin-in, you would have about a 9% chance to lose what she lost ($384) or more assuming the PAR sheet data contained in this PDF.

http://www.nh.gov/gsc/calendar/documents/20091117_harrigan_dixon.pdf

And the players club combined with the cage thing is a disturbing thing that has now appearing in some Tunica casinos as well. Tunica is hurting way more than Vegas...and they must see that it saves them money to do it that way. I pity any table game players for dealing with that.

 

If we all take Riviera for what it is, it is just a bed to sleep in....it serves it's purpose....when I was there during Supervowl weekend, it was steady and not overwhelming people wise. You do know the place is old when your grandma is serving the drinks...surprisingly over Super Bowl there wer 2 events at the hotel which were a muscle/fitness competition and a kids dance competition. The steakhouse was as good as it always is...

 

I'll second that brother! One Sahara was closed I took my business to Fremont street and haven't looked back. I still frequent the strip once or twice per trip and book a room there was once in a while, but DT is where old Vegas still thrives.

I kind of thought that was going to happen when Nazarian came up with that plan. Its the same thing you get on the south strip, except its far from everything else.

Has anyone seen any numbers that show how bad they are doing?

 

An article in the Review Journal has some "speculation" on what they the Convention Center might be doing with it.

In the comment section, someone says that some of the staff were told it would be closing in May. I can't remember, but if it is a 90 day notice to unions about closing up shop, that would fit into the time line. Then again, if the staff were really told, there would be more than just rumors going around.

 

It's not too late. I spent an evening gambling at the Riviera and Circus Circus last fall. Was staying at the SLS and walked down.

 

What is the bar way to find out if a casino is going to be imploded?
Where can i get dates of implosion so I can book a trip around that?

 

Try this:
http://www.lvrevealed.com/deathwatch/

The Riviera is not yet on it.
I took some pics of Riviera last summer, i guess it will be my last pic of Riviera since i won't be going to Vegas till May 31st. Probably too late. I guess the second pic sort of tells a story...........the North Strip coming to the end while Wynn-Encore is the beginning of the new Strip, or new money.. So close yet so far.
If LVCC is expanded out towards the Strip, many people are saying it's all positive. But won't conventioneers take their money to Mid Strip and South Strip? Or off Strip and Downtown?

 

Yeah, well - those of us who go on about the Stardust, actually patronized them up to the day they closed... and, unlike the Riv, the Stardust stayed busy all the way til the end.
I won't miss the Riv & you'll never read any whining from me about their demise... I quit playing there after the Stardust & Westward Ho closed. I popped in a few times after, but they certainly didn't seem to care about my business or my accomodations.
So - I stopped even popping in.
I would, however, like to see some property save "the Asses"... maybe move them downtown - seems like Golden Gate would be a good fit!
http://knockoutmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11.jpg

 

Absolutely agreed!!!