Riviera was dead last night

This is my first post, lurked for a long time.

We headed over to Riviera for my first time ever. I'm in for a few days of meetings and we are a t an off strip hotel. Wanted to go to Ross and Walgreens and then Peppermill for dinner.

We decided to head over to Riviers for a bit of gambling before heading back We were in for 5 minutes before I saw ANYBODY at a slot. It was weird. We. Sat down to play by BFF put in $20 pulled out $140 after half an hour. I put in $20 pulled out $40. Ordered a spiced rum and diet. I got an extra spicy bloody .mary lol we laughed hard over that. Apparently I wasn't allowed to have rum lol

even the stores were all closed up at 6 pm. Crazy!!

 

Yikes! That's not good, but I gotta believe that Sunday night, mid-January (cold temps for Las Vegas) right after all the CES'ers have gone home, that the whole town was dead... though it's well known that the Riviera has been in tough spot of late out there on an "island" so to speak.

 

I honestly don't know when the busy times would be at Riviera. I get there every other trip I'd say just because I like walking the strip. I would never call it as dead as you mentioned, but I would also never call it busy. If they are still profitable, great for them, because I have no idea how they can do it.

I do hope they can make it another 5-10 years to give some time for that end of the strip to rebuild a little.

 

I was there last year in April after eating at the Peppermill, it was a sat night, but when I walked in I was pleasantly surprised at how many people were in there. You could easily find a slot to play, but most table games were being used and had groups of people on them and the food places were all open and had many people eating or in line. I think it really matters the time of the year and day of the week especially.

 

I always go to Vegas the last week of January. Weekends seem to be busy, but most of the weekdays it has been dead the past couple of years, especially the Riviera and Strat. area.

 

Was there in dec and it was very quiet, theatre was packed for the andrew dice clay show but the floor was dead

 

I was there last summer and even though it wasnt packed like bellagios lobby there were a lot of prople around. lots of people at the pool too.

 

For something completely different--and a walk down memory lane--don't forget about The Pinball Hall Of Fame's Annex at The Riviera (about 25 pinball machines IIRC):

http://www.rivierahotel.com/resort-amenities/pinball-hall-of-fame/

And if you have the interest, make it over to The Pinball Hall Of Fame's main location on Tropicana Blvd (about 200 machines in all!):

http://www.pinballhall.org/

Best thing is: proceeds go to The Salvation Army (The PHOF is a 501C3 Non Profit--and why I personally don't even ask for my quarters back when the coin mechs gobble up a coin or two). :wink

 

For the most part, most of the foot traffic is between MGM/NYNY and WYNN/Fashion Show Mall. Anything further up the Strip going North are people in cars venturing Downtown. The Riviera and Sahara are dinosours now with Circus Circus hanging on because it's kid friendly. You also have some traffic going to/from Orleans, Rio, and Palms due to the shuttles.
The Strip has changed...........it is now Encore to Mandalay Bay and everything in between. JMO, and although i don't keep tabs on what properties do work or don't.......i sense, as a long time Vegas visitor, that i am, for the most part, correct.

 

I do think a good bit of it is the time of year like others have suggested. I guess you could call the Riv a "home" hotel for me in Vegas. It was the only place we stayed for years up until last year. It's cheap, decently clean, nice staff, and they always give me REALLY good comps even though I'm a very low roller. :evillaugh

I was there in October and it was pretty full, to the point of having to wait for some machines. They had several groups staying there, including their Roller Derby girls which made for interesting people watching.

It should pack back up again for the Big Game Party they throw for the Super Bowl.

 

Stayed at the Riv a couple of years ago. Got a good deal. Room was OK, nothing to brag about. Didn't gamble a dime while I was there. The loss of Stardust probably hurt the Riv most. Not having the Sahara couldn't have done the Riv any favors. Westward Ho probably didn't do much for the Riv's bottom line, but not having it doesn't help.

I have wondered how the "world famous" tattoo joint in the back of the Riv stays in business. People will go wherever their favorite tattoo artist is, and if you have a great rep, word will get around. That's all I know about tattoos, and I doubt that the artist's rep is so astounding that people flock from around the country to visit that shop.

Food court always looks sad when I'm there, which admittedly isn't during busy weekends.

I've seen decent table action at night when I have been there, but it's a far cry from 10 years ago. Very sad to see.

 

I went up to the Riveria over my New Years Vegas vacation on 12/30/2012 a day before NYE's to watch the UFC PPV that was going on at the MGM. It was $20 to get in and $20 for all you can drink. So I figured hey... good deal for Vegas! I got there like an hour early bc I figured it may be packed. I was the first one there... in total during the fight there might have been 25 people there. It made for good drink service though!

The casino was pretty dead during that time even with all the New Years traffic. There were some people at the sports book watching bowl games and things but basically not many people at the tables or slots. Pretty dead especially compared to Caesars, Ballys, and all the strip hotels. Couldn't find a minimum under $25 at the tables and all the slots full.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but isn't it always dead there? I've never seen it really, well, "poppin".