End of the Road for the Riviera in Las Vegas

11:09
05 May

It was announced earlier this year that Las Vegas Riviera Casino would be closing its doors. This announcement became a reality yesterday (Monday, May 4), as the iconic hotel and casino saw the final few slot spins stop for one last time at noon.

Despite its 60-years long history, popular "Riv" couldn't afford to go on. The casino has long lost its original glamour and become a place to go for some cheap drinks and low stakes gambling, but back in the day, things were much different at the Riviera.

One of the first on the strip and funded by the mob money, the casino offered its guests the experience that they wouldn't be quick to forget. With bright lights, excitement of table games and famous guests like Liberace, Frank Sinatra and Dolly Parton, the Riviera had it all.

It was also well known as the place to go for Hollywood producers, as many of the big movie titles were shot there, including the original "Ocean's 11" from 1960, the legendary "Casino" starring Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone from 1995 and recently, "The Hangover" (2009).

All this will stay a part of the casino's history forever, but it seems that history is all that will be left after yesterday. According to all the information, the Riviera is set to be leveled sometime in the near future. First order of business, of course, is selling the casino's movables at an auction set to start on May 14.

The property was bought by the LV Convention and Visitors Authority and they have plans of connecting the Convention Center to the Strip and the demolition of the original structure is likely to take place before the end of the year.

And I'll be toasting probably a glass of champagne to a memory that was more of a memory. It was a piece of my DNA Jeff Kutash;
Jeff Kutash, the main person behind the Riviera's stage spectacle "Splash" that ended in 2006, expressed his regrets about the casino's destiny. The truth is that many people were connected to this Las Vegas icon in one way or another and many of them will be sad to see it no more.
However, all of it was not enough to keep the hotel and casino in business. Since it came out of bankruptcy in 2011, Riviera had not reported a profit. It fought for as long as it could, but it finally threw in the towel on Monday.
Riviera will never be forgotten as an important part of Las Vegas history, but its demise is a clear sign that times are changing even in the gambling capital of the world. Those who cannot keep the pace with the changes are no longer welcome, even if, like Riviera, they had been around for over half a century.
The change always has and always will take its toll.

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