RIP Riviera Hotel and Casino. After sixty years of business, the Riviera is officially dunzo. The final tower was demolished last night and the event occurred without the fanfare and celebration that accompanied the initial demolition several months earlier. In June 2016, the majority of the property including the Monaco Tower was detonated amidst a rowdy celebration that also included fireworks. After struggling for almost two decades, the Riviera shut its doors in May 2015. The Las Vegas Convention Center purchased the land and will be utilizing the space as part of their expansion.
Only in America do we celebrate blowing shit up. And in a city like Las Vegas, they usually throw a raging party when it is time to blow up one of their old casinos. Las Vegas is a city that constantly destroys its past and even rebuilds from scratch on the same plots. The last few relics of the past have been vanishing all over Las Vegas. One of the oldest properties, The Riviera, is officially erased from the Las Vegas skyline. The main tower was demolished in June, but the final tower came down last night. With the push of a button, the Riviera is nevermore.
The Riviera, like most of the original Las Vegas casinos, was controlled by a specific regional mob entity. In this instance, the Casa Blanco, was owned and operated by the Detroit mafia in early 1950s. In 1955, the property was rebranded the Riviera, and they added the first high-rise tower in all of Las Vegas. Liberace was one of the first major celebrities to perform for the casino's guests. Dean Martin was a regular at the Riviera and even had a stake in the casino at one point.
The Riviera was one of the most renowned casinos in Las Vegas until Big Business took over and modernized the southern end of Las Vegas Blvd. The Riviera no longer got the foot traffic it once had during its peak years, and their gaming revenues plummeted. The ownership changed hands several times but no one was able to get the Riviera back to profitability. Alas, their glory days were over. The Las Vegas Convention Center acquired the land, which is in their immediate plans for a new expansion.
I have a certain fondness for the Riviera because it was the first casino and hotel I ever stayed at when I was old enough to legally gamble in Las Vegas. Friends from college flew to Las Vegas to see a couple of Grateful Dead shows and we stayed at the Riviera. As a fan of Hunter S. Thompson's book, I was well aware of Circus Circus across the street, but there was a time when the Riviera was one of the centerpieces of Las Vegas. Now, it's an afterthought. Another ghost.
Popularity is fickle in Las Vegas. The coolest casino today will be the passé place tomorrow. And what was cool years ago, got quickly outdated and downgraded by tourists and beancounters alike. You walk around some of these former gems and think, “This used to be so much nicer, but now no one gives a fuck.” Even the Bellagio will inevitably fall to the back of the pack and someday get marked for demolition. It's only a matter of when.
Watch the video from last night's demolition of the final tower…
And watch the video of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the initial implosion of the main Monaco tower from back in June 2016…