Riviera (hotel and casino)
The Riviera (colloquially, "the Riv")[1][2] was a hotel and casino on the northern Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada.[3] It opened on April 20, 1955, and included a nine-story hotel featuring 291 rooms. The Riviera was the first skyscraper in the Las Vegas Valley, and was the area's tallest building until 1956. Various hotel additions would be made in later years, including a 12-story tower in 1966, a 17-story tower in 1975, and a 24-story tower in 1988. By the time of its closure in 2015, the resort included a 103,800 sq ft (9,640 m2) casino and 2,075 rooms.
Riviera
2901 South Las Vegas Boulevard
April 20, 1955
May 4, 2015
2,075
103,800 sq ft (9,640 m2)
An Evening at La Cage (1985–2009)
Crazy Girls (1987–2015)
Splash (1985–2006)
Land-based
Riviera Holdings (1993–2015)
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (2015–16)
Paragon Gaming (2013–2015)
1960, 1966, 1975, 1977, 1988-1990, 1999, 2012
In 1973, the Riviera was sold to businessman Meshulam Riklis, who owned it for the next two decades. The Riviera filed for bankruptcy in 1983, and targeted a middle-class demographic from that point on, which helped the property thrive. Changes included the addition of a Burger King in 1984, making the Riviera the first Strip property to feature a fast-food restaurant.
The Riviera emerged from bankruptcy in 1985, but filed again in 1991, amid an expansion project which went over budget. The property emerged in 1993, under the new ownership of Riviera Holdings Corporation. The property's convention space was expanded in the late 1990s, which helped keep the resort profitable. The Riviera was also host to a variety of live entertainment, including female impersonator Frank Marino (1985–2009) and a topless revue known as Crazy Girls (1987–2015).
In February 2015, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) purchased the 26-acre (11 ha) Riviera, at a cost of $191 million. The agency had plans to demolish the resort for a major expansion of its nearby Las Vegas Convention Center. The Riviera closed on May 4, 2015, and demolition was underway a year later. The 24-story tower was imploded on June 14, 2016, followed by the 12- and 17-story towers on August 16, 2016. The LVCVA's plans for the property changed after it acquired other nearby acreage. The new convention space was built on the Riviera's eastern portion, while 10 acres (4.0 ha) along the Strip were put up for sale in 2019.
History[edit]
Development[edit]
The Riviera was originally known as the Casa Blanca prior to the start of construction. It was proposed by a group of businessmen, mostly from Miami Beach, who applied for a gaming license in December 1952.[4] Among the group members was William "Lefty Clark" Bischoff, who previously ran casino operations in Detroit.[5] Bischoff was to hold a 40-percent interest in the Casa Blanca. However, he had been identified a few years earlier, during the Kefauver Committee hearings, as having ties to organized crime. He subsequently withdrew his name from the group's license application.[6][7]
Two other investors, Miami contractor Julius Gaines and Hollywood producer Lewis Merman, also withdrew because of concern over their affiliation with Charles Tourine, who had a criminal record.[8][9] Samuel Cohen, a Miami businessman, joined the Casa Blanca project in early 1953 as a financier.[10][11][12] He was later identified as a member of Miami's S & G gambling syndicate and would be removed from the project as well, although rumors persisted that he secretly maintained an involvement.[13]
A new list of prospective owners, eliminating all but two of the original investors, was submitted to the Nevada Tax Commission in July 1953.[14] The group, at that time, consisted of eight partners.[15] Among them were brothers David and Myer Gensburg,[14] and brothers Harpo and Gummo Marx.[13] The group was granted a gaming license in September 1953.[16]
The Riviera was built along the northern Las Vegas Strip,[17] at a cost of $8.5 million.[18][19] Construction began in May 1954.[20] The project was designed by Roy France and Son, an architecture firm based in Miami Beach,[21] with J. Maher Weller as associate architect.[22] The general contractor was Taylor Construction Company, also of Miami.[23][24]
Early years[edit]
The Riviera opened on April 20, 1955, and included a nine-story hotel tower.[18] Its debut coincided with that of two other Strip resorts, the Dunes and the Royal Nevada, prompting concerns that Las Vegas had been overbuilt with hotels.[25][26] Mob fixer Sidney Korshak played a major role in the property's management.[27][28] Law enforcement agencies suspected that he represented the Chicago Outfit's interest in the Riviera, and was responsible for skimming the casino's revenue and delivering the proceeds to Chicago.[27] This, combined with poor management by the inexperienced Miami group, resulted in significant financial losses for the Riviera.[27][29]
Sports[edit]
The Riviera occasionally hosted boxing matches in the 1980s,[221][335] such as the first match between Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks on September 21, 1985.[336] Spinks won in an upset on a unanimous decision, winning Holmes's International Boxing Federation heavyweight championship, and preventing Holmes from tying Rocky Marciano's undefeated 49–0 record.
In 1994, the Riviera was the host of the practice field for the short lived Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian Football League during the league's brief U.S. expansion. Built on a former parking lot on Riviera property, the Posse practiced on a smaller-than-regulation field (only 70 yards long) where a sign read "Field of ImPOSSEable Dreams." The team folded after the 1994 season.[337][338][339]
From the 1990s onward, the Riviera also hosted many pool (pocket billiards) tournaments,[340][341][342] from organizations such as the Valley National 8-Ball Association,[343][344][345] the Billiard Congress of America,[346] and the American Cuesports Alliance.[347] The American Poolplayers Association held annual events at the resort from 1993 until its closure.[108][348] The 2015 APA National Singles Championships were the last event to ever be held at the Riviera.[340]
