In Las Vegas you can’t often beat the house. Riviera Boulevard was scheduled to be closed to traffic from 1:30 a.m.to 5 a.m. Convention Center Drive was scheduled to be open to only one lane of eastbound traffic from 1:30 a.m.to about 2:40 a.m., after the demolition.
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While the tower destroyed in “the wee, small hours” of Tuesday morning was built in 1987, the Riviera originally opened in 1955 by none other than Liberace and appeared in several films like Casino and the original Ocean’s 11.
(Casino) “I was so good that whenever I bet I could change the odds for every bookmaker in the country”.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority bought it previous year.
Audio clip: Listen to audio clip. The tourism agency bought the 2,075-room property across 26 acres previous year for $182.5 million, plus $8.5 million in related transaction costs, with plans to expand its Las Vegas Convention Center.
A second tower, the Monte Carlo (not to be confused with the hotel-casino resort of the same name), is slated for implosion sometime in August.
It was also featured in “The Hangover” in 2009.
“The Riviera was and always was the Chicago outfit’s crown jewel in the desert”, Schumacher said.
The Riviera also pioneered the business model that helped Vegas turn into an entertainment capital.
Clouds of smoke can be seen following the demolition of the Riviera on Tuesday..
The neighboring Barrymore Hotel hosted a nostalgic crowd as it bid farewell to the strip’s first high-rise casino. Dean Martin was a part-owner for a short time as well.
“(The Riviera) looked like a 50s Rat Pack casino up until yesterday”, Schumacher said. Fireworks preceded the implosion.
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FILE-In this May 4, 2015, file photo, a sign thanks guests at the 60-year-old Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
