Las Vegas Strip Bids Adieu to Yet Another Iconic Casino, The Riviera

Secret swimming pool on the roof of the Riviera built over 35 years ago was empty and abandoned.

Soon a convention center will replace the 60 year-old classic Riviera Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, which closed last Monday as gamblers tried their luck on slots. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in February purchased the iconic 2,075-room building and the 26 acres surrounding it. The tourism agency which is publicly-funded, plans to have the casino-hotel where Liberace once cut the ribbon for the grand opening, demolished.

He was one of the highest paid entertainer on the strip, raking in $50, 000 a week. Frank Sinatra also sang to his heart’s content at ‘the Riv’ as the casino-hotel was fondly called. The Riviera was one of the first hotel-casinos that was established in Sin City’s early days under US gambling laws and is just one of a few who have closed their doors in recent years.

Shutter comes down on the classic fun Riviera

The once very grand and luxury casino property has been battling over the past decade or so. The furniture and accessories inside the casino-hotel are being auctioned in mid-May but it has also been observed that some of its items are being sold online. To express regret of the closure, gamblers expressed how heartbroken they were to see the last of the old school places close down.

Leslie Braschler Buell of Marysville, and her daughter, Melissa Jilk, had came by the hotel last week to take a pictures. Buell said “I think this was the highlight of the Riviera finds on the trip for me. So glad to have seen this before this piece of history is gone forever”. As the shutter descends on the Riviera, its shining sign which expressed gratitude to the customers that graced the classy US poker room, will surely cause some gamblers heart to give a slight tweak now and then.