After 50 years of history in Las Vegas, the famous and iconic Riviera Hotel and Casino was demolished and reduced to rubble, after 13 controlled implosions took out the Monaco Tower; the last tower that the property had standing. The explosions took place on Tuesday, giving tourists and residents of the city one last show before The Riviera was lost forever; it opened in 1955 and quickly became a popular resort on The Strip.
Tough Casino History for The Riviera
This popular casino has had a very rough history leading up to its demise. When it has just opened, it had gotten Liberace as its first artist; being the highest paid artist at that time, it weighed on the casino’s profits. It closed merely 3 months later after becoming bankrupt. Over the years the property was sold and opened, and then closed again. The latest occurrence happened when they finally closed for good in May 2015 after being sold to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for $182.5 million. The demolition cost the company $42 million, and lasted under a minute, but it still gave a good farewell to the Sin City. They had a fireworks show right before the final implosions were set off, as many onlookers cheered and clapped, giving their goodbye to the building.
It was time to move on, and hopefully, the new casinos popping up in the city can earn that level of recognition. The convention center will be using the 26-acre plot of land to expand, as the attendance has been rising each year, filling up their capacity. They estimate this will allow them to house an additional 480,000 new attendees, with many more trade shows and conventions. The Strip may not be getting any new casinos for a while, but this will certainly help bring in more tourists and business to the city.
