Overview

The Riviera Hotel and Casino (colloquially known as the Riv) was a landmark resort situated on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. Opening its doors in 1955, the property achieved historical significance as the first high-rise resort constructed on the Strip. For sixty years, the venue operated as a cornerstone of standard casino entertainment, high-stakes gaming, and classic showroom revues before closing its operations in 2015 to facilitate regional infrastructure expansions.

Technical Specifications

Attribute	Details
Manufacturer / Operator	Riviera Holdings Corporation
Country of Origin	United States
Main Product Categories	Casino Gaming, Hospitality, Theatrical Showroom Production
Specialization	High-Rise Resort Architecture and Full-Service Casino Operations
Historical Operating Address	2901 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Description

The Riviera Hotel and Casino featured a multi-tower hospitality layout and an expansive casino gaming floor encompassing over 110,000 square feet. Architecturally, the resort broke away from the traditional low-rise, roadside motor-court designs that dominated early Strip developments, opting instead for a modern, multi-story structure designed by the Miami Beach architecture firm Roy France and Son.

The entertainment infrastructure was defined by grand theatrical venues, most notably the Clover Room and the Versailles Theatre. These spaces hosted legendary residencies and long-running production revues, including the aquatic-themed variety show Splash, the female impersonator showcase An Evening at La Cage, and the long-running adult revue Crazy Girls. The physical gaming footprint provided standard table games, race and sports book operations, and custom high-resolution printed Chipco graphic slot and table tokens.

History

The project was originally proposed under the name Casa Blanca in December 1952 by a group of investors from Miami Beach, Florida. Following multiple ownership shifts during early development, a revised investment group that included minority stakeholders Harpo and Gummo Marx completed the project at a cost of 8.5 million dollars. The Riviera officially opened on April 20, 1955, debuting with a nine-story hotel tower that stood as the tallest building in Las Vegas at the time. Showman Liberace was the featured headliner for the resort’s grand opening gala.

The property encountered immediate financial difficulties due to fierce local competition and high entertainment overhead costs, leading to an initial operational takeover by veteran gaming manager Gus Greenbaum later in 1955. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the property underwent numerous ownership transitions, structural expansions, and corporate reorganizations. Headliners such as Dean Martin held temporary minority equity stakes in the resort during their performing tenures.

The resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in 1983, 1991, and 2010 due to shifting consumer foot traffic away from the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip following the demolition of adjacent properties like the Stardust and Westward Ho. In February 2015, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority acquired the 26-acre property for 182.5 million dollars to make room for the Las Vegas Convention Center District expansion. The resort officially ceased all public operations in May 2015.

Historical Timeline

Year	Event
1954	Construction begins along the northern Las Vegas Strip under the supervision of the Taylor Construction Company.
1955	The Riviera opens on April 20 as the ninth resort and the first true high-rise building constructed on the Las Vegas Strip.
1967	The property undergoes a major expansion adding a 200-room wing, a 9,000-square-foot lobby, and 10,000 square feet of convention space.
1973	Industrialist Meshulam Riklis purchases the Riviera resort for 56 million dollars.
1985	The iconic aquatic-themed residency show Splash debuts on stage, continuing an active theatrical run for over twenty years.
2015	The resort permanently closes its doors to the public on May 3 after sixty years of continuous hospitality and casino operation.
2016	The remaining structural towers are entirely demolished via controlled implosions to clear land for the convention center extension.

References

• https://neonmuseum.org/12427-2/ – The Neon Museum historical archive documenting the architectural origins, structural engineering challenges, and 1955 opening parameters of the Riviera Hotel and Casino.
• https://special.library.unlv.edu/ark%3A/62930/f1b354 – University of Nevada, Las Vegas digital collection summary cataloging corporate publicity records, ownership shifts, historical addresses, and final property disposition of the Riviera resort.