Las Vegas History: The Riviera

Please welcome, former Vegas Chatter…Chad Rodick

Chad Rodick shares a brief history of The Riviera Las Vegas

The Famous Bellagio dancing fountains replaced the Dunes, marking the beginning of an all-new Las Vegas. Implosions have included the erasing of the Landmark, Sands, Castaways, Hacienda, Aladdin, El Rancho, Bourbon Street, Stardust, The Desert Inn and much more. The Riviera Hotel has followed the same path as other hotel casinos in Las Vegas. What made the Riviera different than the others was that two implosions were scheduled rather than the traditional one-and-done effort. In August 2016 the last implosion is scheduled to mark the official end to a 60-plus year existence. Long-time residents of Las Vegas have grown accustomed to implosions dating back to the 1990s when Steve Wynn dropped the old dunes to its knees on October 27, 1993.

When it was announced that the 2,075 room hotel was about to close in May of 2015, the response barely drew a whisper. The only real question was what would replace the hotel casino which attracted everyone from high school students looking for a place to swim to high rollers, members of the mob and entertainers.

On April 20, 1955, the Riviera was the first high-rise to open on the Strip. Actress Joan Crawford served as the official hostess for the hotel’s grand opening, whose minority owners included singer Dean Martin along with Harpoon and Gummo Marx of the Marx Brothers. Built for about $10 million, the Riviera joined the Dunes, Royal, and Hacienda as the real Estates on the strip.

The casino opened with famed pianist Liberace, who was the highest-paid entertainer on the Las Vegas Strip making $50,000 per week. Others who performed at the Riviera in the 1950s included Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, and Shecky Greene. In the 1960s: Louie Armstrong, Tony Bennett, George Burns, Red Buttons and Barbara Streisand. While the 1970s saw Don Rockies, Dean Martin, Steve Martin, Burt Bacharach, George Carlin, Phyllis Diller, Liza Minnelli and Jimmy Walker. In the 1980s, Riviera had entertainers Joan Rivers, David Brenner, and the Village People. That still didn’t stop when the 1990s saw Frank Sinatra, Drew Carey, the Beach Boys and Pauly Shore.

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The Riviera also hosted various athletic events including boxing matches that included heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in an upset to light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks in an outdoor arena on September 21, 1985.

The Riviera never ran short on attention generating public relations. Publicist and entertainer Tony Zoppi churned out endless press releases under the name “Copy by Zoppi.” Before Zoppi joined the Riviera, he wrote a column called “Dallas After Dark” for the Dallas Morning News. Zoppi was the key behind entertainment at the Riviera. Zoppi signed Ann Margaret for her inaugural performance in 1967 and illustrated his diverse talents when he planned her wedding to 77 sunset strip star Roger Smith.

The land where Riviera was built is about to become an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Land in the area may also be part of a 65,000-seat football domed stadium that would be home for the Oakland Raiders along with UNLV Rebels. Maybe. The possibly caught Nick Mileti’s attention when the ill-fated Las Vegas Posse of a Canadian Football League was founded in 1994. Mileti stated, “The Players stayed at the Riviera, and the hotel built a practice field for them behind the hotel.”

Once the Riviera gets erased off the Las Vegas Strip, the Las Vegas Convention Center will create a District on the old Riviera site which is expected to expand the Convention Center by 1.2 million square feet including 600,000 square feet of additional exhibit space. Construction on the state-of-the-art facility is expected to generate 7,000 construction jobs and 6,000 full-time permanent jobs.

[Photos: UNLV, Cover: Wikimedia Commons | Video: Greg C]

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