{"id":17359,"date":"2017-05-04T01:48:06","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T08:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/?p=17359"},"modified":"2020-12-03T04:16:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T12:16:24","slug":"riviera-casino-closed-two-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/riviera-casino-closed-two-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Riviera Casino Closed Two Years Ago, Watch Her Fall Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The iconic Riviera Hotel and Casino closed its doors on May 4, 2015, after 60 years of\u00a0ups, downs and WTFs.<\/p>\n<p>Toward the end, public indifference toward the aging casino turned to melancholy, with many bemoaning the end of an era in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16494\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16494\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16494 size-full\" style=\"border: 1px solid #000000;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_051816.jpg\" alt=\"Riviera Las Vegas\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_051816.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_051816-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_051816-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16494\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spoiler alert: This is the &#8220;before&#8221; photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While we, too, did a fair share of bemoaning when the casino closed, mostly we dove headlong into the task of obsessively chronicling the casino&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/riviera-demolition-imagery-will-make-you-feel-things\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">months-long demolition<\/a>, capturing The Riv as it transformed from a run down relic to a paved-over parking lot.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16495\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16495\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16495 size-full\" style=\"border: 1px solid #000000;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_after_010817.jpg\" alt=\"Riviera demolition\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_after_010817.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_after_010817-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/riviera_demolition_after_010817-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16495\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s like dermabrasion, but with a vintage Vegas hotel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On the second anniversary of Riviera&#8217;s closing, we figured it was a good time to look back, to reflect upon the history of a casino woven into the fabric of Sin City and to shamelessly try and increase the number of views of our Riviera demolition video.<\/p>\n<div data-mode=\"normal\" data-oembed=\"1\" data-provider=\"youtube\" id=\"arve-youtube-dvzzlx7fbf0\" style=\"max-width:900px;\" class=\"arve\">\n<div class=\"arve-inner\">\n<div style=\"aspect-ratio:500\/281\" class=\"arve-embed arve-embed--has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"arve-ar\" style=\"padding-top:56.200000%\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<iframe allow=\"accelerometer &#039;none&#039;;autoplay &#039;none&#039;;camera &#039;none&#039;;ch-ua &#039;none&#039;;clipboard-read &#039;none&#039;;clipboard-write;display-capture &#039;none&#039;;encrypted-media &#039;none&#039;;gamepad &#039;none&#039;;geolocation &#039;none&#039;;gyroscope &#039;none&#039;;hid &#039;none&#039;;identity-credentials-get &#039;none&#039;;idle-detection &#039;none&#039;;keyboard-map &#039;none&#039;;local-fonts &#039;none&#039;;magnetometer &#039;none&#039;;microphone &#039;none&#039;;midi &#039;none&#039;;payment &#039;none&#039;;picture-in-picture;publickey-credentials-create &#039;none&#039;;publickey-credentials-get &#039;none&#039;;screen-wake-lock &#039;none&#039;;serial &#039;none&#039;;sync-xhr;usb &#039;none&#039;;window-management &#039;none&#039;;xr-spatial-tracking &#039;none&#039;;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"arve-iframe fitvidsignore\" credentialless data-arve=\"arve-youtube-dvzzlx7fbf0\" data-lenis-prevent=\"\" data-src-no-ap=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/dVZzLx7fBF0?feature=oembed&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;autoplay=0\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"505.8\" loading=\"lazy\" name=\"\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/dVZzLx7fBF0?feature=oembed&#038;iv_load_policy=3&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autoplay=0\" title=\"\" width=\"900\"><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"http:\\\/\\\/schema.org\\\/\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.casino.org\\\/vitalvegas\\\/riviera-casino-closed-two-years-ago\\\/#arve-youtube-dvzzlx7fbf0\",\"type\":\"VideoObject\",\"embedURL\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\\/embed\\\/dVZzLx7fBF0?feature=oembed&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&autohide=1&playsinline=0&autoplay=0\"}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Riviera was purchased by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for $182.5 million. Demolition of the Riviera cost about $44 million. Yes, that&#8217;s a really pricey parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>During her heyday, Riviera was featured in movies like the original &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s 11,&#8221; &#8220;Casino,&#8221; &#8220;The Hangover&#8221; and many others.<\/p>\n<p>After closing, the Riv played a key part in the bigtime Hollywood\u00a0yawner, &#8220;Jason Bourne,&#8221; which, come to think of it, we also wasted our time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/jason-bourne-chase-ends-with-riviera-crash-trailer-debuts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">obsessively chronicling<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13587\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13587\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13587 size-full\" style=\"border: 1px solid #000000;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bourne_riviera_crash1.jpg\" alt=\"Bourne Riviera crash\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bourne_riviera_crash1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bourne_riviera_crash1-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13587\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the climactic finale to &#8220;Jason Bourne,&#8221; this SWAT truck drove into the Riviera&#8217;s shuttered casino. Unforgettable moment, utterly forgettable movie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We miss the Riv from time-to-time. Its &#8220;Crazy Girls.&#8221; Its future kiddie porn-downloading Jan Rouven. Its pinball machines. Its &#8220;An Evening at Le Cage,&#8221; wherein Frank Marino (now at the Linq casino) made an eye-popping $20,000 a week for impersonating a woman. Its crappy food court. Its &#8220;Splash.&#8221; Its Liberace.<\/p>\n<p>Goodbye, again, old girl. We&#8217;ll never see your like again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The iconic Riviera Hotel and Casino closed its doors on May 4, 2015, after 60 years of\u00a0ups, downs and WTFs. Toward the end, public indifference toward the aging casino turned to melancholy, with many bemoaning the end of an era in Las Vegas. While we, too, did a fair share of bemoaning when the casino [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vegas","category-lasvegashotels"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Riviera Casino Closed Two Years Ago, Watch Her Fall Again<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The iconic Riviera Hotel and Casino closed its doors on May 4, 2015, after 60 years of ups, downs and WTFs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Riviera 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