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UER Forum > US: Pacific Southwest > Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos] (Viewed 12779 times)
frgmnt 


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Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< on 7/14/2016 8:31 AM >
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[see images below]

I first noticed the Riviera was abandoned during my trip to Arizona on a long layover in Las Vegas just after Christmas 2015 while staying at the Circus Circus.

"No lights on? Hmmm." I immediately started investigating. Turns out it was closed down in May 2015 and was scheduled for implosion. I started doing recon ever since, including 2 separate trips to check things out. But security was heavy as it was on the strip and cameras were still on surrounding the building.

Both times I visited they had a demo crew going 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 2 O'clock in the morning? Yea they were still going. Apparently they wanted this thing gutted and imploded ASAP.

I could imagine, in Vegas, every hour they are not working is money not being made since they are making way for a new addition to the convention center.

My first attempt was on Memorial Day 2016, a federal holiday. But I was on my way back from Lightning In A Bottle in Cali and we missed our window due to how long it took to pack and leave the festival grounds.

Fast forward to July. We drove to Las Vegas with the hopes of exploring the infamous Riv. During our first walk-a-round the building I hopped up on a ledge near the fence to gain a better look, and immediately ran into a security guard who's exact words were, "don't even bother jumping over." Right where I had planned all this time that we would make our entrance. Damn.

We made small talk to see if I could get any more info. He said they upped the security due to people trying to shortcut from N Las Vegas Blvd to get to the Westgate Hotel. So we decided we would use that as an excuse if we got busted. He also did not have a gun or tazer. That was a plus.

We would eventually figure out a new way in; right on the main strip where all the traffic was! However, it was the area with the least amount of security guards, so it was our best shot. We were willing to risk a couple bi-standers seeing us. At this point there was no way we were not going to at least try.

This place has so much history. Frank Sinatra lived and worked here. Elvis performed here regularly as well. There were also a lot of mob related murders and suicides. The movie Casino was filmed here. The list goes on...

* The 3 shots I really wanted were:

  • A shot of us in the abandoned outdoor pool area with the Riviera sign above. But that had already been demo'd AND completely removed. BUMMER!

  • Another was a shot on the roof of the taller building where it has the main sign that read Riviera, but that building was completely wrapped in a thick plastic material to keep the asbestos from spreading once imploded.

  • And lastly, I wanted to get some shots in Frank Sinatra's suite where he lived and worked and held extravagant parties for A-List celebs. But they had imploded that tower before we got there. TRIPLE BUMMER!

We did our best to get what we could, and at least we can say we got our own piece of it and were likely the last explorers to get such photos before it is gone for good. The best part was that we witnessed every fireworks display in Vegas from the rooftop of the Riviera! A day we will not soon forget.

Hope you enjoy.

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[last edit 7/14/2016 8:50 PM by frgmnt - edited 2 times]

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Void Diver 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 1 on 7/15/2016 12:36 AM >
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Very sweet. Lived in that town for 7 years, wish there was more exploration there.




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OkapisRule 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 2 on 7/15/2016 2:47 AM >
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10 is a really cool space. It's interesting seeing the concrete skeleton of the building.




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MountainManDan 

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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 3 on 7/15/2016 2:48 AM >
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Props you two and number 15 with the fireworks in the background is a killer shot! Right on!!!!!




sYnOnYx 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 4 on 10/27/2016 11:38 PM >
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I made it in when they were doing the furniture sale, fresh off closing.




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durdenwasright 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 5 on 11/16/2016 12:27 AM >
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What a view!




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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 6 on 11/16/2016 10:59 AM >
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Amazing! We never see much out of Vegas on here. I'm jealous of this one!




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frgmnt 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 7 on 12/8/2016 7:04 AM >
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Posted by DJ Craig
Amazing! We never see much out of Vegas on here. I'm jealous of this one!


Cheers! Thanks. Would like to check out more of Vegas.




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mohavewolfpup 

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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 8 on 6/16/2018 10:10 AM >
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I can help fill some holes in for you with this.

Photo #2 is the old Liberace Penthouse Suite. So you didn't get to the Sinatra Suite in the wrapped tower (Monte Carlo) but you still got to be in a major part of the properties history.

Frank Sinatra really didn't stay on property too much as he was in ailing health the last years of his life. He may have stayed in the suite some, but usually after his show he would board a plane back to palm springs.

Photo #14 is probably the suite for the owner of the property in the 70's, Meerschaum Riklis. I have not been able to fully confirm this was in fact his suite, and probably never will. Believe this is the one that had a patio/porch which you could exit out and look to the west.

When his Wife Pia Zadora lived on the property, it was rumored she wasn't happy about it, so she kept a Display case full of dildos around to shock people. Can't say if it is true or not, just random lore tucked away.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a line. I heavily documented the place (not as much as I would have liked though) during the fixture sale and still work to this day documenting the properties history for preservation.

Too bad you didn't get to the show rooms in the bullnose (the mirrored tower with the Riviera lettering)

Pieces of the glass from that sit on my PC right now, which is ironically from the Riviera Food & Beverage department. After the final implosion, I walked around the property and the south side of the property had lots of the glass blown into the old la concha parking lot.

Hope it was fun for you!




"It's kept meat and potatoes on the table for years for Wolfman and Wolfwoman. A couple of shots of whiskey helps it. I've got that nice raspy sound." - Wolfman Jack on his legendary voice. Farewell Wolfman, you will be missed.
/-/ooligan 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 9 on 6/20/2018 3:09 AM >
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Sorry you didn't make it to the old pool, which I accessed off the hallways that had a lot of administrative offices which were also fun to explore.


419886.jpg (86 kb, 800x600)
click to view




My "Last open days" & exact closure time images:
https://www.flickr.../72157650048207953

My extensive penetration during the item auction days:
https://www.flickr.../72157651776148923


At the time of closure, I'd only been living in the LV area for about a year, so the Riviera was my first experience with a massive property going from festive lights & lots of action to sullen silence & dis-use, and eventual complete & utter removal, as-if all the tens of millions of memories people from around the world there were suddenly rendered irrelevant & obsolete. I was surprised at how emotional I got, though even my personal reality is I only paid-attention to The Riviera once she was on her deathbed. If I'm still around in a few years, no-doubt I'll be walking around in the expanded lV Convention Center space that The Riv once occupied, and will have to dodge the self-induced ghostly visions of conventioneers at The Riv's convention center and vacationers playing Blackjack under where that old swimming pool once sat...


/-/ooligan

/-/oolie





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mohavewolfpup 

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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 10 on 7/20/2018 10:51 PM >
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Posted by /-/ooligan

/-/ooligan

/-/oolie




How cool, i'm going through all your photos right now. Ironically you got a photo of something I saw in the same area and bought, it's sitting in a crate currently:

https://www.flickr...72157651776148923/

It's crazy, we probably overlapped each other with the photos you took. Did you see someone walking around in a orange/yellow vest and work boots? That was me. I know there was folks with vests around, so might have blended in.

edit:

https://www.flickr...72157651776148923/

Pile of sand there is where a lady who jumped from the East end of the Monte Carlo tower landed.

https://www.review...-tower-at-riviera/

News reports got it wrong, she landed near the Pool in the middle of the property, not the hidden pool above the casino



[last edit 7/20/2018 10:53 PM by mohavewolfpup - edited 1 times]

"It's kept meat and potatoes on the table for years for Wolfman and Wolfwoman. A couple of shots of whiskey helps it. I've got that nice raspy sound." - Wolfman Jack on his legendary voice. Farewell Wolfman, you will be missed.
WestOhooligan 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 11 on 9/5/2018 3:10 PM >
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Posted by /-/ooligan
Sorry you didn't make it to the old pool, which I accessed off the hallways that had a lot of administrative offices which were also fun to explore.


419886.jpg (86 kb, 800x600)
click to view




My "Last open days" & exact closure time images:
https://www.flickr.../72157650048207953

My extensive penetration during the item auction days:
https://www.flickr.../72157651776148923


At the time of closure, I'd only been living in the LV area for about a year, so the Riviera was my first experience with a massive property going from festive lights & lots of action to sullen silence & dis-use, and eventual complete & utter removal, as-if all the tens of millions of memories people from around the world there were suddenly rendered irrelevant & obsolete. I was surprised at how emotional I got, though even my personal reality is I only paid-attention to The Riviera once she was on her deathbed. If I'm still around in a few years, no-doubt I'll be walking around in the expanded lV Convention Center space that The Riv once occupied, and will have to dodge the self-induced ghostly visions of conventioneers at The Riv's convention center and vacationers playing Blackjack under where that old swimming pool once sat...


/-/ooligan

/-/oolie




Oh man, I just went through that set, crazy. Thanks for sharing.




/-/ooligan 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 12 on 9/6/2018 2:15 AM >
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Posted by WestOhooligan


Oh man, I just went through that set, crazy. Thanks for sharing.



You're welcome! I took & occasionally take some heat for taking so damn many images, but I don't apologize, since EVERYTHING is gone now, and the further & further away time-wise we get, the more & more that the images will have some significance -- kinda like how today, plenty of people would wish that thousands of photos of the Titanic had been taken, before her maiden voyage.

/-/oolie




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cleipelt 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 13 on 8/23/2020 11:35 PM >
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Wow these bots are becoming more and more human-like.




WestOhooligan 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 14 on 8/25/2020 9:06 PM >
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Posted by cleipelt
Wow these bots are becoming more and more human-like.


HA! I mean it does kinda look like a robot trying to be a person too.




Katharsys 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 15 on 9/27/2020 9:06 PM >
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That's really awesome you were still able to get in and see some of it before it was demo'd. I wonder if it was loaded up with explosives at that point?

I was really lucky to be able to spend some time in there while they were doing the liquidation sales, and I shot both of the demos. I went twice, and I still feel like I missed a lot. This was a place that had so much history and so many secrets. There aren't too many like this in Vegas anymore.

Here are some of my inside pics. I can share the implosion ones too if there's interest:

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Natchraz 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 16 on 9/28/2020 4:43 AM >
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Number 8’s nice Katharsys, really throws in the mood of the whole place into one shot. Great work!




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Katharsys 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 17 on 9/28/2020 7:55 AM >
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Posted by Natchraz
Number 8’s nice Katharsys, really throws in the mood of the whole place into one shot. Great work!


Thanks man. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but is it too much to ask for a Large canopy bed on a platform with a sunken jacuzzi tub next to it these days? 😆😆 The Riviera understood




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randomesquephoto 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 18 on 9/28/2020 8:20 AM >
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Let's see implosion shots!




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bleckfrog 


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Re: Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos]
< Reply # 19 on 9/28/2020 2:29 PM >
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i'm loving all these shots! wow i was completely unaware that riviera was being demo'd, the last time i've been to vegas was years ago and i remember riviera still open.




UER Forum > US: Pacific Southwest > Riviera Casino & Hotel - Las Vegas [w/ photos] (Viewed 12779 times)
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