Riviera Hotel and Casino, Skyscraper hotel and casino on Las Vegas Strip, Nevada
The Riviera was a hotel tower with 2,075 rooms and a two-level casino at the northern end of the Strip. The gaming floor covered 103,800 square feet and held machines and table games under low ceilings with red carpeting.
The property opened in 1955 as the first high-rise on the Strip and remained the tallest building in Nevada for one year. After decades under different owners it closed in 2015 and was demolished in 2016.
The name drew from the French term for Mediterranean coastal regions and aimed to bring European sophistication to Las Vegas. The venue became a model for large-format showrooms and helped develop the entertainer-in-residence concept further.
The site is now part of the Las Vegas Convention Center and no longer accessible as a hotel. Visitors interested in Strip history can find archive photos and memorabilia in several museums and collections around the city.
The demolition occurred in two phases with separate implosions because the towers had different foundations. The entire structure disappeared from the skyline within a few months.
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