1674-65 Morris Lansburgh Riviera- Las Vegas Strip Page 1 of 4
( Vegas
Riviera
A2Z Las
Vegas When the Riviera Hotel & Casino opened, it was the first high-
rise resort with nine stories comprising of the casino, shops,
Riviera and 300 deluxe rooms. An architectural departure for Las
Vegas, the Riviera looked like it belonged on Miami Beach,
Opened which was the design of architect Roy France and Son who
April 20, 1955 were based in Miami.
The Riviera was originally the dream of a group of Miami
investors headed by Florida businessman Sam Cohen. These
investors formed the Riviera Hotel Company, which in turn
leased the land from the Gensbro Hotel Company.
The resort contained the Hickory Room Restaurant, Cafe Noir
Le Bistro, and the Clover Room showroom, as well as an
Olympic-sized swimming pool. The casino contained 18 table
games and 116 slot machines, and though modest by today's
standards, it was considered the place for high-rollers.
The lavish debut of the Riviera was on April 20, 1955. The
grandest opening to date, the Clover Showroom starred
Liberace with actress Joan Crawford serving as official
hostess. The effervescent showman was paid $50,000 a week
Liberace was playing at the New Frontier for $750 a week.
The Miami-oriented operators were unaccustomed to gaming
and they ran into trouble. The hotel sustained large losses anc
went bankrupt in July of 1955. Gensbro Hotel Co., the
Riviera's landlord, assumed control and immediately began a
search for new operators.
Gensbro had arranged for Flamingo's Gus Greenbaum, Ben
Goffstein, Harry S. Goldman, Ross Miller, Dave Berman, Jess
Goodman, Charles Harrison, and Frank, Fred and Elias Atol,
to take over. With Greenbaum taking the lead, major
operational changes occurred resulting in financial stability.
In 1959, Riviera was sold to a group headed by Ed Levinson o
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the Fremont Hotel, and Carl Cohen and Jack Entratter of the
Sands Hotel.
In October of 1959, Riviera planned to spend $3.5 million for
remodelling including the addition of 114 deluxe guest rooms
as well as a skyroom on the 10th floor of the hotel, in which
dusk to dawn dancing was be featured.
In 1960, Riviera changed the Clover Room's name to the
Versailles Theatre. The Riviera was financially afloat. Zoppi
credited the highly successful Starlight Theatre for supporting
the resort.
In 1965, Hotel Riviera, Inc., bought out the interest of Gensbro
Co., becoming sole owner of the hotel and its property.
In 1967, the Riviera added a 200-room wing, an elevator
penthouse, a 9,000-square-foot lobby, and 10,000 square feet
of office and meeting space. Dean Martin became a 10%
owner with approximately 8,000 shares, and Dino's Den was
named after him.
Four championship tennis courts were added near the pool in
1972, and they were later to be the site of the Dewar's
Celebrity-Pro Tennis Tournament.
In February or March of 1973, Meshulam Riklis of American
International Travel Services of Boston bought the Riviera for
$56 million. In July of 1973, it was announced that Dean Martii
was released from his contract at Riviera so he could sign a
contract with the MGM Grand.
In 1975, the Riviera added its 17-story Monte Carlo tower at a
cost of $20 million. It consisted of 300 rooms, 60 suites, and
an elaborate penthouse, giving the resort a total of 1 ,000 gues
rooms.
In 1977, the Riviera's San Remo tower added 200 rooms to
the south side of the resort, as well as the elegant Ristorante
Italiano, a 100-seat gourmet Italian restaurant.
In 1984, Riviera filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Arthur Waltzman
was named president in July in an effort to get the Riviera bac
on her feet. Waltzman helped Riviera jump out of Chapter 11
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in 1985.
On June 21 , 1985, the Riviera took at bold step toward
providing a new type of showroom entertainment, unveiling
Splash starring Frank Gorshin. The "aquacade of music and
dance" took place in and around a 20,000-gallon aquarium
while featuring numerous performers and speciality acts.
Later in 1985, the Riviera introduced Norbert Aleman's "An
Evening at La Cage," in the Mardi Gras Showroom, a Parisian
style revue of female impersonators and cabaret dancers. The
star of the show was a 20 year old Frank Marino.
In 1987, Riviera opened its topless comedy revue Crazy Girls.
In 1988, the Riviera added the 24-story Monaco Tower costinc
$28 million and nearly doubling the resort's size to 2,100
rooms.
In 1990, Riviera expanded its casino to 70,000 square feet for
a total of nearly 125,000 square feet out to the sidewalk,
making it one of the largest casinos in the world offering reel
slots and video games, table games, poker, keno, bingo, and
complete race and sports book.
On May 10, 1997, Riviera revealed the largest lifecast bronze
statue in the world of Crazy Girls, created by Michael Conine,
to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the show.
In 1999 Riviera showcased her skyboxes. The boxes are 12
rooms which sit above the Royale Pavilion. These boxes are
available for special concerts, including Super Bowl, and
various other convention bookings. The boxes come with a
private bartender, servers, and network feeds on two
televisions. Ranging from 600 square feet to 1 ,024 square
feet, skyboxes can be combined to accommodate larger
gatherings. These Skyboxes have been rented for seminars,
sales meeting and birthday parties.
On February 2, 2000, Splash unveiled its new show replacing
the water tank with The World's Record holders of "Bela
Tabak's Riders of the Thunderdome" (often referred to as the
globe of death) along with a variety of amazing acts including
ice skaters.
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Riviera -Las Vegas Strip Page 4 of 4
Presently, the Riviera features Splash, An Evening At La
Cage, and Crazy Girls, along with comedy shows. Continously
showcased are Tribute to Elvis starring Jim LeBoeuf , and Lon
Bronson and his All Star Band.
More detailed information can be found at http://www.lvstriphistory.com/
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