Located on the far northern section of the Las Vegas Strip, the Riviera Hotel and Casino is a throwback to a different era.Back in the day, this was the place to be seen in Vegas. It still cuts quite an imposing figure at night time, with its dazzling marquee.
Riviera Hotel photo: Volker Schulz
It’s now a bit north of the main action on the Strip, across from the Stratosphere Tower, but it’s not terribly far from the Encore and the Wynn casinos, though the walk between the properties now passes mostly vacant lots and abandoned construction sites (along with some low end strip malls), so it’s best if you take a bus or drive.
The Riviera has quite a history in Vegas. It was once owned in part by two of the Marx brothers (including Graucho), and even Dean Martin owned a share. When it opened in 1955, it was all the rage, the greatest thing ever to hit the Strip.
Famous movies were shot here, including the original Oceans Eleven, Casino, the original Austin Powers, and, more recently, the Hangover. It’s one of the last remaining of the great old casinos, and a fun place to visit, if only to relive Las Vegas’s incredible history.
Riviera room photo: Michael Gray
The rooms in the hotel are find, if a bit dated. It’s more Vegas has moved on than that “the Riv” has declined. The place has over 2,000 rooms over 23 floors, making it a very large hotel.
It also has a large casino with over 110,000 square feet of gaming space (9,500 square meters), one of teh few big, classic casinos in town. And it has the classic Vegas shows, big, at times garish, and always elaborate and fun. The Riv’s Crazy Girls topless revue is pure Vegas entertainment and at 20 years and counting, the longest running topless revue on the Strip.
The pool is big, surrounded by the clasic Vegas pool chair deck. It’s good for swimming laps when it’s not too crowded. And the dining includes a classic Vegas buffet, Kristofer’s, a surf and turf restaurant, and Kady’s, a coffee shop.
The Riviera Hotel is a place to come to experience a classic Las Vegas casino. It’s an endangered species that will likely die off in the near uture, so it is well worth it to pay the place a visit and relive old-time Vegas, in all it’s over the top glory.
