Some land-based casinos are so embedded in history and culture that to imagine them gone is almost heart breaking. Alas this is the case for the rather recently closed Riviera hotel in Winchester, Nevada. This hotel and casino had been around and heavily involved in the Las Vegas casino scene since as early as 1955, when on April 20^th this establishment first opened its doors.

The hotel was renowned for its trend setting nature on the Strip, it’s well stocked and lower roller casino floor and of course all of its ties to popular culture and entertainment including several movies. Definitely a landmark of the land based casino world this casino could have competed with the best of the online worlds casinos today, what with the layers of history and culture, the atmosphere within the place must have been rather exhilarating.

The Riviera from 1955 to 2015

Opening its doors for the very first time over 60 years ago made this casino one of the very earliest on the Strip, with it being only the ninth resort along the Strip. Although it came with a unique approach toward the general casino appearance and theme, it opened alongside several other resorts in the area and from the get go there were concerns. Firstly the owners and investors were slightly shady, with original idea for the whole project even being put forth by a Detroit mobster. On top of this the situation on the Strip was rather crowded and after just 3 months after opening its doors the Riviera went bankrupt. New management was put in place and the ties and connections to the mob strengthened, with several murders happening from time to time related to both the hotel and the mob.

Over the years the Strip as well as the Riviera itself evolved slowly, with new ownership and management coming in rather regularly to support this large establishment. In 1983 the resort filed for bankruptcy again, however new ownership and a switch of focus from high rollers to lower ones was intended to mix things up for the resort. Alas several more bankruptcies were still to be filed, ownerships changed countless more times and even a few movies to have scenes shot at the Riviera resort. The were ups and downs throughout this resort’s history, which with a land based casino more or less only adds to overall atmosphere and appeal, and even though the resort did close for good in May of 2015, the memory of this place will be preserved, immortalized in movies and players thoughts.

Casino Gaming and Facilities at the Riviera

The overall casino space that the Riviera had by the end of it was rather large, with over 9000 metres squared demarcated for casino gaming. They had over a 1000 slot machines and a fair few table games that included the classics like Blackjack and Craps (Discover more about Craps by choosing to visit this website). At a stage there was a dedicated Poker room and in 2011 the casino brought back its earlier Bingo setup. The hotel itself was also quite sizable, with some 2100 rooms available to the players. Players would have the chance to try betting and enjoy a number of sporting games. Ultimately the place was nice, well stocked with games and history; pretty sure this one will be missed.