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The Riviera - Vegas casino featured in DAF closes after 60 years in business

JBFan626JBFan626
in News Posts: 1,497
One more pillar of classic Vegas has fallen: the Riviera located on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip closed last week after 60 years in business. The building will be demolished to make way for convention center space on the Strip.

The Riviera is notable for being featured in Diamonds are Forever, where Sean Connery's Bond makes his all-white suit entrance to the casino and is introduced to Plenty O'Toole at the craps table.

The Riv has been featured in countless films such as Ocean's 11 (1960), Casino (1995), and Austin Powers International Man of Mystery (1997). It was also home to the Rat Pack in the 1950's and 60's, featuring dinner performances by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra - Sinatra even had his own suite in the hotel.

Sad to see such an iconic part of Vegas' history go.

1969_exterior_of_the_riviera_courtesy_las_vegas_news_bureau_WEB.jpg

8newsnow.com/story/28947266/las-vegas-prepares-to-say-goodbye-to-the-riviera

Comments

  • delfloriadelfloria
    Posts: 1,859
    Wow. I'll never forget being there on the day that was filmed and getting to be in that scene. Sad to see it go.
  • JBFan626JBFan626
    edited May 2015 Posts: 1,497
    @delfloria - Nice! Were you an extra during the Bond/Plenty scene and are you visible in any of the shots?
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    It is a shame when these sorts of real life movie sets are taken down.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2015 Posts: 18,270
    Sad news indeed. I think that the hotel Bond stayed in the novel version of DAF was called The Tiara.
  • delfloriadelfloria
    Posts: 1,859
    Yes, I'm in the shot as Plenty and Bond move away from the table. I was on most the other sets as well.
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    @delfloria You should circle yourself in the shot you're in.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,270
    delfloria wrote: »
    Yes, I'm in the shot as Plenty and Bond move away from the table. I was on most the other sets as well.

    Very interesting @delfloria! Lucky old you! :)
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    Iconic Las Vegas hotel demolished
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37092491
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,270
    MayDayDiVicenzo wrote: »
    Iconic Las Vegas hotel demolished
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37092491

    Sad, the end of an era. :(
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,119
    I have never been to Vegas but it sounds like it changed a lot since DAF. Why did they change it so much?
  • barryt007barryt007
    edited March 2017 Posts: 19,339
    The Flamingo and Circus Circus are both still standing...but for how long,thats the worry.
    Also The Luxor,but that is supposed to be cursed and very haunted.

    This is interesting ,re hauntings at the Riviera :

    The Riviera is one of the oldest casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and it is rumoured to be haunted, especially on its ninth floor. Many mob-related murders took place here in the years long past, and staff members have noticed voices in the stairwells and felt presences of unseen spirits.



    and :

    "I had a couple of very strange experiences while visiting the Riviera during the sale. While walking down the hallway on the 27th floor I felt the presence of someone following me but there was no one there.
    I wanted to enter the Sinatra suite but the doors were locked, so I decided to take a picture. While taking the pic On the LCD I noticed a white orb moving slowly, I looked directly at the door and it was right in front of me moving from the bottom to the top of the door. I snapped the pic and you can see it on the top left. I still don’t know what it was but I watched it until it disappeared."

    204193-1.jpg

    I know the hotel is demolished now,but it doesn't mean the area isn't still haunted....whoooo !!
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited March 2017 Posts: 4,585
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I have never been to Vegas but it sounds like it changed a lot since DAF. Why did they change it so much?

    They needed to. They had become old and stale. But it is mostly Steve Wynn who came in and changed Vegas. First, he refurbished the Golden Nugget, which helped make downtown "hip" again. (BTW: two DAF hotels are still there: Golden Nugget and Fremont, both of which are seen in the car chase.)

    Wynn then built The Mirage. That started it. The Mirage was unlike anything seen in Vegas at that time (ca. 1990). Afterward, newer, hipper hotel/casinos started populating the south end of the strip: New York New York, Luxor, Treasure island...and then came Bellagio, Paris, and The Venetian. With those hotels going up, the old mainstays, such as The Sands, The Dunes, the Stardust, and the Riviera didn't stand a chance.

    Also, this little bit of trivia: there are two man-made landmarks that astronauts can see from space. The first is the Great Wall. The other? The beam of light shooting up from the top of the Luxor.
  • barryt007barryt007
    edited March 2017 Posts: 19,339
    Interesting information there @TripAces ...so The Sands,The Dunes and the Stardust,have all been demolished ala the Riviera ?

    Which hotel/casino is the one with the cowboy waving his hand ,which is shown in DAF ?
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    The Tropicana is still there and so is the Westgate, although it had a different name back then (Las Vegas Hilton, I think), which was used for the Whyte House. Some of the downtown casinos that they drive by in the car chase are still there, but you can't drive on that part of Fremont St. anymore.

    Yes, Las Vegas is definitely trying to cater to a more wealthy clientele these days, some of the prices on the Strip are outrageous. They are also trying to attract the Asian market. The new Lucky Dragon is a Chinese themed casino and the huge Resorts World that is still under construction is another one.
  • Perilagu_KhanPerilagu_Khan
    Posts: 2,483
    The Las Vegas Hilton, i.e. the Whyte House still exists, does it not?
  • MooseWithFleasMooseWithFleas Philadelphia
    Posts: 3,369
    TripAces wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I have never been to Vegas but it sounds like it changed a lot since DAF. Why did they change it so much?

    They needed to. They had become old and stale. But it is mostly Steve Wynn who came in and changed Vegas. First, he refurbished the Golden Nugget, which helped make downtown "hip" again. (BTW: two DAF hotels are still there: Golden Nugget and Fremont, both of which are seen in the car chase.)

    Wynn then built The Mirage. That started it. The Mirage was unlike anything seen in Vegas at that time (ca. 1990). Afterward, newer, hipper hotel/casinos started populating the south end of the strip: New York New York, Luxor, Treasure island...and then came Bellagio, Paris, and The Venetian. With those hotels going up, the old mainstays, such as The Sands, The Dunes, the Stardust, and the Riviera didn't stand a chance.

    Also, this little bit of trivia: there are two man-made landmarks that astronauts can see from space. The first is the Great Wall. The other? The beam of light shooting up from the top of the Luxor.

    If the transformation of Vegas fascinates you. Go on youtube and search for "Driving down las vegas strip 1988" and you will see how sparse it is compared to today. If you search for 93-96, you will see Mirage, MGM, and a ton of cranes everywhere signaling the start of the mega resort era. Jump to early 2000's and it's unrecognizable. If you watch Con Air or Vegas Vacation, the strip then even looks much less built up.
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Interesting information there @TripAces ...so The Sands,The Dunes and the Stardust,have all been demolished ala the Riviera ?

    Which hotel/casino is the one with the cowboy waving his hand ,which is shown in DAF ?

    That's Vegas Vic and is a part of The Pioneer Club. It was one of the earlier hotel/casinos on Fremont street, but stopped being an active casino in 1995. The sign and building remain, but it's part of "The Fremont Experience' which was opened to make downtown Vegas less seedy and it's now where younger crowds go. The building has a souvenir shop in it now, but I think that's it.
    Perilagu_Khan wrote: »
    The Las Vegas Hilton, i.e. the Whyte House still exists, does it not?

    Yep, It's called the Westgate now. Though in matted background shots, they added a layer to the Whyte House that didn't really exist as part of the building.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    I might have a look at that youtube drive-through later..so the moving cowboy sign still exists ?
    Well at least its still there,even if its not an active casino anymore,so that's something.
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