I was reading today that the final towers of the Riviera Las Vegas Hotel and Casino were imploded today, some months after the old hotel towers were imploded. This event now completes the implosion of the Riviera Hotel and Casino property, leaving the land vacant and ready for the Las Vegas Convention Centre expansion to begin. I have mixed feelings, having only been in Las Vegas 6 months ago, and having previously stayed for a week at the Riviera just the year before.

I was reading today that the final towers of the Riviera Las Vegas Hotel and Casino were imploded today, some months after the old hotel towers were imploded. This event now completes the implosion of the Riviera Hotel and Casino property, leaving the land vacant and ready for the Las Vegas Convention Centre expansion to begin. I have mixed feelings, having only been in Las Vegas 6 months ago, and having previously stayed for a week at the Riviera just the year before.

The Riviera casino had its own kind of kitsch, but it was also a friendly place to stay and place, with great staff and good slot machine selections. Sometimes I won when there, sometimes I lost, but the Riviera Players Club gave me cashback for play either way, and food and drinks inside the casino complex were cheap. The Riviera hotel casino also used to have its own mini pinball hall-of-fame, where you could view and play old pinballs for a quarter. They were a LOT of fun.

Nothing is more certain than change in Las Vegas, and this implosion represents change. It also represents a changing of the guard, a changing from the old days of classic Las Vegas, to the current and new days of corporations and exhibitions. Viva Las Vegas. Goodbye Riviera casino, my old friend. RIP.