Posted on 08/16/2016 8:46:26 AM PDT by C19fan
It is the end of an era in Las Vegas as one of the most famed hotels and casinos on the Strip was demolished in the early morning hours of Tuesday. The final tower of the Riviera was reduced to little more than rubble a little over a year after the city's first high-end casino shut its doors in May of last year. Long known as a classic mob joint featured in films such as Oceans 11 and Diamonds are Forever, the Riviera also hosted the residences of famed Vegas performances including Liberace and Dean Martin during its heyday.
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They had less crime then..................
End of an era.
I own the original Oceans Eleven on DVD. The “famous” casinos as they were in that day make Reno of today look palatial. It’s one of the things I enjoy about the movie - just seeing what the facilities were like back then.
It’s amazing how far Vegas has come.
I haven’t been to Vegas for a couple decades, but remember the Riviera!
no way of getting to the bodies in the *ahem* sub-basement now.
“The town will never be the same. After the Tangiers, the big corporations took it all over. Today it looks like Disneyland. And while the kids play cardboard pirates, Mommy and Daddy drop the house payments and Junior’s college money on the poker slots. In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it’s like checkin’ into an airport. And if you order room service, you’re lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it’s all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number. After the Teamsters got knocked out of the box, the corporations tore down practically every one of the old casinos. And where did the money come from to rebuild the pyramids? Junk bonds.”
-Casino
I used to go 15 years ago and that place was a dump then,a place for low rollers that didn’t want to go downtown.
“A lot of holes in the desert, and a lot of problems are buried in those holes. But you gotta do it right. I mean, you gotta have the hole already dug before you show up with a package in the trunk. Otherwise, you’re talking about a half-hour to forty-five minutes worth of digging. And who knows who’s gonna come along in that time? Pretty soon, you gotta dig a few more holes.”
—Joe Pesci as Nicky from “Casino”
Billy Batts gets his revenge....LOL!
someone(AMC ?) ran that movie yesterday followed it up with goodfellas. Cut ‘em both half-to death.
Las Vegas used to be Disneyland for adults. Now it’s like Walmart but without the homey charm.
I love Vegas and I don’t gamble. I just love to walk to all the shows and restaurants in nice warm weather. It’s nice to get out of the NJ in winter
NV locals with knowledge of the gambling industry and its history say that movie is a documentary.
Fremont Street, the main drag of downtown Vegas, is essentially a slum. Unless you’re headed for lunch at American Coney Island, a Detroit-based fast food joint specializing in chile dogs that feature thick-skinned wieners smothered in chile and cheese, I would avoid it.
And to think, AMC, IFC and others USED to be commercial free and uncut! Now they are trash.
AMC = Abysmally Mutilated Cinema
Las Vegas is about a three-and-a-half to four hour drive from my home, and I occasionally go there on business. I like the eateries there, which include Cugino’s Italian delecatessen, owned and run by Sicilians, Tacos el Gordo, a Tijuana-based eatery features real Mexican-style soft tacos, Blueberry Hill, an old-fashioned coffee shop with American food, Rincon Criollo for Cuban cuisine, and the Stake Out, a neighborhood restaurant famous for its cheese steaks.
The TV show Vegas starring Dennis Quaid is a neat look at early Vegas. It was set on the old strip. Most characters are fictional, but the buildings, decor and costumes are reasonable.
Just spent a little less than a week at the Tropicana.
Went by the Riviera, they had it stripped pretty good.
My wife said “I bet they are going to bring that down.” I agreed.
Didn’t expect it this soon. Thought it would happen next month. They move pretty fast.
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