After 30 years, Rio in Las Vegas is losing its status and shine

From LVRJ

After 30 years, Rio in Las Vegas is losing its status and shine

From PlayUSA

RIO LAS VEGAS FACES NEW WAVE OF SALE RUMORS — WHAT ABOUT WSOP?

Not sure what the appetite is to buy the RIO but it sure seems like a place with potential.   The rooms are big (if nothing else) with plenty of really big suites.   Thats a  big plus.   Places like the Cromwell suffer from small space which cant really be overcome with a makeover.

Also RIO has the modern glass architecture - so its not just a giant slab of concrete with windows like most of the Caerers resorts on the strip.    No matter what you to do to Bally's / Flamingo / Harrahs on the inside they are still going to look like crap on the outside.     Curb appeal is a real thing.    

Also - I know that Palms,Gold Coast and RIO are all owned by seperate entities but I think it would help them immensely to build pedestrian bridges to connect  all three places.    They could have their own little "strip like" neighborhood over there.   

I stayed at the RIO three times. My first reaction on my first trip was wow this room is really big. I guess that is why they call it a suite. I couldn't quite figure out why the furniture in the room was so dated though. It screamed budget inn, not suite. Over the years they didn't change out the furniture. It got older, more stained and threadbare. As one of those articles said the rooms ended being in the same price range as the Orleans and Palms which was ok, but then the video poker and slots were harratized giving you strip style gambling at a budget off-strip property next to the Orleans and Palms. It never made sense to me. 

Harrah's has been trying to unload it forever. The problem has always been they want a premium price for it. Hopefully, the new owners will realize it is no longer a prime asset in its current condition and liquidate it if they don't want to spend the money to renovate it. It still has the potential to be a great property.  Maybe one of the best in Vegas if someone would invest in it. 

I remember the first time I went there back in the 90's with the whole Show in the Sky thing. It was so wonderful.  I used to make special trips there just to have someone tossing beads at me and all the excitment going on while I gambled.

After the Harrahs purchase.  Everything steadily declined. Food, gambling (VP) rooms etc.

Yep, you stated a fact.  Just look at what happened to the character driven Imperial Palace.  It was like downtown on the strip.  I sure miss the Hawaiian shirts and the change ladies.

I believe I read a summary of money put back into room upkeep at all of the CET properties, and for the last three/four years, Rio's has basically been zero. That means that any buyer is going to have to immediately pump mega-dollars into room renovations property-wide so the rooms are competitive with the properites in the area and also so the rooms aren't considered dives inside an attractive shell.

I stayed in the Rio after their soft opening way back when. Because work was still being done for the actual opening, the rooms were heavily discounted (meaning I could afford them). The rooms were spectacular for the price at that point in time. Later, after the actual opening, they were really out of my normal range. Now, of course, they are back to dirt cheap because they are worn, and the Rio itself has not been kept up.

I thought this would have been posted before.  The RIO was sold for $516.3 million dollars on September 23rd to a real estate holding company out of New York.  Ceasers is leasing back the property and will continue to operate it for the next two years for $45 million in rent. I don't think this is good news for The Rio. It sounds like the cow is going to be milked until it runs dry like the Las Vegas Hilton was.

Link

Agreed. The last few years, looking at the Rio from our room at the Orleans, there have been large sections of facade lighting out. Looks very shabby, indeed.