Question of the Day - 26 February 2015

No problem! You know how we love off-the-wall stuff here at QoD HQ. So, here's some random Riv triv for you, in no particular order.

• In answer to your specific question, you are correct and that first fast food joint was a Burger King.

• When the Riviera opened, on April 20, 1955, it was the ninth hotel-casino on the Strip, but it was also the first high-rise property. Prior to the Riv, all the hotels had been of the two-story motel/roadside motor-court style, but the Riviera had a nine-story tower, with 291 rooms, an Olympic-sized pool, and a health club on the penthouse level. Very fancy!

• The new hotel also boasted the largest gaming area in town (these days, it barely scrapes into the Top 20) and the largest showroom.

• The Coffee Shop, later renamed Cafe Noir, was actually split in half, with one side catering to swimmers.

• It's a pretty well-known fact that that opening headliner was Liberace, whose $50,000/week salary blew the contemporary norm right out of the water (prior to his new gig, the pianist had been performing at the Frontier for $750/week, so that was quite a raise young Wladziu bagged for himself). What's less well-publicized is that he didn't appear solo; Liberace was accompanied on stage that night by his elder violinist brother, George. George remained in showbiz for awhile, and appeared in his brother's TV shows. He continued to reside in Las Vegas, where he died in 1983.

• A gazillion famous names have graced the various stages at the property over the past six decades, but two notables actually made their Las Vegas debut at the Riviera, namely Barbra Streisand (who opened for Liberace in 1963) and Engelbert Humperdinck, who made his inaugural Sin City appearance there six year later, in '69.

• Part-owners in the Riviera over the years have included some famous names, among them Harpo and Gummo Marx, and Dean Martin.

• One night, while Elvis was performing at the New Frontier--recently vacated by Liberace--the young heartthrob crossed the street to catch Liberace's show at the Riv. Liberace invited Elvis on stage and the two traded places, with Liberace on guitar and Elvis on grand piano.

• In its history, the Riviera has gone bankrupt on no less than four occasions, the first time being within just four months of opening when the casino was hit with some heavy losses it couldn't handle. That's when the Mob first started to get involved. Since this "unofficial" bankruptcy, there have been three subsequent filings, in 1984, 1991, and finally in 2010.

• The famous mirrored round wall and neon fascia was originally installed, from 1988-'89, as a giant "billboard" for the topless variety show Splash!, which performed from 1985 to 2006 and featured a 20,000 gallon water tank. The signage, since modified to remove reference to the defunct show, was designed by Marge Williams of Federal Sign (and not by Betty Willis, as some official documentation claims. Willis designed the famous "Welcome" sign and downtown's Blue Angel). The architect was Nikita Zukov. Some vintage "Rivera" signage can already be viewed in the Neon Museum's famous "Boneyard"; we hope the rest of it makes it there, too.

• While, in the 2001 remake, the targeted casinos were Bellagio, the Mirage, and MGM Grand, in the original 1960s Ocean's 11, the casinos robbed by Frank "Danny Ocean" Sinatra's team included the Sands, Desert Inn, Sahara, Flamingo, and Riviera.

• Other movies filmed on location at the Riv have included: Casino; Showgirls; Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; Vegas Vacation; Go; 3000 Miles To Graceland; Crazy Girls Undercover; Bonneville; 21; and The Hangover.

• Back in the day, both Frank Sinatra and Telly Savalas ("Kojak") were long-term residents of the Riviera, with their own private suites.

• It was on May 10, 1997, that the Riviera revealed the largest life-cast bronze statue in the world, the notorious "NO IFs, ANDs, OR..." Crazy Girls bas-relief, created by Michael Conine to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the show. At six feet high by 11 feet long, it weighs more than 1,500 pounds and is apparently the property of the show's producer, Norbert Aleman. If Crazy Girls finds a new home, he says the lucky-butt statue will follow it; if not, presumably those "crazy butts" will soon be adorning Norbert's backyard.

• One of the main characters associated with the Riviera is stylist to the stars, Neil Scartozzi, who's been the main man at the Riviera’s Celebrity Club men’s salon, which he owns, since 1975 (and is where QoD's long-time hair-stylist trained!) He looks like a cross between Wayne Newton and Liberace, who was a former client (and "always smelled good," apparently). Other famous coiffures and pates that have come under Scartozzi's expert blades and razors include those of Milton Berle, Telly Savalas, Dean Martin, Red Buttons, John Travolta, Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, George Burns, Bill Cosby, Joe Pesci, Tom Selleck, and MC Hammer. The salon's open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; go get a "classic Vegas" cut while you still can!

• Like many of the old "Mob" joints, the Riviera is said to be haunted. Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures" team once investigated, with guests Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil and poker champion Jamie Gold (huh?!) and apparently succeeded in evoking the spirit of Frank Sinatra in his old penthouse suite, and that of some possible murder victim. Maybe.

We hope this quenched your thirst for random facts about the Riviera. No doubt we'll have additional coverage, including details of the sale of any fixtures and fittings, as the May 4 closing date draws nearer. In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of the awesome suite of deals at the Riv in the 2015 Member Rewards Book while you still can. She's been a good friend to Las Vegas Advisor and our members over the years, and we'll be sorry to see the old dame go, but that's Vegas, baby.

• One thing I learned about the place is it has a pool that was only filled once but leaked so bad they drained it. It's located above the casino and actually be seen on google maps. If you go to the second floor and follow the signs to where you can smoke it will take you out to the pool area where the pool is still there but is fenced off.