Will the Rio Be Torn Down? | Las Vegas Advisor

I had a reservation at the Rio in October that I made in August. They were supposed to reopen in September, but kept pushing the opening date back, until they finally canceled my reservation—and they still have not reopened. I heard from various workers in Vegas who seemed to know that the Rio has been sold and will not reopen, but will instead be torn down.

That teardown rumor has been going around for some time. The most specific conjecture was that razing the Rio would make room for a major-league baseball stadium.

It's true that Caesars Entertainment sold the Rio. That happened in September 2019. It was purchased by New York-based Dreamscapes Companies for $516 million (Caesars bought it for $880 million in 1998). At the time, Dreamscapes, which "acquires, repositions, and/or develops hospitality, residential, retail, gaming and entertainment assets," said that the future of the Rio will not include tearing it down and building a baseball stadium.

Meanwhile, as part of the purchase deal, Caesars leased the Rio for $45 million per year for two years, during which it would manage the property; Dreamscapes had an option for a third year under the same terms.

Cue the novel coronavirus, which shut down the Rio in mid-March. Caesars appears in no hurry to reopen the off-Strip property — hence your reservation nightmare.

“With the loss of Caesars Rewards and the World Series of Poker, we would expect Rio’s new owner to develop a new concept to help drive visitation,” said gaming analyst Barry Jonas to reporter Richard Velotta. “This could be a number of things, but we would expect a focus on non-gaming amenities, a potential residential component, and perhaps partnerships with hotel and hospitality brands.”

But if you still want to stay at the Rio, you can, starting December 22 when it reopens. But if you'll be here Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights, you'll have to book a room somewhere else. The Rio will accommodate guests, at least to start, from Thursday to Sunday only.

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Dan McGlasson Nov-17-2020

Still like the Rio!

Yep, the Rio is getting a bit long in the tooth just like I am, but I have always considered it my favorite place to stay in LV.  Walking distance to the strip but with much less traffic.  Great views from the very large rooms in all directions.  I especially liked the friendliness of the people there.  I stayed and played there despite the less than stellar VP pay tables.  Hope it opens soon!

Jeffrey Small Nov-17-2020

Rio over the years

When I first stayed at the Rio it was an upscale hotel.  Advertised that it was "all suites".  When I booked a "suite" for a meeting I received a large square room, so the meeting was actually in my bedroom.  When I argued with management over the definition of a "suite" (a group of connected things according to the dictionary) they told me that the AAA had told them a "suite" is based on square footage, so the rooms were "suites"; if I wanted an extra room I needed to have booked an "executive suite".  Over the years I have stayed there a number of times and watched the hotel go downhill.  Poor maintenance of the property.  The last time I stayed there I asked for a rehabbed room--got a room with curtains coming off the wall, stained carpet, etc...  It is time for a major upgrade or just tear it down and start over!

CLIFFORD Nov-17-2020

Poof to Rio

when they stopped the Parades in the Sky...tear it down

VegasVic Nov-17-2020

Rio

I always liked the Rio.  I stopped staying on the strip years ago and always rent a car.  I could almost always get a spot in the surface lot right by the entrance and if not the ramps are right there (and free).  I love going to the Palms and Gold Coast.

It's certainly fell into disrepair though.  Some money needs to be sunk into it and that's not happening any time soon, if ever. 

I stopped staying there a couple of years ago and moved to The Palms/Palms Place, Green Valley or Red Rock for the most part.

Jon Anderson Nov-17-2020

rio status

went there last summer and played in the WSOP...had a blast...
i stayed at the gold coast and walked over to the rio for the tournament...it seemed cavernous at first but after a bit it was home away from home...enjoyed the whole experience and thought the rio was a bit old-school vegas-wise but that actually is a good thing...there's room in vegas for all types of gambling joints and it seemed like a good fit to the mix...course i'm speaking as a tourist, not an investor or businessman...been going to vegas since the mid 80's and have seen many changes (not all for the good) but feel there's a place for the rio and other joints of its ilk for us low rolling, grind joint types...thx lva and go RAIDERS !!!!

Dave Nov-17-2020

Transfer reservation

I would have expected Caesars to move the reservation to a different Caesars property. They’ve done that with their other properties that didn’t open as scheduled.

Kevin Lewis Nov-17-2020

Worthless

After divining that the gambling there was horrible (typical CET), the only times I ever went there were to play in the WSOP--and the facilities there were of ridiculously poor quality.

Then I decided to visit the Indian restaurant there for dinner. Entree: $37.95. A la carte.

Implode it, as far as I'm concerned.

rokgpsman Nov-17-2020

Poor old Rio

When The Rio first opened in the early 1990's it was such a fun place to visit, with upbeat music, The Parade in the Sky show several times per night and a fairly large resort with lots of shops and other things to explore. The standard rooms were larger than the average Vegas hotel room, although not technically a suite by most people's definition since it didn't have separate sleeping and living room areas. Alas, Harrah's bought it in the late 1990's and that began its downfall. They treated it like a stepchild resort and after a few years the wear and tear due to corporate neglect was looking shameful. Gary Loveman was the jacka$$ at Harrah's that ruined several properties over his 12 year tenure.

hawks242424 Nov-19-2020

Stop listening to VV

Sounds to me like someone needs to stop reading Vital Vegas.  That guy will take any "rumor" and run with it as fact and double down on it when he is wrong.

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