{"id":15544,"date":"2015-02-18T10:01:29","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T18:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=15544"},"modified":"2015-02-18T14:13:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T22:13:08","slug":"why-the-riviera-deal-stinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/why-the-riviera-deal-stinks\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Riviera deal stinks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Occasional<\/em> S&G contributor Jeff in OKC<\/strong> shares some blunt sentiment about this week’s biggest story: the planned sale and demolition<\/a> of the Riviera<\/strong>, the most venerable casino on the Las Vegas Strip<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n

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\"Riviera\"<\/a>I’m 56. A\u00a0100% pure\u00a0Baby Boomer, born in 1958. A couple of images from my childhood came to mind when I began to read the rumors about the sale of the Riviera.\u00a0 When we were in grade school, teacher would check out a projector, and we would watch 16mm wildlife and scientific documentaries on that “projector\/screen in the same cart thingie.”<\/p>\n

One was about the Labrea Tar Pits<\/strong>, which, best I can remember, are in the Los Angeles<\/strong> area. Seems that in Prehistoric Times\u00a0it used to be an area that had these pools of tar, and a giant, elephant-type beast called a woolly mammoth would walk into them and get trapped like they were walking into quicksand. I think they had excavated some bones and had a display set up out there. For some reason, I most vividly remember some charcoal sketches of the mammoth sinking into the tar, with its mouth open in a panicked roar, head pointing to the heavens.
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Another was about the\u00a0“Survival of the Fittest” in Africa<\/strong>. It showed lions and other wild animals in their natural habitat. The lions would kill and eat smaller and lower animals. King of the beasts, and all that. One thing that stuck out was how old and sick lions would be away from the pride and packs of\u00a0Laughing Hyenas would sneak up and attack them. Running up and biting them in one area, then running just\u00a0out of reach while another would sneak up and bite them in another area, until eventually they would weaken the lion enough that it could no longer fight them off. Then the feast was on, as the Laughing Hyenas would rip the lion apart and feast on it’s carcass. Laughing, like hyenas do, I’m sure. Hyenas gotta eat too, you know. Eco system; Survival of the Fittest, and all that. You know?<\/p>\n

I’m sure the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority<\/strong>\u00a0is going to make a\u00a0Grand Pronouncement about how Big their new Mega Pimp 2000 project is going to be. How it is gonna create 6,000 jobs. How it’s gonna\u00a0cost $2.5 gajillion dollars. How it’s gonna bring 50-75 new conventions a year to Las Vegas<\/strong>. How they\u00a0had to\u00a0reject 10 conventions last year, and if they had the new Mega Pimp 2000 facility in place they coulda broke the 41 million visitor mark last year and 45 is just around the corner! They will have the Clark County<\/strong> Commissioners, and other elected officials on stage with them, all smiling and waving. Then they will mention how sad it is to have to tear down the Riviera,\u00a0but it had to be done. Progress, and all that. Don’t you know?<\/p>\n

But, here’s the thing: They killed the Riviera. Slowly. They’ve been plotting for years to do this. Maybe not at first. At least, not directly. But, the County Commission<\/strong> has\u00a0voted, time and \"Stardust\"<\/a>again, year after year, to allow neighboring properties to be razed and new projects to be planned. Almost without fail, every one of the proposed projects never got finished or opened<\/span>! The Riviera\u00a0got isolated from the pride. Old and out by itself.\u00a0Along with the leading businessmen in\u00a0the state, the Commission decided it was a good idea to level Wet ‘n\u00a0Wild<\/strong> water park, El Rancho<\/strong> (among other names) casino, Westward Ho<\/strong>, Stardust<\/strong>,\u00a0La Concha<\/strong> hotel, El Morocco<\/strong>, Debbie Reynolds<\/strong>\/Greek Isles<\/strong>\/Clarion<\/strong>, and the New Frontier<\/strong>. Maybe more. And not\u00a0one business opened on those sites! NOT ONE<\/span>! That is\u00a0how you wind up with an isolated casino that will probably be described as “no longer viable in today’s competitive casino\u00a0business climate.” Get the old lion isolated, let it get hungry and weak,\u00a0then attack from eight directions. It doesn’t stand\u00a0a chance.<\/p>\n

Here’s the part that’s even worse; We’re Paying To Kill The Riviera<\/strong>.
\nYou and me. The Mega Pimp 2000 project is being paid for with taxes levied in the resort \"Luckys<\/a>corridor. Make the visitors pay to build a bigger convention center, then we can charge them higher room rates and higher booth rates for our improved convention space. This is being done by libertarian Nevadans. The\u00a0no-tax Westerners. The people who moved to Nevada<\/strong> from “Back East” because they like the low taxes and nice weather. The people who are filling up the Sun<\/em> and Review-Journal<\/em>\u00a0comments threads about “Not one penny of public money should go toward the soccer stadium!” These same people think it’s just fine to tax the hell out of visitors, buy and close private businesses, and build more semi-government facilities.<\/p>\n

Another Heartbreak: Good, And-Well Intentioned People Are A Part Of This<\/strong>.Barry Sternlicht<\/strong> of Starwood Capital<\/strong> has owned both Caesars World<\/strong> and the Desert Inn<\/strong> at different times in the 1990s.\u00a0He\u00a0became known for selling both properties just before the boom, and hoped that buying the Riviera would be a good purchase and could be turned around. Diana Bennett<\/strong> of Paragon Gaming<\/strong> is the daughter of Circus Circus<\/strong> (and later Sahara<\/strong>) legendary operator Bill Bennett<\/strong>, and certainly hoped that running the Riviera would be a chance for her to show her abilities on the Strip in her own right. Derek Stevens<\/strong> (and brother Greg<\/strong>) has held a minority stake since around 2000, has\u00a0to have had zero desire to\u00a0realize no financial gain from his 20% or so, after 15 years.<\/p>\n

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Has The LVCA Gotten Too Big For Their Britches?<\/strong>
\nThe LVCVA doesn’t really\u00a0need<\/span>\u00a0all of the Riviera — they\u00a0want<\/span>\u00a0it. They could find a way to leave the Strip-front casino floor with a\u00a0small hotel above it. Probably a money-loser, but is would \"riviera-pic2\"<\/a>preserve an icon of the Las Vegas Strip. They could buy the La Concha and El Morocco property immediately to the South and use that Strip frontage. But they don’t want to. I wonder if they have a secret (or not-so-secret)\u00a0resentment of the casino part of Las Vegas? They might be proud of having torn down the Landmark<\/strong>, and could have a plan to put the Riviera logo on the wall of their main offices, as well\u00a0(kinda like big game heads). Do they forget it’s named Sin City? They appear to be dying to have a presence on Las Vegas Boulevard. But, only if they can tear down a “Danny Ocean’s Five” casino? The only one of the five still left with any part of the movie filmed in it? Why do they NEED to do this?<\/p>\n