It “takes two” at the Rivera. The first tower of the iconic property was imploded in June. Now, the rest will be coming done early Tuesday morning, all to make way for more convention space.
The latest implosion is scheduled for 2:00 a.m. but don’t expect much fanfare this time. There will be no parties, or speeches, just some well-placed dynamite that will bring the 61-year-old building crashing down.
“We're going to have a row of semis out front to protect our building. I guess they're going to make the second tower fall towards the south so a lot of debris, a lot of dust coming our way,” said Nicholas Orth, Peppermills Executive Chef.
The Peppermill Restaurant and Lounge is open 24-hours, but those hours will be temporarily suspended Tuesday morning. The longtime favorite is being forced to close for about one hour as what’s left of the Riviera Hotel comes crashing down.
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Nicholas says the restaurant will be wrapped, the parking lot closed for the implosion. A final send off, for their neighbor to the north.
“Any old properties in Las Vegas, no one is ever happy to see them go. But as far as this side of the Strip goes, it needs a facelift,” said Orth.
And a facelift is something the LVCVA is working on.
“It's a 1.4. a billion-dollar program that we're doing in phases,” said Jeremy Handel, spokesperson for the LVCVA.
Handel says financing for the convention center expansion and renovation is now in the hands of the governor.
If approved, more indoor exhibit space will be put up on the Riviera site. But first, the land becomes a parking lot; ready to welcome the Con-Expo Convention in March, which brings in heavy equipment for display and has historically jammed the parking area at the main convention site.
Handel says, expansion is critical.
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“It's essential to keep the business we have but to possibly attract new business. We've identified up to 70 different conventions we could bring here is we had the extra space,” said Handel.
In June, the Riviera’s Monaco Tower was leveled, now the rest must go.
“It's going to be sad to see it go,’ said one visitor.
John Rosenthal and Eddie Balderas played in pool tournaments there.
“We have a lot of great memories, we play in the APA, were for the APA again we been coming here 20 years and that's where that event was held,” said Balderas.
“Eh, for me it’s a good thing I lost a lot of money in this place you know,” said Rosenthal.
A property now, prepped for implosion. Ready for the next chapter on The Las Vegas Strip.
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