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The Riviera (colloquially, "the Riv") is a closed hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada, which operated from April 1955 to May 2015. It is owned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which plans to demolish it to make way for convention and meeting facilities. The hotel had over 2,100 rooms, less than half of which are located in a 23-story tower. The casino had of gaming space. ==History== The casino was first proposed by Detroit mobster William Bischoff as the Casa Blanca, and received a gaming license in 1952. Bischoff later withdrew from the project, which was taken over by Miami businessman Samuel Cohen. By March 1955, Cohen, identified as a member of Miami's S & G gambling syndicate, was no longer part of the investment group, though rumors persisted that he secretly maintained an involvement. Harpo Marx and Gummo Marx held minority interests at the opening.〔 The Riviera opened on April 20, 1955 as the first high-rise and the ninth resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The Riviera is one of the oldest and most famous casino resorts in Las Vegas. The Riviera also broke new ground in its design: previously, Strip resorts resembled roadside motor courts. The opening of the Riviera, along with The Dunes and the Royal Nevada casino resorts within a month were the subject of a famous issue of ''Life Magazine'', on June 20, 1955 with a Moulin Rouge showgirl on its cover. The headline was "Las Vegas—Is Boom Overextended?" and a story about how Las Vegas had built too many hotel rooms to be profitable. The Riviera casino went bankrupt just three months after opening. A group of former Flamingo Hotel managers led by Gus Greenbaum took over operation of the property, leasing it from the ownership group.〔 〕〔 〕 Greenbaum had recently retired, and it was widely suspected that he was coerced to return to work by threats from Chicago mob boss Tony Accardo. Among Greenbaum's staff was entertainment director William Nelson, who was soon discovered to be mob informer Willie Bioff, leading to his murder in November 1955. Greenbaum's drug and gambling addictions led to his embezzling from the casino. In December 1958, Greenbaum and his wife were murdered in their Phoenix, Arizona home, reportedly on the orders of either Meyer Lansky or Tony Accardo.〔''The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes'' by Michael Newton, Checkmark Books (August 2004) ISBN 0-8160-4981-5〕 Mob fixer Sidney Korshak played a major role in the property's management. Law enforcement agencies suspected that he represented the Chicago Outfit's interest in the Riviera, and was responsible for skimming the casino's revenue and delivering the proceeds to Chicago. The Riviera was purchased in June 1968 by a group including bankers E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack, and investors tied to the Parvin-Dohrmann Corp., owner of the Aladdin, Stardust, and Fremont casinos.〔 〕 In 1969, a deal was made to sell the Riviera to the Parvin-Dohrmann Corp.,〔 〕 but the sale was blocked by the Nevada Gaming Control Board due to the company's previous failure to report a change of ownership.〔 Dean Martin was hired in 1969 to perform in the casino's showroom, and was given a 10 percent interest in the Riviera. Martin left in 1972, after management refused his request to cut his performance schedule from two nightly shows to one; the Riviera bought back his shares.〔 In 1973, the Riviera was purchased for $60 million by AITS Inc., a Boston-based travel company controlled by Meshulam Riklis and Isidore Becker.〔 〕〔 〕 The Riviera is the setting for the movie ''Fake-Out'' (aka. ''Nevada Heat'', 1982), which was financed by Riklis and starring his wife, Pia Zadora. The Riviera filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1983.〔 〕 Riklis pledged money to keep the business in operation,〔 and appointed Jeffrey Silver as CEO to turn the Riviera around. Silver begin shifting the Riviera's marketing focus away from high rollers, and towards middle- and working-class gamblers. He opened a Burger King franchise in the building, the first fast food chain outlet in a casino; this move inspired the phrase "Burger King Revolution" to refer to the broader trend of Las Vegas casinos catering to middle-class customers.〔 The Riviera underwent an expansion from 1988 to 1990. The project went significantly over budget, leading the parent company to file again for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991.〔 The business emerged from bankruptcy in 1993 as Riviera Holdings Corp., owned by the previous secured creditors.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Riviera (hotel and casino)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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