Darrell and I stopped into the Riviera during the Super Bowl weekend to see Nick and Sonny (Splashbar bartenders).
The Riviera has new owners, and they are putting some money into the old gal.
The food court is full of vendors and running at full speed again (it got awfully quiet and empty in there for awhile).
Yes, it was Super Bowl weekend and the place was busy, but Nick said the hotel bookings are substantially up over last year.
The small theater behind the main bar in the casino reminds me of the old center lounge at the Stardust...they've opened it up and on the weekends there is a GREAT Motown band that plays into the wee hours.
The money's not pouring in (like when the boom was going full blast and owners borrowed money like water and poured it everywhere as fast as possible). But there is several million being used to update and bring the Riviera back into a "better state". Sadly, the Riviera was allowed to slide into decay for years, and it's going to take ALOT of money to bring her back to her original glory and that will take time in this economy.
Sonny and Nick said to say "Hi" to everyone and "when are the chippers coming back?"..yup, they miss us.