Early Tuesday morning the Las Vegas valley will say goodbye to part of the Riviera Hotel and Casino. The implosion of the Riviera's Monaco Tower will be imploded at 2:30 a.m.
The iconic Las Vegas structure stood on the north end of the Strip for 61 years. The Riveria opened in April 1955.
It was the first high-rise hotel on the Las Vegas Strip but within months, it was drowning financially, so some "wise guys" and a "flamboyant" showman stepped in to help.
"And it was sharp, mob-connected guys who got it back on its feet. It opened with Liberace in the showroom getting $50,000 a week which people thought was just outlandish. Nobody's ever going to be paid that amount of money," said Michael Green, UNLV professor.
The Riviera is a property that played host to entertainers who would become Las Vegas icons and the casino served as a stage for Hollywood movies about Vegas. Classics such as Casino, Ocean's 11, and the Hangover have all featured the famed hotel and casino.
However, on early Tuesday morning, the explosives set to the Riviera's Monaco Tower will turn a piece of that history into dust. The demolition crews say it has plans in place to keep everyone safe.
"There will be a cloud of dust that happens when the building comes down," said Terry Miller, principal, Cordell Corporation. "Then we will go into our typical program of clean up."
The entire time leading up to the implosion, crews worked to gut everything inside of the towers. Since the Riviera was constructed in the 1950's, this had to be done to prevent potentially harmful chemicals from making its way into the air.
Tuesday's implosion is the first of two implosions to tear down the Riviera. The second tower is scheduled to come down in mid-August.
13 июн 2016
