Get your tickets now! Watch the Riviera implode via helicopter June 14th. All proceeds go to MakeAWish Foundation.
Can't get there June 14th? A second implosion will occur sometime in August.
Read the story HERE, and find out how you can get your birds-eye seat. Yesterday bid was at $500 (starting bid), as I write this the bid is up to $858.
So many memories at the Riv for us pool players. But, we all know it started going downhill and this is the normal steps for old-time-era casinos still left on The Vegas Strip.
I'm sure you've heard by now that the BCAPL will be moving their famous 8Ball Nationals tournament from the Riviera Casino to The Rio Casino in 2013.
While many people applaud this, I am one of the few who love The Riv, so I was actually a little disappointed with the news.
You see, I am a huge creature of habit and so I love all the little things everyone else prolly can't stand about The Riv. I don't mind the rooms at all and plus, I get a good room rates because I have a Player's Card. I also like the food at Kady's (even tho most people don't). And the food court is nice and conveniently located. It's also nice to already know where everything is in the casino, hotel, and convention area. :) Further, I like their table games and the dealers have always been nice and it's cool to see them again every year.
This news especially saddens me because the new owner has made so many awesome changes already, I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in 2012!
And.... most importantly.... I have a lot of casino gambling history with The Riv. I do most of my gambling there so I can get good rates for the room the following year. Staying there ten days, I'm always looking for deals! My Riviera Player's Card (every casino has a frequent player's card program) has earned me free nights and comp meals. So, I'm saddened my casino play at The Riv in 2012 wont help me get good rates at The Rio in 2013. :-(
But then.... I noticed something awesome the other day!
As I was trying to find a good deal at a casino for the Mosconi Cup in Vegas with the two main player programs I have (M Life and Total Rewards)... guess what? YEP - The Rio is under the Total Rewards players program!
I am so excited now!
That means I already have a a player history and that also means when I go to the associated casinos of the Total Rewards program, I will be able to use that play toward a cheaper room rate at The Rio! Woo-Woo!
BTW, in case you are interested, all these casinos below all have the same Player's program (Total Rewards) and what you earn can be used at any of these locations:
Horsehoe Casino
Caesars Palace
Planet Hollywood
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Harrah's Las Vegas
Paris Las Vegas
Flamingo Las Vegas
Bally's Las Vegas
Imperial Palace
Vegas is one of those cool places where one might think, "Hey, I should get a tattoo while I''m in Vegas!" It's the city of adult fun after all, right?!
Well, while I've never personally got tattooed while in Vegas, just this year two of my friends did. And I have proof!
Conveniently, the Riviera Casino, which hosts the BCAPL Tourney, has a tattoo parlor in it! It's literally a few steps from the convention center. It's called the "World Famous 3 Lions Tattoo Studio."
One of my AZB Forum friends got this tattoo the first few days into the singles event (click to enlarge to see the fine details):
His team is from Odessa, Texas and they are called Bad Boys. I love the original design and how it incorporates pool and cards.
Then when the team event started, about 5 days later, my Vegas roommie's friend from Houston, Texas (Juan) decided to get his FIRST tattoo! He inked this awesome Phoenix!
And here he is with his tattoo artist (ain't she a cutey?!).
Juan and I both agreed what was cool about this design is he can add more future tats around it pretty easily because of the shape.
And finally, I took video footage of Juan getting this tattoo (I also took some footage of the pool area before heading into the tattoo parlor). Enjoy!
The Riviera Casino has been the home to the BCAPL Championships for many, many years. I love the place - I'm a huge fan of familiarity! Many people complain about the Riviera because it's old, but I like it because I am a creature of habit.
Much to my surprise, the Riviera has changed a little! The Riv has a new owner who is putting in $120 million into the casino/hotel. The better news is, this isn't his first rodeo, so he knows what he is doing.
The one shock I ran across was the sports book was shut down the day before the pool players showed up. Miscalculation! Does the new guy not know pool players are gamblers? lol. I'm crossing my fingers it's only for renovations, and not shut down forever.
He also moved the poker room (I assume for renovations) to near the food court, and they have a deal now that if you stay for an hour, you get a ticket. If they call your name, you get to spin a wheel and win from $25 to $200. Well, the third time I sat down to play poker during my trip, they not only pulled my ticket, I landed on the only $200 spot on the wheel! WOO-HOO!
$200 Winner!
The other thing the new owner did was to create a kinda Crazy Girls section and added it to the middle of the casino! So, there are two dancers on pink poles dancing to great music, and the new pink table games have young, hip, dressed-hot dealers. They still have other previous table games, with the previous dealers, but the new section does create a crowd! (I snuck a quick video. Shh - don't tell the Riv!)
Crazy Girls Stage in the Middle of the Riv and New Dealers
Crazy Girls Stage in the Middle of the Riv and New Dealers
They have also added more tables games (like black jack and 3card poker) toward the circle bar and the cashiers cage - so there are many more tables games to choose from than just the original set of tables.
I talked to one of the new pit bosses and he said he was hired just to run the new high-limit baccarat section to the casino that will be added soon. Pretty smart new owner, huh?
And I was further impressed because one of the dancers was crowned the Best Pole Dancer in Vegas in a contest last year and she is working at the Riv of all places. The owner was smart to invest in her because she was def the crowd favorite!
Best Pole Dancer in Vegas!
Flava Flav is going to put one of his new chicken restaurants in the Riv, but not sure that is the new owner's doing or not. And I sadly share that Kristopher's new owner has changed the menu and the food was not as good this year as last. :(
There is also a new Pub, kinda where the old Italian restaurant was. It's a copy of a real Pub from England, so I didn't understand most of what was on the food menu, lol. Here is a video tour of it:
Other than Kristopher's and the now-non-existent sports book, I liked the changes he has already made and the changes being proposed.
Next year will be interesting when half the pool world population shows up to the Riv! Can't wait!
