Contents of the historic Riviera to be offered in a liquidation sale
This is your chance. If you want to own a piece of Vegas history, get over to the Riviera on Thursday, May 14 at 9 a.m. That’s when you – and everyone else in the general public and hospitality industry – will be able to pick at the historic hotel’s bones.
A liquidation sale conducted by NCL starts on May 14 and will run weekdays from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and weekends (Saturday and Sunday) from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. until everything is gone. A $10 admission fee will be charged on the first four days of the sale.
The Riviera opened in 1955. The 23-story hotel was the first high-rise resort on the Las Vegas Strip. It closed on May 4 after celebrating 60 years in business. The Riviera was sold to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority early this year for $182.5 million. Following the purchase of the hotel, the LVCVA has decided to liquidate its contents. The Riviera will be demolished in order to make room for a major expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center dubbed the Las Vegas Global Business District that will include more exhibition space and a transportation hub.
So what exactly can you buy? Well, if you really liked your last stay at the Riviera, you can get items from the hotel’s 2,075 rooms and suites – everything from pillowtop beds, nightstands, desks and coffee tables to mirrors, lamps and the artwork off the walls. Then you can recreate a Vegas resort feeling in your own bedroom.
Guys who have man caves will be eager to purchase craps, roulette and blackjack tables – especially because the Riviera’s logo is on the felt layout. However, none of the casino chips will be for sale. Some of the chairs and other items from the hotel’s sports book are available and will make cool additions to your home theaters for big game viewing.
What’s the weirdest item you can get your hands on? Well, we’d have to say that owning one of the red velvet ropes would be unusual and fun to pull out for parties. There’s also a lot of commercial kitchen equipment – things like giant mixers, deli meat slicers, tray racks, food prep coolers, fryers and more – up for grabs. Those items are perfect if you’ve got a small restaurant or are feeding a family of 25.
Unfortunately, popular things like logo dishware, glassware, pens and matchbooks aren’t being offered.
Here are a few tips to remember: If the Riviera’s liquidation sale is anything like the Sahara’s was, you’ll want to get there as early as possible and expect long lines during opening weekend.
Everything is being sold on a first come, first served basis, and all purchases must be made in person. If you should procure large items you can’t carry out immediately (like that giant mixer), you’ll only be given 24 hours to make arrangements to remove them.
Although the price lists aren’t available in advance of the liquidation sale, you can view photographs of the items at NCL’s website. Payment can only be made by cash or using Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards.