{"id":258610,"date":"2024-09-06T00:46:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T00:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/06\/project-approved-for-former-riviera-site-and-its-weird\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:11:31","slug":"project-approved-for-former-riviera-site-and-its-weird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/06\/project-approved-for-former-riviera-site-and-its-weird\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Approved for Former Riviera Site and It’s Weird"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n By Scott Roeben<\/a>, on September 05 2024 <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

A proposed development project set for a portion of the former Riviera casino site has been approved by the Clark County Zoning Commission. And it\u2019s weird. Which is ground we covered in our headline. Please pay attention.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmixed-use\u201d project covers 10 acres (please remember that fun fact for later) and will presumably have a 750-room hotel tower, a condominium building with 425 units, a domed entertainment venue and an amusement ride where people dangle 439 feet in the air.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not even the weird part.<\/p>\n

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A Las Vegas development project without gambling is like a colorless butterfly. So, a moth. Sorry, moths, but if Vegas is a butterfly, you\u2019re Laughlin. There, we said it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s what nobody is talking about: Back in June 2024, it was reported Fontainebleau was set to buy half of this very same 10-acre site from developers Brett Torino and Paul Kanavos, the folks behind Harmon Corner and 63 at The Shops at Crystals.<\/p>\n

As we were the first to share, sources said Fontainebleau would use the five acres for high roller accommodations (presumably feeling its suites weren\u2019t drawing foreign whales as hoped). At the time of the announcement, we doubled over in pain, stating publicly<\/a> we thought the move was batshit crazy and throwing good money after bad given the dire financial situation at Fontainebleau.<\/p>\n

Glossed over by our top-notch local media<\/a> (\u201cFontainebleau is considering buying\u201d), it appears the Fontainebleau deal isn\u2019t happening. Which is not particularly surprising if you know anything about how bad things are at Fontainebleau. To put it diplomatically, Fontainebleau buying five acres for $112.5 million when it\u2019s losing tens of millions every month would be akin to trying to put out a dumpster fire with buckets of bacon grease.<\/p>\n

So, the Torino and Kanavos project (it doesn\u2019t have a name, per se, but the entity involved is \u201c65SLVB\u201d) approved by the Clark County Zoning Commission covers the full 10 acres.<\/p>\n

Even without the Fontainebleau boondoggle element, it\u2019s still fairly weird.<\/p>\n

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Are the approved plans just in case the Fontainebleau deal doesn\u2019t happen? If so, why are we even talking about them?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Primarily, there\u2019s no casino. Any project without a casino is dead to us.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, who the hell builds condominiums on The Strip? It\u2019s not 2005. Yes, condo prices recently hit an all-time high<\/a> in Las Vegas, but this doesn\u2019t really fit our narrative, so moving on.<\/p>\n

One of the more distinctive elements of the approved 65SLVB project is a thrill ride.<\/p>\n

You laugh, but Stratosphere probably makes more from its amusement rides than its casino.<\/p>\n

The crack reporters at the Las Vegas Review-Journal write, \u201cDevelopers did not describe the amusement ride or whether it would be a thrill ride or an observation tower.\u201d Oy. Did they take two seconds to look at the plans? It\u2019s a thrill ride.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHalf-baked\u201d springs to mind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you zoom in on the plans, riders will sit in \u201ccoconut shell themed swings.\u201d Told you it\u2019s weird, you don\u2019t listen.<\/p>\n

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If you think we aren\u2019t going to milk this coconut theme, you\u2019re nuts. Please don\u2019t bother correcting us, we know the fruit of the coconut palm is botanically a \u201cdrupe\u201d and not a nut. Who made you like this?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These flying swing rides (also known as swing carousels or swingers) are popular at amusement parks and county fairs, but they tend to be 20-30 feet up, not more than 400 feet.<\/p>\n

We had to let A.I. take a stab at it.<\/p>\n

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Coconut swings are common accoutrements in Las Vegas strip clubs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next up, the 65SLVB project will have a domed performance venue that will have 3,310 seats. In the plans, it\u2019s described as a \u201c3D Ortho Theater.\u201d The theater sits on the eastern part of the site, the part Fontainebleau was reportedly buying.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrtho,\u201d of course, comes from the Greek meaning \u201cerect.\u201d So, we\u2019re thinking that should\u2019ve been the name of the thrill ride tower.<\/p>\n

No, you grow up.<\/p>\n

The structure looks like a slightly deflated mini-Sphere.<\/p>\n

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It would be terrible if this venue doesn\u2019t happen because then we would be forced to call it \u201cBlunderdome.\u201d Somebody has to do it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The plans show two proposed pedestrian bridges across Elvis Presley Blvd. (the road that runs between Fontainebleau and the project site), which would make the site more accessible to the \u201ctheater\u201d and \u201cthrill ride\u201d and \u201ccondominiums.\u201d Yes, we\u2019re putting everything in quotation marks. Fontainebleau guests would also have an \u201ceasier time\u201d getting to the \u201cLas Vegas Convention Center.\u201d If you don\u2019t like how we use quotation marks, gets your own blog. \u201cSeriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which all leads us to the inevitable question: Is any of this actually happening?<\/p>\n

Our default state tends to be one of skepticism, given how many Las Vegas projects are announced but never actually happen. While this project has whimsical elements, it\u2019s basically retail and rooms. The parties involved have a track record with retail, so the only real obstacle is financing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torino and Kanavos paid $125 million for the 10 acre site, so they have some resources. Nobody\u2019s mentioned how much this project will ultimately cost, or where the money\u2019s coming from, but that\u2019s never stopped people from announcing things or submitting renderings or getting things approved by county commissioners. (See also the Sacramento A\u2019s<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

County Commissioner Tick Segerblom is very excited for the project to proceed. Oh, right, he\u2019s the one who was very excited for All Net Resort & Arena to be completed. For a decade. Before the project finally died<\/a> for having zero financing. Just saying.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know enough about Brett Torino and Paul Kanavos to assess the likelihood of this project being completed. We rarely regret saying \u201cnot happening,\u201d but we\u2019re always ready for a surprise.<\/p>\n

If the cheerleaders think this project is indicative of some sort of \u201cnorth Strip renaissance,\u201d though, they\u2019re drupes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019ll teach you to skim our stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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