Part of the last of the Rat Pack's Las Vegas stomping grounds bit the dust yesterday -- literally, when the Monaco Tower at the Riviera Hotel & Casino was imploded on the Strip to make way for the Las Vegas Global Business District. The Monte Carlo Tower (not to be confused with the resort casino on the south end of the Strip) is slated for demolition sometime in August.
The Riviera, which opened in 1955, was one of the first ten resorts on the Strip, and the last of the five resorts featured in the original Ocean's Eleven film starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the rest of the Rat Pack. (Sure, The Flamingo is still a presence on the strip, but the original resort was demolished years ago.)
It's a sad but inevitable end for a piece of Las Vegas history. But the Las Vegas Global Business District promises to revitalize the north end of the Strip, adding 500,000 square feet of meeting space to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
To see a video link to the implosion, click here.