Riviera Holdings Corporation is a defunct

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

operator that was based in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. It owned two casinos: the

Riviera () is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English. Riviera may a ...

on the

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, closed in 2015; and the Riviera Black Hawk in

Black Hawk, Colorado Black Hawk is a home rule city located in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 127 at the 2020 United States census, making it the least populous city (but not town) in Colorado. It was a mining settlement founded in 18 ...

, sold in 2011.

History

Riviera Holdings Corporation was formed in 1993, after the

resort on the

emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Riviera opened its second casino, in Black Hawk, Colorado, in February 2000. In June 2002, Riviera Holdings was chosen by officials in

Jefferson County, Missouri Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739, making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its ...

, who wanted the company to construct and operate a casino approximately 60 miles south of St. Louis. In July 2002,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

purchased a 9.8-percent stake in Riviera Holdings for $2.2 million. Trump made the purchase for "investment purposes," and said that he had no plans to purchase or to operate the company's Riviera casino in Las Vegas. By that point, U.S. Trust Company of California had also purchased a 9.4-percent stake in the company. By January 2003, Trump had purchased additional shares in the company, putting his ownership above 10 percent, which required him to apply for a Nevada gaming license. In March 2003, investor Fabrizio Boccardi had offered to purchase the company for $30 million, but was rejected. His purchase would have included the assumption of $216 million in debt. In July 2003, shareholders voted to end the company's "poison pill", to attract potential partners. At that time, the company had plans for a casino in New Mexico. After Trump gained a Nevada gaming license in February 2004, he subsequently sold his shares of the company on April 5, 2004. Company chairman Bill Westerman said that Trump purchased the shares solely to obtain a Nevada gaming license. As of October, 2005 the company had $200 million in annual revenues and 1,600 employees. On April 6, 2006 Riviera Acquisition Holdings announced a $427 million buy out offer that has been accepted. The offer included cash and assumption of existing debt. But on August 29, shareholders rejected the offer, after an acquisition company affiliated with BT Holdings LLC of

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

made an offer of $20 a share

Facing losses from the recession, Riviera began defaulting on its debt in February 2009. In July 2010, Riviera filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing $275 million in debt. A reorganization plan led by

Starwood Capital Group Starwood Capital Group is an investment firm headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida. It is managed by Barry Sternlicht. It was co-founded by Sternlicht and Robert Faith in 1991. In 1993, Faith left Starwood to found Greystar Real Estate Partn ...

enabled the Riviera properties to remain open for business. Starwood emerged with a 75% stake in Riviera, with another 21% held by Derek Stevens, owner of the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...

casino. In September 2011, Riviera agreed to sell its Black Hawk casino for $76 million to Monarch Casino & Resort, owner of the Atlantis Casino Resort in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

References

{{reflist Companies based in Winchester, Nevada Gambling companies of the United States Hospitality companies of the United States