Across zee ocean, it seems.  You see, the French have given much to the world:  Baguettes.  Brigitte Bardot.  And, just like roulette, the French have given us blackjack.

Blackjack used to be known as vingt-et-un, which means “21” in French.  About 250 years ago, around the same time that we think Blaise Pascal might have been inventing roulette, some French person was creating vingt-et-un.

The influx of French Canadian fur trappers and other emigrants to America brought vingt-et-un with them to this side of the pond; over the ensuing centuries, the game became more and more popular.

But the thing that made vingt-et-un really skyrocket in popularity in the States was the same thing that turned it from vingt-et-un to Blackjack: casinos changed the rules here to make the odds just a bit more favorable to the player, one of those rules being a ten-to-one bonus payout if the player drew…wait for it…the jack of spades with the ace of spades.

That, plus the legalization of gambling here in the great state of Nevada back in the 1930s, made blackjack a favorite among game players.

If you like to play blackjack, then you’ve certainly come to the right place!  Not only do our guests enjoy the best table game odds on the Strip, the Riviera offers the most liberal Blackjack rules of play in Nevada. We also feature single-deck, double-deck and multi-deck games.

In fact, we’re one of only two casinos in town that offers incredible 3:2 payouts on single deck blackjack!  This is pretty major, and it’s just one of the reasons why your odds at the Riviera’s table games will be the best on the entire Strip.  We were, for example, the first to offer 1,000x odds on pass line bets for craps.

(And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: The Riviera is proud to offer a full spread of dynamite games in our vast casino, including single “0” roulette. For the best, most enhanced gaming experience, make sure to check out Riviera Rewards: find out more details on our most exciting gaming program here.)

Prepare to Behold the Awesome: The world’s top electric dance/trance music artists and 300,000 of their sexiest fans will descend upon Sin City for three full nights, from dusk til dawn, starting Friday, June 8^th through Sunday, June 10^th, 2012.

Coming to the fest?  You’d better be.  And there’s no better place in town to stay than the Riviera Hotel and Casino: we’re a straight shot from the 1,000-acre Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the site of the 16^th annual carnival.  Also, two words: comfy beds.  Trust us, with all the fun you’ll be having at night, you’ll need your daytime sleep.

For those who haven’t been previously bitten and smitten by the EDC bug, know that the experience is a feast for all the senses.  Here’s what can you expect to see that weekend:

Photo courtesy of ElectricDaisyCarnival.com

Seven stages
Carnival rides
Cool interactive art installations
Hundreds of theatrical performers
Hot, shirtless guys (if you’re so inclined)
Hot, sometimes shirtless girls (if you’re so inclined)
Thousands of music and digital art fans, determined to have a blast

Photo courtesy of ElectricDaisyCarnival.com

Some of the artists onboard include:

will.i.am
Moby
Bassjackers
Blue Man Group
Nicky Romero
Zomboy
NERVO
Deco
Headhunterz

Check out the complete list here: electricdaisycarnival.com

Get your tickets to the EDC now! And, while you’re at it, hurry and make a reservation to stay at the hottest hotel on the strip: the Riviera Hotel and Casino.

Reservations

Beds will fill up quickly, folks.

To reach the EDC from the Riviera:

The Riviera is one of very few hotels on the Las Vegas strip that welcomes animals…unless you count tigers and snakes in certain silly magic shows.  We know that your pet is a part of your family, and we want to give you peace of mind so that you can focus on relaxing once you reach Sin City.

The area around Las Vegas is quite beautiful and conducive to hiking with your pet.  See some of our posts – like this one – about daytrips you can make out of the city.)

If you do decide to bring your favorite canine to our hotel, please do let us know in advance when you make your reservation.  To ensure comfort for all guests, we have designated dog-friendly areas and ask that you keep your pet supervised and on a leash while in public parts of the hotel.  We also ask that your dog weigh 50 pounds or less, and that he or she be present at check-in.

If you’re looking for places in town that provide grooming, day care, boarding, toys or medical care for your pet, we’ll make sure to provide you with a list.  And we’ll throw in a few treats!

We at the Riviera want to ensure you have a dynamite time here in Las Vegas, so bring Fido and ensure yourself a relaxing, winning time!

For more information, please give us a call at (855) 468-6748, or visit our homepage.

It’s easy to forget on the Strip that Las Vegas is surrounded by a striking expanse of undeveloped nature, where desert beauty abounds.

When you’re not indoors enjoying the delights of our gaming, our shows or our restaurants here at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, we say: go outside.  See why this area earned the name Las Vegas, which is Spanish for “the meadows.”

And we have the perfect place for you to do some exploring: the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.  Hankering for some exercise?  Want to see desert plants in full bloom? Interested in checking out local produce?  The Preserve has it all.

Bike Rentals and Walking Trails

One of our favorite things to do here is to rent a bike at the Preserve’s Exploration Loop Trailhead, across from the amphitheater, and go for a two-mile whirl along the trails.

You can rent bikes on weekends for $8 an hour between 10:00 a.m. and dusk.  Get there early, as only 20 bikes are allowed out on the trails at a time.

Missed out on saddling up? No worries: there are 3.65 miles of trails and 110 acres of native habitats and even archaeological sites that you can explore by foot.  Bird watching abounds, and you can discover the Las Vegas Springs, which used to provide the valley with water.

Fun fact: the Springs gave Las Vegas its name, as “the meadows” were abundant when this area was moist and green.

The Gardens

The Springs Preserve hosts a number of different gardens, each worth a gander. Our favorites are the cactus gardens, the rose garden and the palm oasis.  There’s also an herb garden, plus vegetable gardens and fruit gardens.  Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the gardens show off the abundance of the desert.  You’d be surprised just how bountiful the desert can be! This place will prove it. You can even purchase a desert rose or cactus to take back home with you — something that doesn’t have to “stay in Vegas”!

Desert Living Center

Called the “Green Jewel” here at the Springs Preserve, the Desert Living Center is a LEED-certified collection of five buildings that host interactive exhibits and galleries that promote sustainable living.  You can learn about low-water gardening, green building materials, composting and saving money.  There are also lots of activities for kids here, including the Garbage Truck Theater.

Farmers’ Market

Need a healthy snack? The preserve also hosts a weekly farmers’ market.  Every Thursday between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the Desert Living Center, you can shop for sustainably produced vegetables, herbs, nuts, dairy products, coffee and more.  All products are grown locally or regionally.

To reach the Springs Preserve from the Riviera:

Springs Preserve
333 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89107
(702) 822-7700
http://www.springspreserve.org

The sanctuary has fully recovered from a 2010 fire that killed more than 200 of its most beloved, beautiful birds.  Back to being a relaxing and calm oasis, it’s a delightful place for both adults and children.  (Kids especially love the parrots, who both talk and perform little tricks.)

The Nature Sanctuary is dedicated not only to providing a safe haven for animals but also to educating the public, so in addition to tours, they offer classes and presentations about animal wellness. A well-timed visit can be fun, fascinating and informative for the whole family.

A visit here is also quite inexpensive: $5 for adult admission and $1 for children.

Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the preserve not only provides the petting zoo, but also picnic areas and walking trails.  Give yourself at least two hours to tour this place at leisure.

FYI: if you’re really on a nature kick, there’s also a 60-acre sister orchard that sells fresh fruits and vegetables that you can pick yourself.  (It’s not next door to the preserve, but the taste of Gilcrease Orchard’s fresh cider is worth the drive!)  Check the orchard’s web site for hours, as well as to see what’s in season right now.  In the springtime, you’ll tend to find asparagus, carrots, spinach, arugula, bok choi, and of course their famous apple cider and pear cider.

To reach the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary (and the orchard) from the Riviera:

Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary
8103 Racel Street
Las Vegas, NV 89131
(702) 645-4224
http://naturesanctuarygilcrease.org/

Gilcrease Orchard
7810 N Tenaya
Las Vegas, NV 89131
http://www.thegilcreaseorchard.org/
Open 7:00 a.m. – Noon
(Saturdays only until May)

When you want to cool off, two mighty attractive options exist:

1) Visit our casino.  It’s the hottest party in town, as well as the coolest, in both senses of the word.

2) Take a quick break to go ice skating.

Since Vegas doesn’t do anything halfway, it should come as no surprise that our favorite place is NHL regulation-sized, a whopping 31,000 square feet, with not one but two full-sized rinks.  Besides public skating hours, the Las Vegas Ice Center also offers curling lessons, pickup hockey, figure skating lessons, hockey tournaments and performances.  Don’t miss the Sin City Ice Dance Weekend Aug. 31-Sept. 2.  More information can be found on the rink’s website.

The ice center is generally open during the following hours:

Mon 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Tue   12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Wed-Thu 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m
Fri-Sun 8:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Find the public skating schedule here.

Go cool off, then come back for more hot Vegas fun at the Riviera!

To Reach the Las Vegas Ice Center from the Riviera Hotel:

Las Vegas Ice Center
9295 Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89147
(702) 320-7777
http://www.lasvegasice.com

When planning a trip to Las Vegas, it’s often a good idea to check whether an unusually large convention is happening.

January, for instance, brings an annual stream of about 120,000 souls into Sin City for the International Consumer Electronics Show. That enormous number of people can make it difficult to find an inexpensive hotel room, so we recommend planning a January Vegas trip well in advance (and checking our site first, as we offer some of the best deals in town, even during the heavy convention season).

Keep in mind that you yourself can take advantage of the convention center’s vast array of meeting spaces. Let’s say you want to have a family reunion in Vegas. If, for some reason, our hotel’s meeting spaces are booked solid, the convention center is reasonably enough located that it might make sense to hold your reunion there.

For corporate meetings, showcases and other events requiring feats of technical brilliance, the convention center has, in its leaders’ own words, “robust fiber backbone (that) links attendees, exhibitors and organizers.” Lots of cutting-edge stuff there.

Check out some of the convention center’s success stories here, then make sure to book your room at the Riviera as soon as possible. You’ll get the best of both worlds, Vegas-style.

To Reach the Las Vegas Convention Center from the Hotel:

Las Vegas Convention Center
3150 Paradise Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 892-0711

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas showcases spookily realistic wax figures of some of the biggest names on the strip: magician Criss Angel (and his 12-pack abs), performers Blue Man Group, and superstar Celine Dion, among others. But Vegas vixens and legends aren’t the only stars immortalized here. If you’ve ever wanted to see exactly how tall President Barack Obama is, for instance, you’ll be able to tell when you walk right up to his doppelganger in the museum. Pop stars such as Lady Gaga & Michael Jackson, speed demons such as Dale Earnhardt, cultural icons such as Hugh Hefner and sports stars such as Shaquille O’Neal (all 87-foot-12 of him) make their presence known. The staff have even taken a crack at Ben Franklin. (We wonder, if the genius were alive today, whether he’d be able to beat the house at blackjack?)

Tickets to Madame Tussauds Las Vegas range from $25 for adults to $15 for Children ages 7-12. Children under 7 can come for free.

The museum opens at 10:00 a.m. and closes at 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Last tickets are sold 30 minutes before closing time. Call 1-866-841-3739 for updated hours; the museum does sometimes close without notice for special events.

Money-saving tip: If you book your Madame Tussauds tickets through this link, you’ll be able to save 20%.

To Reach Madame Tussauds from the Riviera Hotel:

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas
3377 Las Vegas Blvd.
South Suite 2001
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(866) 841-3739

But even we die-hards can understand the appeal of getting away from it all every once in a while.  And that’s where Bonnie Springs Ranch / Old Nevada comes in.  Built in 1843 as a wagon stopover, and just half an hour outside Vegas (with temperatures around five to ten degrees cooler than on the strip), the frontier town/theme park/eatery embodies the charms of the Old Wild West.

In short, even though it’s just 25 miles away from Vegas (making it the perfect afternoon jaunt), wholesome, happy little Bonnie Springs is about as far from Sin City as it gets.

We recommend coming in the spring, when you’ll likely be surrounded by beautiful wildflowers, roses and even honeysuckle.  If you ride horses, take advantage of trail rides during the day.  They last about an hour, cost $55 per person and take you into the mountainous areas here.  (Please note that children have to be at least six years old to ride.)  If you plan to get hungry on your horse, take a breakfast, lunchtime or dinner ride: mealtime rides cost about $120 per person.

If you’re hungry elsewhere in Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada, you’re in luck!  Come summertime, you can quench your thirst at the rustic old Beer Parlor. And all year round, you can scarf down burgers or pizza at the Western-themed Miner’s Restaurant.

Additionally:

• Roam the ramshackle, charming Western streets.
• Watch a staged Wild West gunfight.
• Cheer on your favorite hoop-skirted actress in the live-action street theater melodramas.  (The Bonnie Springs Outlaws perform Wednesdays through Sundays.)
• Get your picture taken with Annie Oakley or Jesse James-types, even if it’s cheesy – we won’t tell: remember, what happens outside Vegas stays outside Vegas.

Once you’re done with the Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western experience, swing on back to the Riviera, dine on beautiful food, take in an incredible show, and gamble to your heart’s content! 

For more information on Bonnie Springs, be sure to ask our concierge.  We’re always here to help make your Vegas getaway your best vacation yet!

To Reach Bonnie Springs Ranch/Old Nevada from the Riviera Hotel:

Bonnie Springs Ranch / Old Nevada

16395 Bonnie Springs Road

Blue Diamond, Nevada 89004

(702) 875-4191

www.bonniesprings.com

Here at the Riviera, we don’t do things halfway. With the help of the biggest Hollywood actress in the world at the time, Joan Crawford, our resort flung open its doors on April 20, 1955. The resort revolutionized Vegas architecture: as the first high-rise in town, it clocked in as hands down the tallest hotel in Las Vegas. That night, we hired the hottest name in showbiz, Liberace, to whirl his way around his piano, and we paid him an astronomical sum to consider us his permanent performance home. (We also gave him a red Mercedes Benz for his birthday one year.) He accepted.

Word got out: throughout the rest of the 1950s, people arrived here in droves, both because of our enormous casino and for the chance to see premium performers: not just Liberace, but Orson Welles (who performed in 1956), Dinah Shore, Ginger Rogers and Red Skelton, among many others. The sold-out Red Skelton shows were so popular that hundreds and hundreds of fans stood and waited outside, even after the performances had begun, hoping the maître d’ would find some space for them inside.

In the 1960s, the Riviera started attracting even bigger names, Elvis Presley being one of them. Marlene Dietrich, Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand all performed here, with Streisand making her Vegas debut opening for one of Liberace’s always sold-out shows.

The hotel even made a few stars. One night, Debbie Reynolds fell ill and couldn’t perform. So we brought in a little-known singer/actress named Kaye Stevens to fill in.

She was sensational.

Kaye Stevens’ album from that time, Ruckus at the Riviera, is now a cult hit: an Internet search shows vintage vinyl copies going for upwards of $75-$100. She made such an impression at the Riviera that Ed McMahon introduced her to Johnny Carson and the Rat Pack.

And that’s when things really started to get interesting.

The Rat Pack loved the Riviera. Dean Martin became part owner of the hotel at one point. Shirley MacLaine, another of the raucous group’s few female members, has frequently high-kicked her way across our stage in a red-sequined pantsuit. Sammy Davis Jr. is remembered in the Las Vegas Walk of Stars right in front of our hotel.

And then there was Frank Sinatra. After his first visit here, the Riviera quickly became one of his favorite mid-century hangouts. He stayed here so often, we redesigned his room to his specifications. The Riviera was also the site of Sinatra’s last permanent engagement in Vegas, and we dedicated his suite in his name after he died. You can stay there: it’s room 2902 in the Monte Carlo Tower.

Since our storied beginning, the Riviera has been the symbol of glamour, nightlife and enormous entertainment. Our plush rooms and huge, 120,000-square-foot casino have been featured in films such as:

• The original Ocean’s 11
• Martin Scorcese’s Casino
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• 3,000 Miles to Graceland

Our shows, especially our sexy live show, Crazy Girls, are so popular that even luminaries such as Prince Albert of Monaco (Grace Kelly’s son) become huge fans. Prince Albert was so taken with the dancers that he and his entourage treated them to a night on the town, replete with limousines and champagne.

More than fifty years after its inception, the Riviera Hotel Las Vegas continues to attract the best in showbiz, and continues to strive for greatness. We are honored to have you stay with us, and to become part of our legendary story.

Click here to make a reservation.