Rio Revival
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hen the Rio opened at its slightly off-Strip location in 1990 , it was a resounding success . Designed , built and owned by Tony Marnell and his family , it was the place to see and be seen . But in 1999 , when it was bought by Caesars Entertainment , its main claim to fame was as home of the World Series of Poker . Caesars never reinvested in the property , and its decline was sad to see . Enter Dreamscape and Eric Birnbaum . In 2019 , Birnbaum bought the property for $ 516 million , and though Caesars continued to run it for two years with the Caesars Rewards program — again , it did so without reinvestment . Finally , Dreamscape put together a management team , invested another $ 350 million , and hired industry veteran Patrick Miller as CEO . Kevin Sweet , chief gaming executive , says Miller ’ s experience is a big plus for the Rio .
“ He was in charge of Monte Carlo when they rebranded it as Park MGM , a very similar experience to what we ’ re going through at the Rio ,” says Sweet . “ I couldn ’ t be more excited about the energy and the ideas he ’ s bringing to the table .”
Dreamscape has big plans for the Rio , made evident by the nightly light show on the buildings that has become an attraction unto itself .
“ It ’ s tough to put an ROI on lights on the building ,” Sweet says , “ but judging by the texts that I get and all the executives get —‘ Your lights look so cool , the display is awesome ’— it ’ s increasing the awareness of Rio . It ’ s been really beneficial and positive .”
Birnbaum hired Marnell Architecture , the firm that built the original Rio — a brilliant decision , says Sweet .
“ They know every inch of this property . They know every nut and bolt , every run of a wire . They know what needs to be done . It ’ s been an amazing collaboration .”
The company has completely renovated the hotel rooms and suites , some of the largest in the city , to draw profitable gamblers .
“ We ’ re touching every aspect of this property ,” Sweet says . “ All 1,500 rooms are completely renovated . And remember , the Rio was the first all-suite hotel . The smallest room in the building is 580 square feet . It ’ s really a nice amenity for us , with floor-to-ceiling windows .” The Rio is also plugged into the Hyatt system , which is very helpful . “ Obviously we get to plug into the worldwide Hyatt database with the leisure customer booking and using their points ,” says Sweet . “ We ’ re also getting plugged into their group sales and convention sales pipeline , so we ’ re super-excited about that partnership .”
Although the legendary Rio buffet is gone , it ’ s been replaced by a food hall that includes a ramen shop , sushi , burgers , burritos and Tony Luke ’ s , the first West Coast outlet for the legendary Philly cheesesteak shop .
The signature nightclub of the year was the VooDoo Lounge on top of the Rio , now closed , with its million-dollar view of the Strip . Plans are under way for a new concept , but Sweet says the adjacent VooDoo Steakhouse will be on the “ must-see ” lists of Vegas visitors .
“ Everything is affordably priced ,” he says . “ It ’ s exactly what we need — our first ‘ Welcome to the new Rio ’ statement . We ’ re a hybrid local-non-local property . Locals don ’ t care that I have 1,500 renovated rooms . But they like to have affordable dining options and easy free parking .
“ We ’ re not playing in the luxury sandbox that all the new Vegas casinos are competing for ,” Sweet adds . “ I don ’ t believe anyone will ever build a middle-market Vegas property again , so if we can make this the destination for that three- to four-star market , that ’ s what we ’ re striving for . And that ’ s what we ’ re going to accomplish .”
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