Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
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| Number of rooms | 2,548 Suites | |
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| Theme | Brazilian Carnival and Mardi Gras | |
| Gaming space | 120,000 ft² (11,148m²) | |
| Permanent show(s) | Penn & Teller Chippendales 3121 Masquerade Show in the Sky |
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| Signature attraction(s) | The Carnival World Buffet Voodoo Lounge Club Rio World Series of Poker |
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| Notable restaurant(s) | Voodoo Café | |
| Owner | Harrah's Entertainment | |
| Date opened | January 15, 1990 | |
| Casino type | Land-Based | |
| Major renovation(s) | 2005 | |
| Previous name(s) | ||
| Casino website | playrio.com | |
The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino is located off the Las Vegas Strip in Clark County, Nevada. It is better known as The Rio and is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. The Rio was the first all suite casino in the Las Vegas area.
The hotel towers are covered in the signature purple and red glass. The Rio hotel's 2,563 suites range in size from 600 ft² up to 13,000 ft² and have floor to ceiling windows.
The complex includes a wine cellar that has more than 50,000 bottles. The Rio Pavilion convention center has a total of 160,000 ft² of space. A Race and Sports Book is also available.
There is a free shuttle to the Harrah's-owned Harrah's Las Vegas, Paris/Bally's and Caesars Palace.
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[edit] History
- Opened on January 15, 1990 as a locals casino; it had been constructed and was owned and operated by Marnell Corrao Associates.
- An 20-story expansion tower was added to the current Ipanema Tower in 1993.
- Danny Gans opened as the headliner in 1996.
- Masquerade Village, a hotel tower and casino expansion including the Masquerade Show in the Sky, opened in 1997, at a cost of over $200 million.
- The Rio was purchased by Harrah's Entertainment in 1999 for $888 million.
- Hosted the World Series of Poker in 2005, the first time this event was not held at Binion's. Binion's was used for the final three tables and the last two days of the competition as part of the celebration of Las Vegas' centennial.
[edit] Buffets
The Carnival World Buffet has been a signature attraction since the casino opened. It was the first buffet in Las Vegas to have multiple live cooking stations and theme sections on the buffet line. The Carnival World Buffet is credited with taking the quality of the Las Vegas buffets to a new level in quality and price. The Carnival World Buffet was so successful that when the Masquerade Village opened it included a higher end seafood buffet, Village Seafood Buffet.
[edit] Masquerade Village
Masquerade Village is a section of the casino that includes Masquerade Show in the Sky. The show is a free show that dance and style from Brazilian Carnival, and Mardi Gras type floats. The show has a stage with a dance and singing show while floats on guide rails hang from the ceiling and go through out the Masquerade Village. The floats throw what some say are lucky Rio themed beads.
[edit] Trivia
- The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room has the world's largest publicly displayed collection of fine and rare wines.
- It's popularity and "chic" appeal in the late 90's was characterized by dramatic shifts. It was summed up by Bill Simmons in an article he wrote for Page 2 in 2006: "Back in the late-'90s, Rio emerged as THE hot place -- it had the best breakfast buffet, chicest club (Voodoo Lounge) and most lively gambling scene (my group stayed there twice). Then Hard Rock, Mandalay and the Palms blew it out of the water, followed by a saddening three-year stretch when Rio became White Trash Central. And since it's off the strip, everyone forgot about it."[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Rio Hotel and Casino - User reviews, expert advice, articles and more information on the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
- Prince Review at the Rio
| Harrah's Entertainment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Annual Revenue: $7.11 billion USD Employees: 85,000 Stock Symbol: NYSE: HET Website: www.harrahs.com |
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