Increasing Isolation Forces The Riviera To File Bankruptcy

The owners of The Riviera Hotel and Casino on the northern end of the Las Vegas strip have joined a number of their competitors in bankruptcy court.

Given the two year downturn of the economy and a number of properties left abandoned Riviera told the courts that they have been facing increasing isolation.

“The effects of such nearby vacant lots and uncompleted projects have been considerable. Although Riviera Las Vegas has fewer neighboring competitors, there are also fewer reasons for customers to venture to the north end of the Strip,” Riviera said.

For almost a year the casinos parent company Riviera Holdings Corp. has attempted to re-negotiate debt with creditors to avoid bankruptcy, however under an agreement reached with nearly 75% of the company’s secured senior lenders, Riviera has filed for pre-negotiated bankruptcy to restructure $248 million worth of debt under a 2007 credit facility.

Riviera also owns and operates the Riviera Black Hawk in Colorado, which was included in the filing.

The company expects that the Judge will approve the casinos to continue to operate during the bankruptcy process.