One of the grand old dames of 'The Strip', built in 1955, The Riviera was originally designed to emulate the opulence of its French namesake. But while many of the other hotels that have survived for decades have gone to great lengths to stay current (ie: Caesars, Circus Circus), The Riviera hasn't gone through a lot of upgrades and changes lately. That's both a good and bad thing.

The good part is that this is Vegas history, baby. Smoky mirrors and ornate chandeliers in the public areas evoke a 70s Dan Tanna vibe that you just don't see anywhere on The Strip except for here. It's kind of groovy in a retro kind of way even though I doubt that's what they were really going for.

The bad part is that the hotel feels plain old, well, old. In the public areas and in some of the rooms, the furnishings are a bit worn and chipped, carpeting is fading, and there's a general feeling of decline that I had never felt at The Riviera during previous visits. Maybe it's because I've gotten used to the almost obsessive sparkling corporate clean of the newer Vegas palaces, but whatever the reason, this hotel reminds me of a once beautiful woman who isn't aging very gracefully.

Of course that's nothing that a fresh coat of paint, some new furniture, and a couple of rolls of carpeting wouldn't fix, but with the future of the hotel in doubt, it isn't likely that they will be dumping the necessary money into the joint to spruce it up if all they plan on doing is tearing it down.

The casino itself is enormous and wanders the length of the property so quiet and intimate is not exactly The Riviera's forte. There is no discernable theme - at least not as obvious as in other casinos - but to be honest, if all you care about is pumping those quarters into those slots, what difference does the decor make? I did feel a little claustrophobic in the gaming area, primarily because of the signage which with it's blinding visuals and blaring noises make the room kind of overwhelming. But there are quieter portions to the casino so finding a less stressful place to spend your money is possible.

Rooms are tasteful but again, showing their age. I got to visit a standard room in the oldest section of the hotel and the furnishings were worn and chipped and the carpeting showed some stains and threadbare patches. It's absolutely no worse than what you'll find at your local Holiday Inn but it is miles from the level of cleanliness and comfort that you'll find at most of the big Vegas hotels.

They have many of the typical hotel amenities like a TV, air, safe, iron and board, and the like but items like hair dryers and data-ports are missing. It should be noted that the room I saw had two double beds instead of two queens so you better make sure that if you're sharing one of these things that you know your bedmate quite well.

I also have to mention that much of the hotel smells like people have been smoking in it for forty years, which is fair since that's pretty much the reality of the situation. The guest hallway and room I visited were strong with it but these were in the smoking section so I guess that's to be expected.

Scattered throughout the property are a variety of restaurants, several bars, a bunch of shows (mostly adult in nature), a pool, and a health club.

The Riviera's forte these days seems to be in the price category. It used to be one of the more expensive hotels in the city, but these days you can get rooms here at rates that compete with places like Circus Circus and the Imperial Palace, two of the cheapest places on the Strip. I've seen it as low as $49 weekdays and as low as $79 on the weekends and for that kind of dough I'll put up with some chipped furniture.

I can't recommend the Riviera too highly unless you can get a room for the low rates I mentioned above. If you can't, there are definitely better places to stay in Vegas.

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Short version up to now: several companies, investors, investment firms, and (it seems) random people off the street have offered varying sums of money for the once grand hotel but the offers that got serious enough to be considered by the shareholders were rejected as being too low. Lawsuits and more backstage machinations have ensued and the whole thing has been dragging on for years.

Now a new bid has been entered that comes in at $30 per share of the stock of the parent company, significantly higher than the previous bids and could be the serious beginning of a bidding war. The two major players involved are the company that is building the multi-billion Cosmopolitan project just south of Bellagio and a group of current and former shareholders of Riviera trying to take the company private.

Whether anyone else steps in to the fracas is yet to be seen but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some familiar names get involved.

The new bid comes from the company currently developing the $1.8 billion Cosmopolitan resort and casino next door to The Bellagio on The Strip.

The investors, which included some big time hotel and real estate developers, had offered $17 a share for the company and its assets, which include The Riviera on The Strip and another casino in Colorado. At that price the total value of the deal would have been north of $400 million but shareholders apparently believed they could get a lot more money for the company, a belief that could already be gaining traction.

Reports in the Las Vegas Review Journal indicate that major companies and investors are already circling the resort, less for the rundown hotel itself and more for the value of the land that it sits on. $800 million is the figure apparently being bandied about as a baseline but the whole thing could turn into another bidding war like the one that ended in a multi-billion buyout of The Tropicana and its parent company.

Back in April, a group of investors, including the founder of the Starwood Hotels chain, offered $17 a share (or roughly $426 million) for Riviera Holdings Corporation, which manages The Riv on The Strip and a casino in Colorado. According to reports in various newspapers, shareholders were not terribly happy with the offer saying that it was less than what the property was worth. The fact that at the time The Tropicana down the street was in the midst of a crazy bidding war didn’t help matters much.

But despite rumors, no one else stepped in to put in a competing bid so it was going to go before shareholders on August 29th. There was a lot of whispering (and shouting) going on that a few of the majority stockholders were going to vote against the buyout.

Now, a new group of investors has stepped in with a $20 a share bid. Don’t worry about who they are – it’s a bunch of guys you’ve most likely never heard of – but the bottom line is they have thrown a monkey wrench into the proceedings with an offer that one investment banker called “speculative.”

So could this be the start of a bidding war for The Riviera? I kind of doubt it. First, while it’s a very valuable piece of real estate, it’s just not in as attractive of a location as The Tropicana is. Second, at 26 acres The Riviera land is not exactly small but it’s not as big as some other parcels out there that might be more interesting to people with deep pockets. This is just my opinion and I'm wrong all the time so stay tuned.