for $182.5 million. The property was leased back to its existing operators, Paragon Gaming, who officially closed the establishment on Monday, May 4, 2015. After winding down operations the hotel was closed and demolished to make way for a planned expansion of LVCVA's Las Vegas Global Business District exhibit and meeting center project. Due to its size, the Riviera was demolished through two separate implosions conducted in June and August 2016. Work began by gutting the Monaco Tower while the hotel parking garages and the Versailles Theater were demolished - the work took place during the summer. Next came the demolition of the San Remo Tower. Much of the property was demolished during the first implosion. Asbestos was discovered in the hotel's Monte Carlo tower and in the 1960s towers, and was removed prior to the implosion. Demolition cost a total of $42 million. Both implosions were handled by Controlled Demolition, Inc., which had handled every prior resort implosion in Las Vegas up to this point. The first implosion took place at 2:35 a.m. (Pacific Time) on June 14, 2016, taking down the 24-story Monaco tower. A firework display and countdown led up to the implosion. After the implosion of the Monaco Tower, the casino area was demolished followed by the 8-story 1959 tower. The original 9-story tower built in 1955 was demolished next. It was the oldest remaining structure on the Strip. On August 16, 2016, at 2:30 a.m., the Monte Carlo tower along with the 12-story tower constructed in 1965 were imploded. Future LVCVA had intended to use the former Riviera property for parking, outdoor exhibitions, and as a new gateway to the convention center. However, these plans were changed when LVCVA acquired new nearby acreage which negated the need for the entire Riviera property. In 2019, LVCVA put 10 acres of the 26-acre Riviera site up for sale. The acreage is located along the Las Vegas Strip, at the southeast corner of Elvis Presley Boulevard. In 2021, an agreement was reached to sell the property to Claudio Fischer, a Chilean real estate developer who had built several casino resorts in South America. Fischer would purchase the site for $120 million, and intends to build a new hotel-casino on the land. Construction would not begin until at least April 2023, as LVCVA has a lease agreement to continue using the land for convention-related purposes until then. Gaming The