They've officially given up: Rio ends the "Show in the Sky" after 16 years

[Dan Druff]

If you've ever been to the Rio, you have probably seen the Show in the Sky.

http://www.riolasvegas.com/things-to...n-the-sky.html

The Show in the Sky is actually on the ceiling of the Rio casino, with various "floats" traveling along the ceiling. There is Brazil-themed music and dancing to go along with it.

This was invented in 1997. For awhile it ran every day, several times a day. Recently, it has been only running in the evenings on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

This was part of the "party atmosphere" created at the Rio, and for many years they put a lot of effort to maintain that atmosphere.

Recent years have been different. The Rio stopped trying. The casino is basically a ghost town, and aside from a few scant showtimes for Show in the Sky, the Brazil theme is gone.

I actually happened upon the Show in the Sky's final performance yesterday, when I was at the Rio for a comp meal at Cafe Matorano.

The closing of the Show in the Sky is the ultimate sign that the Rio has stopped trying to be interesting, and is just plodding along until another company buys it.

The building is also getting into an embarrassing state of disrepair.

Here is a picture of an elevator with a Door Open button missing for well over a week:



Here is a picture of a doorstop in the hotel that got slammed into an exterior wall. Again, nobody has fixed this in over a week:

[vegas1369]

The worst idea ever was the singing cocktail servers, which includes guys. Horrible.

How was your meal?

[garrett]

Sounds exciting, Rio, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Brazilian women. They must have done a shit job with this one. Or it's a terrible location.

Caesers trying to sell it too Pokerstars allegedly and hearing what you write,

So what is actually good about this place, aside form the WSOP event?

[limitles]

It's still good enough for that baller Bootsy Collins.
What a guy.

[ThreeBet]

Several years ago I stayed there for a couple of weeks straight and almost slit my wrists after enduring this show multiple times each day. It made me never stay there again.

[SrslySirius]

I never actually went up there, but heard it many times walking into the convention center. It seemed like an awesome idea. Party on the roof!

I never heard any Brazilian themed music. Just standard club fare.

[Dan Druff]

I never actually went up there, but heard it many times walking into the convention center. It seemed like an awesome idea. Party on the roof!

I never heard any Brazilian themed music. Just standard club fare.

I should say that it's not really Brazilian music, but rather a Brazilian-themed show.

The Rio was not initially a Caesars/Harrah's property. They bought the property later. It opened 23 years ago as a locals hotel, and had two major expansions -- in 1993 and 1997. In 1999, Harrah's bought it for $888 million, a figure I wonder perhaps was settled upon because of the Chinese superstition about 8s being lucky. (If that's true, LOL.)

Caesars actually still designates the Rio as their "locals" property. If you live in Las Vegas and have a fair amount of play on your Total Rewards card, they give you various offers every month (including free play) that are good only at the Rio. Rio also does some half-hearted attempts at marketing to locals.

In the '90s, the Rio actually had a decent reputation. They kept pushing it as an "All Suites hotel", which was never actually true. the rooms are admittedly big, but they aren't suites. They're just large. But this marketing worked, and people wanted to stay there, despite it being on the "wrong side" of the 15 freeway. (The hotel's location makes it somewhat difficult to walk to other Vegas strip properties, as it's technically not on the strip, and you have to cross a long freeway bridge to get there.)

The whole "party atmosphere" also worked, and many tourists actually enjoyed the frenetic party atmosphere in the casino. Like ThreeBet, I found it loud and annoying.

The Rio eventually suffered because it wasn't well-maintained, and the competition on the strip greatly increased. The novelty of the Show in the Sky also wore off over time, and the Rio pretty much became a dumping ground for Caesars' second-tier shows and bargain hotel rooms. It does have a pretty big convention area (the biggest of any Caesars property), which is why it was chosen to host the WSOP.

Some people still enjoy the Voodoo Lounge rooftop club.

Matarano's is actually a decent Italian restaurant, and Penn and Teller is actually a decent show, and is probably the best show you can get as part of the "2 tickets free every month" program offered to Diamond and Seven Stars by Caesars.

They also give a 25% discount on all food for locals, so don't forget to show your Nevada ID.

[lewfather]

I can't stand how bad the rio is

[SrslySirius]

I can't stand how bad the rio

It's problem.