Liberace played the opening act in 1955. Frank Sinatra once famously lived in one of its suites when he was a regular headline act in the 1990s. For all of Las Vegas’ iconic casinos, none stood taller than the Riviera Hotel & Casino. At least that was the sentiment in the past.

Despite its iconic status in Las Vegas, the Riviera is not immune to the changing times and if the board of directors for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) decide to buy the casino, the Riviera could very well be on its last days.

According to multiple reports, the LVCVA is in the final stages on deciding whether to buy the casino for the specific purpose of destroying it to make way for its $2.3 billion expansion plan for the Las Vegas Convention Center. Should the board give the green light on the sale, it is expected to pay $182.5 million to purchase the property from current owner the Riviera Holdings Corporation. As soon as that transaction is completed, the LVCVA will also spend an additional $8.5 million to pay for costs to close it down, or to be more specific, to raze it to the ground to make way for its expansion plans for the new convention center.

The Riviera currently sits on a 26-acre property, so the LVCVA will have plenty of space to follow through on building a host of amenities on the property, including 750,000 square feet of exhibition space. Before any of the newer and more modern operators began building their casinos in Las Vegas, the Riviera stood as one of the best in the city. It was considered as the first high-rise casino on the Strip, boasting around 2,000 hotel rooms and as much as 100,000 square feet of gambling space. It was the place to be in Las Vegas back then, having earned the reputation as a playground for some of the biggest celebrities in the world.

Now, all it has are memories of the halcyon days of Vegas gambling, a time when it stood tallest among the tall and biggest among the big. It has since been overshadowed – literally and figuratively – by more opulent resorts on the Strip and with it came an erosion in popularity among tourists.

So if the LVCVA votes in favor of purchasing the Riviera, we could be seeing a true end of an era for a casino that was one of the first to uphold Las Vegas’ reputation as a tourist and gambler’s paradise.