Welcome to The Rio!

News / Matthew Pitt / 29 October 2008 / Leave a comment

On Sunday 9 November, nine poker players will make their way to 3,700 W Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, where they will play out the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event final table at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

The Rio was opened to the public on Monday 15 January 1990 and it lives up to its name by sporting a Brazilian Carnival and Mardi Gras themes throughout the gaming areas.

In the November of 1993, The Rio underwent some modifications and an extra 20 stories were added to the Ipanema Tower, taking the number of available hotel suites to a staggering 2,548, each of them having floor space ranging from 600 square feet, up to 13,000 square feet for the deluxe 'Masquerade" suites.

The complex includes a 160,000 square feet convention centre, over twice the size of a football pitch and a wine cellar that houses more than 50,000 fine wines from around the world! The gaming area is an impressive 100,000 square feet and offers Roulette, Baccarat, Keno and Blackjack to name just four of the available table games at The Rio.

For those customers not wishing to gamble, The Rio hosts a wide variety of shows and concerts daily and is the home of the famous magician duo, Penn and Teller and the original, world-famous male striptease act, The Chippendales.

Harrah's Entertainment acquired The Rio for a breath-taking sum of money, $888 million in 1999. Harrah's then bought the rights to the World Series of Poker in March 2004 and immediately announced the 2005 World Series of Poker would be moved from its previous home, at Binion's Horseshoe, to The Rio. Each of the 45 events were played at The Rio with the exception of the final two days of the Main Event, which were played at Binion's Horseshoe to celebrate Las Vegas' centennial.

Jamie Gold won the first Main Event fully hosted at The Rio and with it, the biggest prize in WSOP history at $12 million. The lucky winner of the 2008 World Series of Poker will be awarded $9,119,517, plus interest for the delay in proceedings, meaning the lucky winner will not only be crowned World Champion but also be placed second in the World Series of Poker all-time money list.