On Friday, 1-11-08, I had a frightening experience at the Riviera casino in Las Vegas. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon. The Riviera has an area with couches and widescreen TV's for use by members of their slot club (Club Riviera). I am a member of Club Riviera. I had been running errands all over Vegas and was tired, so I bought something to eat and went to this area. I was watching a rerun of the World Series of Poker on a widescreen TV when I was approached by a large black man. He was over 6 feet tall and close to 300 lbs. He said you can't sleep here. I told him I wasn't sleeping, I was watching TV. He asked if I was a guest at the casino. I said yes. He asked for my room number. I responded that I wasn't staying at the casino. He then told me that I had lied to him, by responding that I was a guest. He said it in a very aggressive way attempting to provoke me. It was in a manner a street thug would use to provoke a fight at night in a parking lot. Afraid for my safety, I got up and started to walk away. He demanded I give him identification. I told him that I was leaving and would not give him my ID. He followed me, and said 'we got your photo'. He continued calling me a liar. He said I had to leave the casino or I would be arrested. He was aggressively trying to provoke a response, so he could physically assault me. He sought violence. I told him that I was leaving and that my car was in the structure. I was told that I was lying and didn't have a car and that he hoped I wouldn't leave so I could be arrested. He walked on one side of me and another security guard joined and walked on the other side. He continued to insult me. I was escorted all the way to my car.
I have been to nearly every casino in Nevada, casinos all across the U.S., casinos in Canada and in Europe and never been treated like this and until now have never been afraid I would be assaulted by casino staff. I have visited the Riviera for 23 years, seen shows there, ate there, played their table games, poker tournaments, and attended conventions there without incident until that Friday.
I posted my complaint on thechipboard.com (a casino related website). I knew someone there would investigate the complaint. Someone did contact the Riviera. The Riviera claimed the incident never happened.
I went to the Riviera's website. There is no information on filing complaints. I set up an e-mail account rivieracomplaint AT gmail.com and sent an e-mail explaining what had happened to the Riviera's 'comment or suggestions' address comments AT theriviera.com. They never responded.
I called the Riviera's Human Resources number (702) 794-9651 on 1-17-08. I was transferred to Amy. Her direct number is (702) 794-9287. I told her what happened and she said she would look into it. I called her back on 1-18-08. She said the head of security wanted to talk to me about it. She transferred me to security. A guy answered, said he was head of security, and then asked if I had posted the complaint on thechipboard.com. I said yes. He then said he had nothing to say to me. I called Amy back several times and she would not answer the phone.
The Riviera won't address the problem. They have a large dangerous black man working in security trying to provoke guests. It is not a safe place to visit.
There are a lot of casinos in Vegas. The Riviera isn't properly screening and training its employees and it may be best to avoid it at this time.
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