Marnell’s Rio had many crowd pleasers as Southern Nevada’s first all-suite hotel product. 1, giving Birnbaum plenty of time to make plans for his first foray into Las Vegas.
The property’s new owner, Dreamscape Cos., led by New York real estate investor Eric Birnbaum, officially takes over operations Oct. Thirty-three years after the Rio first opened its doors in January 1990 under Marnell, his design company has been hired as an homage to the Rio’s history to oversee a $350 million renovation of the property that begins next month and with its first phase expected to take a year and a half to complete. The resort industry has a funny way of coming full circle. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Anthony Marnell built the Rio - a Brazilian-themed resort close enough to the Strip to attract crowds of tourists but far enough away from Strip traffic to appeal to locals - it caught the eye of the company that eventually became Caesars Entertainment. A newly renovated room at the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
