Riviera Holdings Corporation
                         2901 Las Vegas Boulevard South
                               Las Vegas, NV 89109
                       Investor Relations: (800) 362-1460
                               TRADED: AMEX - RIV
                           website: www.theriviera.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
AT THE COMPANY:                                      INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Duane Krohn, Treasurer and CFO                  Betsy Truax, Skorpus Consulting
(702) 794-9527                                             (208)-241-3704 Voice
Email:  dkrohn@theriviera.com                              (208)-232-5317 Fax

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                       RIVIERA ANNOUNCES SHARE REPURCHASE

         LAS VEGAS, NV - October 27, 2000 -- Riviera Holdings Corporation (AMEX:
RIV) today announced the Company has purchased,  from an unsolicited  offer in a
private  transaction,  50,000 shares of the Riviera's  outstanding common stock.
The purchase  price was $7.125 per share,  the closing sale price at October 24,
2000, or an aggregate of $356,250.  The shares purchased amount to approximately
1.3% of the  Company's  outstanding  common  stock  which now  totals  3,768,022
shares.  The  Company  does not intend to bid for its stock in the open  market,
however,   it  may  respond  to  unsolicited  offers  in  privately   negotiated
transactions in the future.

Safe Harbor Statement:

The  forward-looking  statements  included in this news  release,  which reflect
management's best judgment based on factors  currently known,  involve risks and
uncertainties including expansion timetables, hotel and casino market conditions
and  other  risks  detailed  from  time to time in the  Company's  SEC  reports,
including  the Report on Form 10-K for  December 31,  1999.  Actual  results may
differ.

About Riviera Holdings:

Riviera  Holdings  Corporation owns and operates the Riviera Hotel and Casino on
the Las Vegas Strip and the Riviera  Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk,  Colorado.
Riviera is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol RIV.