Exhibit 31.1


                                  CERTIFICATION


I, William L. Westerman, certify that:

I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Riviera Holdings
Corporation;

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements
made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information
included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and
for, the periods presented in this report;

The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing
and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act
Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

            Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
       disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
       to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including
       its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
       entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
       prepared;

            Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
       controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
       about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
       of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
       evaluation; and

            Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
       control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
       most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
       reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
       control over financial reporting; and

The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our
most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
directors:

         (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
         or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

         (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
         other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
         internal control over financial reporting.

         Date:    November 10, 2005

         William L. Westerman
         William L. Westerman
         Chief Executive Officer