FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   DE SHAW LAMINAR PORTFOLIOS LLC 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 03/31/2006 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol RIVIERA HOLDINGS CORP [RIV] (Last) (First) (Middle) 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45, 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director __X__ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) __X__ Other (specify below) See Footnotes 1 and 2. 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) NEW YORK, NY 10036 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) ___ Form filed by One Reporting Person _X_ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 1,269,900 D (1) (2) Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
DE SHAW LAMINAR PORTFOLIOS LLC 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See Footnotes 1 and 2.
SHAW D E & CO L P /NY/ 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See Footnotes 1 and 2.
D E SHAW & CO LLC 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See Footnotes 1 and 2.
SHAW DAVID E 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See Footnotes 1 and 2.
D. E. Shaw Valence Portfolios, L.L.C. 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See Footnotes 1 and 2.
D. E. Shaw Investment Management, L.L.C. 39TH FLOOR, TOWER 45 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See Footnotes 1 and 2.

Signatures

D. E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios, L.L.C., By: D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C., as managing member, By: /s/ Julius Gaudio, Managing Director		04/04/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., By: /s/ Julius Gaudio, Managing Director		04/04/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C., By: /s/ Julius Gaudio, Managing Director		04/04/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
David E. Shaw, By: /s/ Julius Gaudio, Attorney-in-Fact for David E. Shaw		04/04/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
D. E. Shaw Valence Portfolios, L.L.C., By: D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., as managing member, By: /s/ Julius Gaudio, Managing Director		04/04/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
D. E. Shaw Investment Management, L.L.C., By: D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., as managing member, By: /s/ Julius Gaudio, Managing Director		04/04/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Common Stock"), of the Issuer to which this form relates are held or managed directly as follows: (i) D. E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios, L.L.C. ("Laminar") holds 1,244,500 shares; (ii) D. E. Shaw Valence Portfolios, L.L.C. ("Valence") holds 25,200 shares; and (iii) 200 shares are under the management of D. E. Shaw Investment Management, L.L.C. ("DESIM"), which has dispositive control over, but no voting rights with respect to, the shares. D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. ("DESCO LP") (as investment adviser to Laminar, as managing member of and investment adviser to Valence, and as managing member of DESIM), D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C. ("DESCO LLC") (as managing member of Laminar), and... (Continues in Fn 2)
(2)	Mr. David E. Shaw ("David E. Shaw") (as president and sole shareholder of D. E. Shaw & Co., Inc., which is the general partner of DESCO LP, and as president and sole shareholder of D. E. Shaw & Co. II, Inc., which is the managing member of DESCO LLC) may be deemed to be collectively the beneficial owners of more than 10% of the Common Stock of the Issuer for purposes of Rule 16a-1(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In accordance with instruction 4(b)(iv), the number of shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by DESCO LP or DESCO LLC is reported herein. Each of DESCO LP, DESCO LLC, and David E. Shaw disclaims any beneficial ownership of any of the securities listed in this Form 3, except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein.

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