The Venetian (Las Vegas)

Casino infobox
casino=The Venetian
theme=Venice
address=3355 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
logo=The Venetian logo.png

rooms=7,128 Suites
date_opened=May 3, 1999
space_gaming=120,000 ft² (11,148 m²)
attractions="Guggenheim Hermitage Museum", "Madame Tussauds Las Vegas"
shows="Blue Man Group"
"Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular"
restaurants="TAO"
"Grand Lux Cafe"
"Bouchon"
"Canaletto"
"Delmonico"
"
owner=Las Vegas Sands
casino_type=Land-Based
renovations=2003
names_pre=Sands Hotel and Casino
website= [http://www.venetian.com/ The Venetian website]

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino is the largest AAA Five-Diamond rated Resort in the Americas. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4PRN/is_2007_Nov_9/ai_n21093600] This Venice-themed luxury hotel and casino is located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, on the site of the old Sands Hotel. The Venetian is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

The Venetian has 4,049 suites and a 120,000 square foot (11 000 m²) casino. It is located on the east side of the Strip, between Harrah's and the The Palazzo.

Combined with the adjacent Sands Expo Convention Center and The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort, The Venetian is a part of the largest hotel and resort complex in the world --- featuring 7,128 hotel rooms and suites. [http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/21/jeff-simpson-what-went-right-wrong-and-whats-still/]

History

On November 26, 1996, 8 years after it was bought by Sheldon Adelson, the Sands Hotel was imploded to make way for The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. Ground was broken April 14, 1997.

The resort opened on May 3, 1999 with flutter of white doves, sounding trumpets and singing gondoliers, with actress Sophia Loren joining The Venetian Chairman and Owner, Sheldon G. Adelson, in christening the first motorized gondola. Built at a cost of $1.5 billion, it was one of the most expensive resorts of its kind when it opened. A brief time line of the hotel's history:

*September 24, 1997 — Announcement that the Venetian's Grand Canal Shoppes will be managed by Forest City Commercial Management.
*November 14, 1997 — $1,000,000,000 financial package secured.
*August 18, 1998 — Venetian Resort tops out.
*August 24, 1998 — Venetian begins accepting room reservations, by phone and on-line.
*May 3, 1999 — Grand opening of first phase of complex.
*October 7 2001 — The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum opened within the resort, featuring its first collection: "Masterpieces and Master Collectors: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings".
*August 30, 2002 — The museum opened its second collection: "Art Through the Ages: Masterpieces of Painting from Titian to Picasso".
*May 15, 2003 — Museum opens third exhibit: "American Pop Icons".
*June 27, 2003 — The Venezia at the Venetian opened as an additional tower, adding 1,013 suites and a new wedding chapel.
*November 7, 2003 — Museum opens exhibit: "A Century of Painting: From Renoir to Rothko", featuring paintings by Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, van Gogh, Renoir, and others.
*March 19, 2004 — "The Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday reluctantly imposed an agreed-upon $1 million fine on The Venetian for rigging contests and violating state gaming regulations but only after chastising other state agencies for not pursuing the case more vigorously. Chairman Peter Bernhard and Commissioner Art Marshall, who called the violations the "most serious" they have dealt with during their tenures on the commission, criticized the state attorney general's office and the Gaming Control Board for taking a year to bring the eight-count complaint before the commission. ... "This is the most serious complaint I've seen since I've been on the commission. The issues go to the heart of the integrity of the industry," Bernhard said. ... The Asian high roller at the center of the case, who was also the big loser in the casino over the Chinese New Year weekend in 2002, was preselected to win a Mercedes-Benz. The complaint said a Venetian executive who rigged the drawing with a cohort hid the winning ticket in his shirtsleeve and pretended to draw it randomly from a batch of entries before announcing the "winning" ticket." [NEVADA GAMING COMMISSION: Regulators approve Venetian fine. [http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Mar-19-Fri-2004/business/23470565.html Officials criticize other agencies in investigation] .]
*October 10, 2005 — Blue Man Group officially opens at the Blue Man Theatre.
*June 24, 2006 — "Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular" opened at a new theatre at the Venetian. [Andrew Lloyd Webber's [http://www.phantomlasvegas.com/ Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular] .]

Film history

*"Building the Venetian" was the subject of an episode of the show "MegaStructures".
*Various Venetian locations were the setting for the introductory scenes of the 2001 movie, "Rat Race".
*A suite from the Venetian is featured as a location in the 2005 movie ""
*The exterior of the Venetian is portrayed in the movie "". There is a dramatic zombie attack scene which takes place on the Venetian's replica of the "Rialto Bridge".

Casino and other attractions

The Casino at the Venetian offers more than 122 casino games. In addition to slot machines and table games, there is a state-of-the-art sports lounge.

The Venetian has an extensive indoor retail mall called the Grand Canal Shoppes, which covers 500,000 square feet (50 000 m²).

In addition to the lake in front of the casino, canals on the second floor of building, in the shopping mall, are used to provide gondola rides. The hotel also hosts the Las Vegas Madame Tussauds wax museum. There are usually two wax figures outside of the attraction. The celebrity figures outside rotate to new celebs several times a month.

Dining, Amenities and Entertainment

The Venetian hosts 17 acclaimed restaurants, including "Bouchon", which is the vision of Time Magazine's “America's Best Chef”,Thomas Keller. There is also a food court in the Grand Canal Shoppes. Because the hotel is composed of suites, the hotel contains an upscale "grocery" store that sells produce, meats, and other items for cooking.

In addition to shopping at the Grand Canal Shoppes, The Venetian offers plenty of other things to do, including:

*"Blue Man Group" — an explosive show in the 1760-seat Blue Man Theatre
*"Wayne Brady: Making %@it Up" - a comedy improvisation, song and dance revue starring Brady, improv partner Jonathan Mangum, singers, dancers, and a four-piece band
*Canyon Ranch SpaClub — a 69,000 sq. ft. (6,400 m²) health spa and fitness center
*Convention space — 1.9 million sq ft (180,000 m²), including the 1.2 million sq. ft. (110,000 m²) Sands Expo convention center
*A new production of Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical "The Phantom of the Opera" entitled "Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular", which runs 95 minutes long and new special effects only seen at the Venetian. The Phantom Theater was custom built to resemble the Palais Garnier.
*Pool Deck — a five acre deck above the fourth level of the Venetian Tower, featuring 3 pools and a hot tub
*Tao Nightclub — 10,000 square foot (1,000 m²) high-energy nightclub located within the Tao “Asian Temple” Entertainment Complex.
*Aquaknox - a medium sized quaint and elegant restaurant that specializes in seafood

References

*Las Vegas Tourism website, lasvegas.com - [http://www.lasvegas.com/resorts/venetian/index.html?vc1=2&vc2=fhtl_txt_vntn The Venetian]

ee also

* The Venetian Macao

External links

* [http://www.venetian.com/ The Venetian website]
* [http://www.venetianmacao.com/en The Venetian Macao website]
* [http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/las_vegas/venetian.html Photos of Venetian]
* [http://www.a2zlasvegas.com/hotels/history/h-venetian.html History of the Venetian]
* [http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-363153-the_venetian_resort_hotel_casino-i Venetian] - User reviews, expert advice, articles and more information on the Venetian

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