The Venetian
Encyclopedia
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino is a luxury hotel
and casino
resort situated between Harrah's
and The Palazzo
on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip
in Paradise, NV
, United States
, on the site of the old Sands Hotel
. The hotel tower contains 40 stories and rises 475 feet (144.8 m). The Venetian is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation
. The Venetian also serves as the seat of the corporate headquarters for its parent company. This hotel features a life-like replica tower of St Mark's Campanile
in Venice
, Italy
.
The Venetian is (along with the adjacent Sands Expo Convention Center
and The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort
) part of the largest five-diamond hotel and resort complex in the world with 4,049 suites
, 4,059 hotel rooms, and a 120000 square feet (11,148.4 m²) casino.
, 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:
In music videos
In television
car to be won by a predetermined entrant, a player who had lost a large amount in the casino. The executives involved were fired.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
resort situated between Harrah's
Harrah's Las Vegas
Harrah's Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The property is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp.. Harrah's has over 1,200 slot machines....
and The Palazzo
The Palazzo
The Palazzo is a luxury hotel and casino resort situated between Wynn and The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. It is the tallest completed building in Nevada...
on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
in Paradise, NV
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 223,167 at the 2010 census...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on the site of the old Sands Hotel
Sands Hotel
The Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip....
. The hotel tower contains 40 stories and rises 475 feet (144.8 m). The Venetian is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation
Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999....
. The Venetian also serves as the seat of the corporate headquarters for its parent company. This hotel features a life-like replica tower of St Mark's Campanile
St Mark's Campanile
St Mark's Campanile is the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy, located in the Piazza San Marco. It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city....
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The Venetian is (along with the adjacent Sands Expo Convention Center
Sands Expo
250px|land|right|thumb|The Sands Expo and Convention Center main entrance, Las Vegas, Nevada, Jan. 7, 2009The Sands Expo and Convention Center, at 1.2 million square feet , is the second largest convention center in the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
and The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort
The Palazzo
The Palazzo is a luxury hotel and casino resort situated between Wynn and The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. It is the tallest completed building in Nevada...
) part of the largest five-diamond hotel and resort complex in the world with 4,049 suites
Suite (hotel)
A suite in a hotel or other public accommodation, denotes a class of luxury accommodations, the key feature of which is multiple rooms. Many properties have one or more "honeymoon suites", and sometimes the best accommodation is called the "presidential suite".Suites offer multiple rooms, with more...
, 4,059 hotel rooms, and a 120000 square feet (11,148.4 m²) casino.
History
On November 26, 1996, eight years after it was bought by Sheldon AdelsonSheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson is an American casino magnate. Adelson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center...
, the Sands Hotel
Sands Hotel
The Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip....
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
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
joining The Venetian Chairman and Owner, Sheldon G. Adelson, in christening the first motorized gondola
Gondola
The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries gondolas were the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in...
. 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 MuseumGuggenheim Hermitage MuseumThe Guggenheim Hermitage Museum was a museum in The Venetian, one of the world's largest hotels in Paradise, Nevada, located on the Strip in Las Vegas, USA. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas, opened October 7, 2001, and added three more collections and exhibits subsequent to its opening...
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 CommissionNevada Gaming CommissionThe Nevada Gaming Commission is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of casinos throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. It was founded in 1959 by the Nevada Legislature....
Thursday 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 BoardState Gaming Control Board (Nevada)The Nevada Gaming Control Board, also known as the State Gaming Control Board, is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of gaming throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Commission. It was founded in 1955 by the Nevada Legislature.The board is composed of three...
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, 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." - October 10, 2005 — Blue Man GroupBlue Man GroupBlue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
officially opens at the Blue Man Theatre. - June 24, 2006 — Phantom - The Las Vegas SpectacularThe Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
opened at a new theatre at the Venetian.
Film history
In films- The implosion of the old Sands to clear way for the Venetian was used as the crash landing site in the movie Con AirCon AirCon Air is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 American action-thriller film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich...
. - A suite from the Venetian is featured as a location in the 2005 movie Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and FabulousMiss Congeniality 2: Armed and FabulousMiss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous is a 2005 comedy film directed by John Pasquin, starring Sandra Bullock and Regina King. It is a sequel to the 2000 film Miss Congeniality....
- Various Venetian locations were settings for the introductory scenes of the 2001 movie, Rat Race.
- The exterior of the Venetian is portrayed in the movie Resident Evil: ExtinctionResident Evil: ExtinctionResident Evil: Extinction is a Canadian-British 2007 science fiction action horror film also categorized as a doomsday and zombie film, and is the third installment in the Resident Evil film series, which is based on the Capcom survival horror series Resident Evil...
. There is a dramatic zombie attack scene which takes place on the Venetian's replica of the Rialto BridgeRialto BridgeThe Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.- History :...
.
In music videos
- The music video "Shots", by LMFAOLMFAO (group)LMFAO is an American electro pop duo consisting of rappers, producers, dancers, and DJs Redfoo and SkyBlu . The group formed in 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Redfoo is SkyBlu's uncle. Redfoo is also the son of music mogul Berry Gordy, SkyBlu a grandson...
featuring Lil John, was performed at the Venetian.
In television
- The Venetian (Macao) appeared in episode 13 of the Korean drama Boys Over FlowersBoys Over Flowersis a Japanese shōjo manga series written by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine Margaret, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 37 tankōbon volumes. In 1996, it received...
. - The casino in the Venetian has been used in filming scenes for CSICSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
. - "Building the Venetian" was the subject of an episode of the show MegaStructuresMegaStructuresMegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel and Five in the United Kingdom, on France 5 in France and on 7mate in Australia....
. - The Venetian appeared in a scene of the 26th episode of season one of The O.C.The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
. - The Venetian appeared in a scene of the twenty-fifth season of The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)The Real World: Las Vegas is the twenty-fifth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras document their lives and interpersonal relationships...
. - The Venetian appeared in the opening of Miss Universe 2010Miss Universe 2010Miss Universe 2010, the 59th edition of the pageant, was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. on August 23, 2010. It was hosted by Bret Michaels and Natalie Morales...
.
TAO Nightclub
TAO was reporting the second highest revenue in 2011 according to the Nightclub & Bar Top 100 for 2011.. With an Asian-inspired theme filled with rich woods and stone, TAO features a 20 foot tall Buddha statue, an infinity pool with koi, eight private sky boxes with mini-bars, a 40 foot long outside terrace with views of the strip, state-of-the-art lighting and audio systems and two dance rooms.TAO Beach
Located on top of TAO Nightclub, TAO Beach is the Venetian's day club pool party. Their seven VIP cabanas each house a plasma TV, DVD player, Xbox 360, a fully stocked mini-fridge and a private safe for valuables.Allegations
In 2004, the Venetian agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to settle a 12-count Gaming Control Board complaint, including rigging a drawing for a Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
car to be won by a predetermined entrant, a player who had lost a large amount in the casino. The executives involved were fired.