Bellagio (hotel And Casino)
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Bellagio is a
resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...
,
luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
and
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
on the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
in
Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...
. It is owned by
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
and operated by
MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
. Bellagio was conceived by casino owner
Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...
, and was built on the former site of the
Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
hotel-casino. Wynn's company,
Mirage Resorts Mirage Resorts (formerly Golden Nugget Companies) was an American company that owned and operated hotel-casinos. It was acquired by MGM Grand, Inc. in 2000, forming MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International). History Golden Nugget Companies Inc. ...
, purchased the Dunes in 1992. Plans were announced in 1994 to replace it with Beau Rivage, a French-themed resort. However, Wynn changed the project plans in 1995, instead theming it after the village of
Bellagio Bellagio may refer to: * Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town * Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas * Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building * Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution * 79271 Bellag ...
, near
Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
. The resort was designed by
Jon Jerde Jonathan Adams Jerde, (January 22, 1940 – February 9, 2015) was an American architect based in Venice, Los Angeles, California, founder and chairman of The Jerde Partnership, a design architecture and urban planning firm specializing in the des ...
. Construction began on November 1, 1995, with
Marnell Corrao Associates Marnell Corrao Associates is a privately held company specializing in architecture and general contracting services that is based in Enterprise, Nevada. The company was founded in 1974 and is the country’s oldest and largest hotel casino design/ ...
as general contractor. Bellagio opened on October 15, 1998, with 3,005 rooms in a 36-story tower. Built at a cost of $1.6 billion, it was the world's most expensive resort up to that point. Early revenue was less than expected, and Wynn departed the resort in May 2000, when Mirage Resorts merged with MGM Grand Inc. Profits improved under the ownership of the newly formed MGM Mirage (later MGM Resorts). A 33-story hotel tower, with 928 rooms, was opened in 2004. MGM owned the Bellagio until 2019, when it sold the resort to
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
for $4.25 billion. MGM continues to operate the property under a lease arrangement. Bellagio is located on . It includes a casino and 3,933 rooms. The resort's signature attraction is the Fountains of Bellagio, a dancing water fountain synchronized to music. It is performed in an 8.5-acre man-made lake, located in front of the resort. Other attractions include the
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is an art gallery in the Bellagio resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened along with the rest of the property on October 15, 1998. Like the resort, the gallery was owned by Mirage Res ...
, and a conservatory and
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s. The hotel lobby features ''Fiori di Como'', a sculpture by glass artist
Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...
. It is the world's largest glass sculpture. Bellagio has numerous restaurants, including
Le Cirque Le Cirque is a French restaurant that has had several locations throughout the New York City borough of Manhattan for more than forty years. It is currently closed, with its future status unknown. New York City history Le Cirque was establish ...
and
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, the latter by chef
Julian Serrano Julián Serrano is a Spanish chef who lives and works in the United States. He first gained attention in San Francisco and is now most active in Las Vegas. Biography Born in Madrid, he studied in Marbella. He worked in several restaurants, Cari ...
. Other chefs at the resort have included
Todd English William Todd English (born August 29, 1960) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality, based in Boston, Massachusetts. He hosted the TV cooking show, ''Food Trip with Todd English,'' on PBS. In 2005 he was ...
,
Michael Mina Michael Mina ( ar, مايكل مينا; born 1969) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He is the founder of the Mina Group, a restaurant management company operating over 40 restaurants worldwide. He is the exec ...
,
Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.
, and
Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname ...
. Bellagio includes an 1,800 seat theater for performances of '' O'', a water-themed show by
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
. The property also has a high-end retail area which introduced several luxury brands to Las Vegas, including
Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
,
Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...
, and
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
.


History


Background and development

The site of the Bellagio was previously occupied by the
Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
hotel-casino, which opened in 1955. Through his company
Mirage Resorts Mirage Resorts (formerly Golden Nugget Companies) was an American company that owned and operated hotel-casinos. It was acquired by MGM Grand, Inc. in 2000, forming MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International). History Golden Nugget Companies Inc. ...
, casino owner
Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...
purchased the Dunes in November 1992, for $75 million. He intended to demolish it and build a new resort in its place. An early idea was to build five or six complexes with approximately 500 rooms each, along with a small theme park. As the Dunes closed in January 1993, Wynn proposed including a man-made lake in his new project for
water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
and
windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
. However, county officials questioned whether such a feature could be included following the passage of a 1990 water ordinance. A state expert found it unlikely that the lake would cause major soil sinking. The county modified the ordinance in February 1994, allowing Wynn to proceed with a man-lake, on the condition that he honor his claim that it would use less water than the Dunes' former golf course. On October 17, 1994, Mirage Resorts announced plans to build the French-themed Beau Rivage resort on the land, at a cost of $700-$900 million. It would be surrounded by a 50-acre lake with guests entering by footbridges. Mirage Resorts announced a name change in July 1995, stating that the resort would be named Bellagio, after the village of
Bellagio, Lombardy Bellagio (; lmo, label=Comasco, Belàs ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region of Lombardy. It is located on Lake Como, also known by its Latin-derived name ''Lario'', whose arms form an inverted Y. The ...
in northern Italy. The resort's designer,
Jon Jerde Jonathan Adams Jerde, (January 22, 1940 – February 9, 2015) was an American architect based in Venice, Los Angeles, California, founder and chairman of The Jerde Partnership, a design architecture and urban planning firm specializing in the des ...
, had been vacationing on
Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
. Impressed by its beauty, he convinced Wynn to come see the area. While on the lake with friend
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...
, Wynn noticed the nearby village of Bellagio, and spent half a day there. The village's Italian architecture inspired Wynn to scrap 10 months' worth of design work for Beau Rivage in favor of a Bellagio-themed resort. Wynn would later use the Beau Rivage name for another resort in Mississippi. The Las Vegas project was revised and scaled back. Among the changes was a reduction in the size of the lake feature; Mirage Resorts determined that it would use too much water as originally planned. The hotel tower, originally planned at 49 stories, was also reduced. The design and planning process took a total of 28 months, dating to 1993. Wynn said "there was no need to rush the project. We wanted to get it right". Jerde's design firm spent a total of four years designing the project. Wynn's in-house design team, Atlandia Design, handled the interior. Aside from the Dunes, a
Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...
restaurant was also demolished to make way for the Bellagio. Construction began on November 1, 1995, and the opening was initially scheduled for March 1998.
Marnell Corrao Associates Marnell Corrao Associates is a privately held company specializing in architecture and general contracting services that is based in Enterprise, Nevada. The company was founded in 1974 and is the country’s oldest and largest hotel casino design/ ...
served as general contractor. The project's cost increased several times, in part because of new features being added. A shortage of skilled workers also resulted in rising labor costs. It was financed through various lenders. Finished at a cost of $1.6 billion, it was the most expensive resort ever built. Wynn envisioned the Bellagio as a five-star resort catering to tourists who typically visit places other than Las Vegas, such as Paris, London, or Venice. He said the Bellagio would "redefine Las Vegas", describing it as the "most ambitious" and luxurious project ever attempted by Mirage Resorts. He also said it would be "the most romantic, delicious place ever built in the world", as well as the "greatest" and "most beautiful" hotel ever. The property features a variety of trees. Before the opening, builders spent more than a year searching the western U.S. for mature Japanese privets, which are capable of withstanding the dry Las Vegas heat. A deal was reached to remove approximately 30 privets from the government center in
Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...
and replant them at the Bellagio, at a cost of nearly $10,000 per tree. The resort's pool area is surrounded by a Mediterranean garden that included nearly 300 pine trees, left over from the Dunes golf course.


Opening

The opening was highly anticipated, and crowd-control measures were in preparation months prior. Mirage Resorts launched a $10 million advertising campaign which included 60-second television commercials, featuring opera singer
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...
. A pre-opening VIP party took place on the night of October 15, 1998, with 1,800 in attendance, including Nevada governor Bob Miller. The public opening followed at 10:45 p.m. Crowds, waiting to enter the resort, reached an estimated 25,000 people. Within the first day, the resort had received more than 80,000 visitors. The property included 3,005 hotel rooms, a casino, and high-end shops and restaurants. The resort's main attraction was an 8.5-acre man-made lake, featuring a water show known as Fountains of Bellagio. Other attractions included a conservatory and the $285 million
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is an art gallery in the Bellagio resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened along with the rest of the property on October 15, 1998. Like the resort, the gallery was owned by Mirage Res ...
. More than half of the resort's revenue was expected to come from non-gaming amenities. Bellagio employed 9,500 people, 3,200 of them coming from other properties also owned by Mirage Resorts. Casino executive
Bobby Baldwin Bobby Baldwin (born c. 1950)MGM Mirage's 2006 proxy statement, filed on April 30, 2006, recorded Baldwin's age as 55 is a professional poker player and casino executive. As a poker player, Baldwin is best known as the winner of the 1978 World S ...
served as the resort's president. Bellagio received positive reception. The level of luxury would eventually inspire other Las Vegas resorts to become more upscale. Las Vegas developer
Irwin Molasky Irwin Molasky (February 22, 1927 – July 4, 2020) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies. Early life Irwin Molasky was born to a Jewish family on Fe ...
said, "In our lifetime we will never see another building or hotel with such beauty and grace". Brian Greenspun of the ''
Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...
'' said the opening "by all accounts, was a first for Las Vegas", stating that the resort exceeded expectations. The newspaper's Steve Friess later called the opening a "pivotal" turning point in Las Vegas history: "The opening of a genuine luxury resort with great food, shopping and amenities was the most important step toward saying to the world, 'Vegas isn’t tacky anymore'". Residents of the Bellagio village reportedly found few similarities with the resort.


Ownership changes and expansion

When it opened, Bellagio's room rates averaged $200 a night, compared to $81 for most other Strip resorts. Early revenue was less than expected, with the resort making $260 million in cash flow during 1999, more than $40 million short of Wynn's predictions. Plans for a 1,300-room addition were put on hold in March 2000, while Mirage Resorts finalized a merger with MGM Grand Inc. The deal closed in May 2000, giving MGM Grand ownership of the Bellagio. Wynn was not upset with the sale: "I've always been someone who focuses on the next project. The only part I ever enjoyed was the building, the design. I've always been the design guy". The company changed its name to MGM Mirage later that year, and Bellagio's cash flow improved under the new ownership, prompting reconsideration of the hotel expansion plan. Plans for a second tower were confirmed in August 2002, as part of a $375 million expansion. The new Spa Tower would be built south of the main tower and would offer access to the spa. The expansion would also include additional spa, salon, meeting and retail space, as well as a new restaurant. Marnell Corrao Associates returned as general contractor. Construction on the Spa Tower began in April 2003. It was
topped off In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...
a year later, and opened on December 23, 2004. It added 928 rooms, for a total of 3,933. Convention space was also increased to . The resort hired 1,400 new employees for the expanded facilities, bringing the total to 10,000. In 2012, MGM and
Suning Real Estate Suning Real Estate () is a Chinese real estate company. It was privately held by the founder of Suning.com, Zhang Jindong, for 65% stake. Suning Plaza, Zhenjiang and Nanjing Olympic Suning Tower were under construction by the company. Suning ...
announced plans to expand the Bellagio name with a 200-room hotel in Shanghai, which eventually opened in 2018. Twenty years after its opening, the Bellagio remained one of the most popular resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. In October 2019, MGM Resorts announced it would sell the Bellagio to
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
for $4.25 billion. Through the deal, the two companies would form a joint venture that would lease the Bellagio back to MGM Resorts for an annual rent of $245 million. The sale was completed in November 2019. Under the deal, MGM acquired a five-percent ownership stake in the venture and continued to operate the resort through the lease.


Incidents


Power outages

A resort-wide power outage occurred around 2:00 a.m. on April 11, 2004, leaving only emergency lights still working. One of the main power lines was compromised, which led to the failure of other lines, resulting in the outage. Power had to be shut down completely so that thousands of feet of cable could be replaced. Guests were relocated to other hotels. The hotel and casino reopened on April 14, 2004, and other areas of the resort were reopened over the next few days. A preliminary investigation by the county found that the main power line failed because of premature deterioration, the cause for which remained unknown. A partial power outage occurred on December 31, 2011, shutting down the resort's buffet and several hundred hotel rooms in the main tower's west wing. Another partial outage occurred in March 2018, after leaking water made contact with an electrical panel. The six-hour outage affected the buffet, a performance theater, parts of the sportsbook, and certain elevators.


Robberies

Several robberies have occurred at the Bellagio. In June 2000, three men stole $160,000 in cash and casino chips, and were subsequently apprehended. The Bellagio heist was one in a series of casino robberies committed by the men. In December 2010, a helmet-wearing man robbed $1.5 million in chips from a craps table, with some chips worth $25,000 each. Confidential safeguards made it unlikely that the thief would be able to cash in the chips without getting caught. Furthermore, MGM announced after the robbery that it would discontinue the $25,000 chips within four months. The thief, son of a Las Vegas judge, was arrested in February 2011, after arranging to sell $25,000 chips to an undercover police officer. Approximately $793,000 in chips remained unaccounted for, most of them $25,000 chips. The robber pled guilty as part of a plea deal, and was sentenced to 3 to 11 years. In July 2014, a man robbed the cashier cage of $43,500, using a BB gun. He was arrested the next day, after spending roughly half of the money on prostitutes and a shopping spree. He was found incompetent to stand trial. On an early morning in March 2017, men wearing animal-themed masks broke into a jewelry store at the resort, prompting a police lockdown of the casino and parking garage. One of the suspects was apprehended, while three others remained at large. Another robbery occurred later in 2017, when a man stole money from a poker cage. He returned to rob the cage in March 2019, and a shootout occurred outside the resort between him and police as he tried to escape. He was shot and killed.


Fires

On the morning of September 23, 2008, a mattress fire prompted the brief evacuation of the 26th floor, as well as portions of the 25th and 27th floors. One guest suffered minor burns, and others were treated for smoke inhalation and released shortly afterwards. On the night of April 13, 2017, the roof of the resort's retail section caught fire, forcing an evacuation of the area. The rest of the resort was unaffected, and the fire was put out within a half-hour. It caused up to $450,000 in damage, mostly above a
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
. The fire was caused by a faulty exterior light fixture.


Amenities


Casino

Bellagio's casino is . Upon opening, it included 2,700 slot machines and 173 table games. Signage above slot machines was kept to a minimum, as Wynn wanted the resort's architecture to be the primary focus. As of 2003, gaming made up less than half of the resort's revenue. The poker room was expanded in 2004, as the game saw a rise in popularity. The casino includes a high-limit poker area, originally known as Bobby's Room. It was named after Bellagio president and longtime MGM executive
Bobby Baldwin Bobby Baldwin (born c. 1950)MGM Mirage's 2006 proxy statement, filed on April 30, 2006, recorded Baldwin's age as 55 is a professional poker player and casino executive. As a poker player, Baldwin is best known as the winner of the 1978 World S ...
. As of 2018, the minimum buy-in was $20,000. It was the most popular high-limit poker room in Las Vegas, until the nearby
Aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
resort opened in 2009. The Aria's poker room offered players a high-end alternative to Bobby's Room. In October 2020, MGM quietly renamed it the Legends Room, two years after Baldwin left the company. In 2002, the casino launched a poker tournament series. The casino also hosts the annual
WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic is an annual tournament as part of the World Poker Tour that is played out at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been part of every season of the World Poker Tour after being the inaugura ...
, and the Five-Star World Poker Classic. In 2013, the Bellagio introduced a private casino room known as Villa Privé, reserved for
high roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers ...
s.


Hotel

The Bellagio hotel has 3,933 rooms. It originally opened with 3,005 rooms, including 401 suites. A renovation of the main tower rooms took place in 2003. The Spa Tower, finished a year later, added 928 rooms, bringing the resort to its current number. The original tower is 36 stories, while the Spa Tower contains 33. The hotel's suites, as well as the rooms in the Spa Tower, were renovated in 2007. Rooms in the main tower received a six-month, $70 million renovation in 2011. A $40 million renovation of the Spa Tower rooms began in 2012 and concluded the following year. From 2014 to 2015, renovations took place on the main tower suites. It was the final phase of the $165 million remodeling project that began in 2011. Another renovation of the main tower rooms took place during 2021. The Chairman Suite includes an indoor garden, a home theater system, several fireplaces, a bar, and fulltime butler service. A restored 19th century fountain sits in the hotel lobby, near the Conservatory. In 2015, a sculpture representing Earth's elements was placed outside the main hotel entrance. It was created by artist Masatoshi Izumi, who hand-carved it out of four
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
stones, each one weighing at least 17,000 pounds.


Nightclubs and bars

An upscale nightclub, known as Light, was opened in December 2001. It was owned by Chris and
Keith Barish Keith Barish (born November 11, 1944) is an American film producer. He is known for being the former restaurateur of Planet Hollywood, which he co-founded with Robert Earl in 1991. He also served as the producer of such films as '' Sophie's Choi ...
, along with partner
Andrew Sasson Andrew Jacques Sasson (born 1970 in Walton-on-Thames, England)Garrahan, Matthew"Man who put a shine on Sin City" ''Financial Times''. July 22, 2008. is a British-American entrepreneur, hotelier, and real estate developer. With Andy Masi, he is th ...
. It was inspired by a New York nightclub of the same name. The Las Vegas location became popular among celebrities. Light closed in September 2007, and was replaced by a new upscale nightclub known as The Bank. It was operated by Sasson's company,
The Light Group Andrew Jacques Sasson (born 1970 in Walton-on-Thames, England)Garrahan, Matthew"Man who put a shine on Sin City" ''Financial Times''. July 22, 2008. is a British-American entrepreneur, hotelier, and real estate developer. With Andy Masi, he is the ...
. The club included two bars and three resident DJs. It was popular among tourists, and also attracted locals with various promotions and contests. It eventually closed in 2018. In March 2011,
SBE Entertainment Group SBE (''SamyBoy Entertainment'') is a privately held lifestyle hospitality company. SBE owns and operates over 20 hotels, 70 restaurants, and 42 lounges, and shares its headquarters between Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami. History SBE w ...
announced that it would bring its Hyde Lounge nightclub brand to the resort, taking the place of Fontana Bar. Hyde Bellagio opened on December 31, 2011. The space featured 40 tables and capacity for 714 people. It included outdoor seating overlooking the resort's fountains. Hyde Bellagio closed in July 2019, and was replaced by the Mayfair Supper Club. In February 2012, The Light Group opened Lily Bar & Lounge, which also served as a nightclub. The resort's bars are served by a pump room containing 1,800 bottles of alcohol. The alcohol travels distances ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 feet before reaching any one of the resort's 53 bars.


Restaurants

Bellagio opened with 16 eateries, some of them overseen by award-winning chefs.
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
is a French restaurant by chef
Julian Serrano Julián Serrano is a Spanish chef who lives and works in the United States. He first gained attention in San Francisco and is now most active in Las Vegas. Biography Born in Madrid, he studied in Marbella. He worked in several restaurants, Cari ...
. Paintings by
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
adorn the restaurant's walls. Chef
Todd English William Todd English (born August 29, 1960) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality, based in Boston, Massachusetts. He hosted the TV cooking show, ''Food Trip with Todd English,'' on PBS. In 2005 he was ...
opened Olives, which served Mediterranean food and was named after a popular restaurant he opened in Boston. The resort also included Circo and
Le Cirque Le Cirque is a French restaurant that has had several locations throughout the New York City borough of Manhattan for more than forty years. It is currently closed, with its future status unknown. New York City history Le Cirque was establish ...
, both owned by the Maccioni family and inspired by New York restaurants of the same name. Circo was an Italian restaurant, while Le Cirque offers French food and features an upscale circus theme. Other restaurants included the 500-seat Buffet at Bellagio; Prime, a steakhouse by chef
Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.
; Aqua, a 150-seat seafood restaurant originally from San Francisco, overseen by chef
Michael Mina Michael Mina ( ar, مايكل مينا; born 1969) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He is the founder of the Mina Group, a restaurant management company operating over 40 restaurants worldwide. He is the exec ...
; and the 24-hour Bellagio Cafe. Several restaurants included patios overlooking the Bellagio lake. In 2004, Aqua was renamed Michael Mina after its chef. A new restaurant, Sensi, opened later that year as part of the Spa Tower. Jean-Philippe Maury also opened a
pâtisserie A () is a type of Italian, French or Belgian bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets, as well as a term for such food items. In some countries, it is a legally controlled title that may only be used by bakeries that employ a licensed ...
which includes the world's largest chocolate fountain, standing 27 feet. Fifteen years after the resort's opening, most of the original restaurants remained popular. Circo closed in 2014, and was replaced a year later by Lago, a new restaurant from chef Serrano. The restaurant serves Italian food, and features an
Italian Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
design. Chef Roy Ellamar began overseeing Sensi in 2011. The restaurant closed in 2015, and was replaced by Ellamar's new restaurant Harvest, a health-conscious eatery with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. Olives closed in early 2018, and was replaced by
Spago Spago is chef Wolfgang Puck's flagship restaurant worldwide, known for serving California cuisine. Spago is Puck's first restaurant venture. Name and history The word "spago" is Italian for "string" or "twine". The plural would be "spaghi," whi ...
, a restaurant by
Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname ...
. The Mayfair Supper Club, a restaurant offering live entertainment, opened on December 31, 2019. It overlooks the Bellagio fountains. Le Cirque closed in March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and eventually reopened in October 2021. The resort includes an employee dining hall known as Mangia, which functions as a buffet and feeds thousands of workers daily. An herb garden, located on the Bellagio's roof, supplies some of the resort's restaurants.


Retail

Since its opening, the resort has included a high-end retail area known as Via Bellagio. Retailers include
Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
,
Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
,
Fred Leighton Fred Leighton is an American antique jewelry business based on Madison Avenue in New York City. The business is also known for lending jewelry to celebrities. History The business was founded by Murray Mondschein when he bought a Mexican arts and c ...
,
Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...
,
Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...
,
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
, and Tiffany & Co. It was the first time that such retailers had opened in Las Vegas, as Via Bellagio was the city's first retail center focused on luxury brands. Additional retail space was added in the 2004 expansion.


Attractions


Fountains of Bellagio

Fountains of Bellagio is a free
musical fountain A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed fountain that creates aesthetic designs as a form of entertainment. The displays are commonly synchronised to music and also ...
show performed in the resort's 8.5-acre lake. Each show is choreographed to a specific song or track, coming from a variety of musical genres. The fountains dance along to match the rhythm of the music, and water shoots as high as 460 feet. The fountains are a popular attraction, and among the most photographed places in the United States.2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...
.


Conservatory and botanical gardens

The resort contains a conservatory and
botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
. It is located next to the hotel's lobby and is open free to the public. It receives an average of 20,000 visitors daily. The Conservatory was originally planned as an outdoor garden. There are five seasonal themes that the Conservatory undergoes:
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
, spring, summer, fall, and winter. From January to mid-March, the Conservatory celebrates the
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
with a display dominated by flowers
bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...
and
orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
, as well as the animal of that particular year that the
Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...
celebrates. The theme then changes over to the spring display, which lasts until May, and usually features a butterfly house as well as many varieties of tropical flowers. During
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
weekend, Bellagio then switches over to its all-American summer display, featuring a large recreation of the
Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...
, as well as several American flags throughout the Conservatory. The summer display is usually very patriotic featuring a lot of red, white, and blue, and is dominated by
hydrangeas ''Hydrangea'', () commonly named the hortensia, is a genus of over 75 species of flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are ...
. From late September until
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
weekend, the Conservatory puts on its autumn display featuring several varieties of
chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...
and several large pumpkins. After Thanksgiving, the Conservatory switches to its winter holiday display, which is dominated by a large centerpiece Christmas Tree and several varieties of poinsettia. A life-sized candy village, which took months to create, was introduced for the 2012 Christmas display. Throughout the year, the colorful displays are decorated with many fragrant flowers and usually contain fountains. Each seasonal display costs about $1 million to create. Props are put into storage for future use. Planning for each season is done in advance, and each display design is carried out by more than 100 workers over the course of several days. The Conservatory uses thousands of plants and flowers for its displays each year. As of 2018, the Conservatory had used six million plants across 100 displays, and had received 150 million visitors.


Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art

In addition to the numerous works of art found throughout the public areas of the resort, the property also includes the
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is an art gallery in the Bellagio resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened along with the rest of the property on October 15, 1998. Like the resort, the gallery was owned by Mirage Res ...
. It opened along with the resort, originally to showcase art from Wynn's private collection, as well as art owned by Mirage Resorts. Following the property's ownership change in 2000, the gallery became a rotating exhibition space, hosting art collections loaned from museums.


''Fiori di Como''

A large art piece hangs from the ceiling of the hotel lobby, measuring approximately and representing flowers of various colors. It is a popular attraction and free to view. Known as ''Fiori di Como'' ("Flowers of Como"), it was created by glass artist
Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...
. Wynn hired him to create an art piece for the resort, but it would take six months before they settled on an idea. According to Wynn's wife Elaine, "We went over to Dale's house where he had put a glass art installation at the bottom of his lap pool. And I said to him, 'I want that in my ceiling in the Bellagio lobby.' So that's how we got that". A total of two years was spent working on ''Fiori di Como'', which turned out larger than Chihuly had anticipated: "Every time, Steve (Wynn) saw it, he wanted more". Because the sculpture would hang in Las Vegas, Chihuly took a less-restrained approach in creating it: "I thought it would be a good opportunity to use a lot of color. I thought I could be a little bit more exuberant".
Metal oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
s were used during the glass-making process to give the sculpture its colors. ''Fiori di Como'' includes more than 2,100 pieces of colored glass. The sculpture measures 65 feet by 29 feet, and weighs more than 40,000 pounds. It is supported by a 10,000-pound steel armature. ''Fiori di Como'' is the world's largest glass sculpture, and it popularized Chihuly among the general public. The cost to create the sculpture has never been revealed, although it reportedly ranges from $1 million to $10 million. As of 2017, it is estimated to be worth at least $8 million. ''Fiori di Como'' garnered positive feedback from guests, prompting Chihuly and the Bellagio to partner up and open a store in 2001, in the resort's Conservatory. The store sold artwork by Chihuly, including individual flower-shaped art pieces inspired by ''Fiori di Como''. Other items included books and videos about Chihuly.


Live entertainment

Wynn hired talent manager
Sandy Gallin Albert Samuel Gallin, better known as Sandy Gallin, (May 27, 1940 – April 21, 2017) was an American producer and talent manager, winner of an Emmy Award.
to oversee live entertainment at the resort. Upon opening, the casino included several performance venues, such as the 250-seat Fontana lounge, and the 70-seat Allegro lounge. Early on, the Fontana hosted acts such as
Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...
and Loston Harris. Since the Bellagio opened, it has featured
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
's water-themed show '' O''. It is performed in an 1,800-seat opera house, and makes use of a mini lake which serves as the stage. The show was created at a cost of approximately $100 million, making it the most expensive in Las Vegas history up to that point. ''Cheval'', a horse-themed show, was performed in a tent next to the resort in the early 2000s. It was created by Gilles Ste-Croix, who helped create ''O''.


Accolades

Bellagio is a member of
The Leading Hotels of the World The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. (LHW) is a marketing organization, representing more than 400 hotels in over 80 countries. Established in 1928 by European hoteliers, LHW is headquartered in New York City. History The company was establi ...
, and various organizations have ranked the resort highly. By 2001, it had achieved a four-star rating from
Mobil Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide or Mobil Travel Guide) is a star rating service and online travel guide for hotels, restaurants and spas. In 2011, Forbes Travel Guide published its last set of guidebooks and on November 15, 201 ...
. That year, it became the first hotel-casino to win the
AAA Five Diamond Award American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 mi ...
. It was also the second Las Vegas hotel to win the award, after the Four Seasons in 1999. In 2010, Bellagio won its 10th consecutive Five Diamond Award, the first Strip resort to do so. As of 2020, it had won the Five Diamond Award 18 consecutive times. Bellagio placed eighth in the 2003
Zagat Survey The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...
of U.S. hotel resorts, while its restaurants ranked 12th in the category of top dining. Bellagio has also made the ''
Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club memb ...
'' Gold List numerous times, beginning in 2005. A 2005 study by Majestic Research, polling more than 400 out-of-state residents, found Bellagio to be the favorite resort among tourists, with 18 percent support. Another study polled tourists who visited Las Vegas in 2005, and Bellagio was named the city's top "must-see" resort, while the fountains were named best "must-see" attraction. In 2010, ''
Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownershi ...
'' ranked it 31st on a list of top hotels in large U.S. and Canadian cities.
Travelocity Travelocity.com is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group. It has 12.4 million monthly unique visitors, making it the third most popular website owned by Expedia Group, after Expedia.com and Hotels.com. One of the pioneers of web-based di ...
ranked it in sixth place in a 2011 list of top 10 Las Vegas hotels, based on guest reviews. The resort's Picasso restaurant has also been critically acclaimed, receiving the AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five-Star awards by the end of 2001. In 2010, the restaurant won its 10th Five Diamond Award, while Le Cirque won its 8th. Bellagio was the only hotel in the U.S. to have two Five Diamond restaurants.


In popular culture

Bellagio serves as the central setting for the 2001 film ''
Ocean's Eleven ''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The ...
'', in which a group of thieves conspire to rob its vault. The film features various areas of the property. A staircase descended by character Tess Ocean (
Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...
) would later be removed to make way for the Spa Tower. The Bellagio is depicted in the 2007 film '' Lucky You''. The film is set during 2003, and the resort's poker room had been renovated since then, prompting the filmmakers to create a replica of the original room instead. It was constructed on a soundstage in Los Angeles. The resort's fountains have appeared in numerous films.


Gallery

File:Bellagio Las Vegas.jpg, Main tower at night File:Bellagio Tower - panoramio.jpg, Top of the main tower File:Bellagio caesar's palace 2010.JPG, Bellagio and
Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesars P ...
File:Bellagio Fountains at night.jpg, Bellagio fountains at night File:The Bellagio Fountains.jpg, Fountains during the day File:Bellagio Casino and Hotel at Night.jpg, Main tower and retail area File:Bellagio fountain show 2010 las vegas.JPG, Fountains at night, seen from
Paris Las Vegas Paris Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment and has a 95,263 square-foot casino with over 1,700 slot machines. The theme is the city of Paris; it includes a hal ...
File:Bellagio (9118984310).jpg, Bellagio hotel towers File:Bellagio Spa Tower.jpg, Spa Tower, seen from the Las Vegas Strip File:Shops in the Bellagio casino, Las Vegas.jpg, Via Bellagio shops File:Entrance to Bellagio casino.jpg, The
porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...
File:Bellagio Hotel (7977280142).jpg, Pool area File:Bellagio Las Vegas moonlight.jpg, Moonlit evening


See also

*
List of hotels in the United States This is a list of hotels in the United States, both current and defunct, organized by state. The list includes highly rated luxury hotels, skyscraper rated buildings, and historic hotels. It is not a directory of every chain or independent hotel bu ...


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control 1998 establishments in Nevada Articles containing video clips Casino hotels Casinos completed in 1998 Casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Fountains in Nevada Hotel buildings completed in 1998 Hotel buildings completed in 2004 Hotels established in 1998 Landmarks in Nevada Las Vegas Strip MGM Resorts International Resorts in the Las Vegas Valley Skyscraper hotels in Paradise, Nevada Steve Wynn