The Venetian (casino)

Venetian logo

At 9:00 PM on November 26th 1996, the famous Sands Hotel and casino in Las Vegas, once owned by Howard Hughes was imploded to make way for one of the most extravagant ventures on the Strip. This new hotel-casino was to be called the Venetian and drew its theme from the city of Venice. Construction began on May 3rd 1999, and when completed was the largest AAA Five-Diamond rated resort in the Americas. The project cost and unbelievable 1.5 billion dollars and has 4,049 suites and over 120,000 square feet of casino space. The Venetian gained a reputation for luxury, because it was the first resort comprised completely of suites. Each suite is at a minimum over 700 square feet, more than twice the size of typical Las Vegas rooms, and no detail was overlooked. The standard room accommodations include private bed chambers, a 130 square foot bathroom finished in Verona marble, and a sunken living room complete with comfortable couches and a poker table.

Inside, the Grand Canal is recreated in a 500,000 square foot shopping mall with over 80 international boutiques. The quarter mile canal offers guest the opportunity to ride in authentic gondolas under a beautifully painted sky. Along with the canal many other features of Venice can be found within its walls, including detailed reconstructions of Campanile, Doges’ Palace, Rialto, the Bridge of Sighs, and St. Mark’s Square. The construction of all these sights was overseen by two historians who made sure the paintings and sculptures made the visitors feel like they are in Venice.

Grand Canal inside the Venetian

As far as dining is concerned, the Venetian is world class, with 19 restaurants featuring six James Beard Award-winning chefs. Some of these famous names include Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Joachim Splichal, and Thomas Keller. A large dining court is also included in the Grand Canal Shoppes which gives guests more options. Other amenities include a five acre recreational area, with three pools and two spas. The convention center is also famous for being one of the largest in the world, with about 500,000 square feet of meeting space. Included in this is the world’s largest column-free ballroom at 85,000 square feet. What really makes this meeting center stand out, is the direct link to the 1.2 million square-foot Sands Expo and Convention Center located right next door.

Outside view of the Venetian

On January 17, 2008 the official opening of The Palazzo Hotel took place, which is an independent but associated resort with the Venetian. This new tower has an additional 3,068 suites, bringing the grand total up to 7,117 rooms, makeing it the largest hotel complex in the world. The Palazzo will connect to the Venetian at the Grand Canal Shoppes, extending both the canal length and available retail space.

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