Celebrating the iconic resort that changed the Strip 25 years ago.
In 1971 , the New York Times called the Italian Greenwich Village of Bellagio a"quiet alternative to the modern , nervy resort,“so it ’s comfortable to see how this tiny lakeside finish urge on an iconic Las Vegas hotel that aimed to balance surfeit with elegance 27 year afterward . " Quiet " may be a stretch , but the Bellagio we know and fuck on the Strip today has a timeless , throttle charm despite being the 9th - largest hotel in township with nearly 4,000 rooms and retinue .
The Bellagio turned 25 years erstwhile this year , celebrate the milestone at the same time Formula 1 grandstand are blocking its most noted feature — the water fountains that break from its own interlingual rendition of Lake Cuomo out front . The irony is difficult to push aside , but the scene magnifies the resort ’s positive , calm comportment , even as Las Vegas go on to evolve around it .
" What we were 25 years ago is what we are today , " Rhonda Povelko , Bellagio entertainment manager , pronounce . " We ’re always looking to develop , we ’re always looking to improve , but the Bellagio has never charter off that touch sensation of home . "
Photo courtesy of Bellagio Las Vegas
Jean - Georges Vongerichten , the French chef behind Prime Steakhouse , describes the Bellagio another room , saying , " It ’s still the grande gentlewoman of Las Vegas . "
It ’s now voiceless to imagine the Strip without the Bellagio , which bridge the geological era of Las Vegas as a value - driven travel destination with one of sumptuousness , indulgence , and gamey prices . " Gaming became upscale entertainment , " according to chef Michael Mina , reflecting on the resort ’s impact upon opening in 1998 . " The Bellagio had an effect on the world . "
Beyond the eatery , gambling casino base , and hotel rooms , the Bellagio exemplify a fresh version of Las Vegas , identifiable in every recession , from the Mediterranean - inspired pool pack of cards to a words of upscale dress shop that helped insert brands like Tiffany & Co. , Chanel , and Giorgio Armani to Las Vegas . Yet the Bellagio is as intriguing and relevant as ever , whether it ’s new attractions like theprivate dining table inside the Conservatory & Botanical Gardensor asecret bar that ’s yield new life to vintage hard drink .
Aerial of Las Vegas Strip with the Bellagio construction in the foreground on 2025-03-31|Photo by Darrin Bush, courtesy of LVCVA Archive/Las Vegas News Bureau
There ’s always something compelling to explore at this 156,000 - hearty - foot hotel , include a bequest date back 25 years . So let ’s take a deep dive into all the clobber you never knew or might ’ve forgotten about the Bellagio over two - and - a - half decades in Las Vegas .
It started with a pirate attack
The Bellagio was build by Steve Wynn , who believed that bigger was almost always better . The casino mogul dramatically exposit the Golden Nugget in the ' 70s and ' 80s , make it the largest hotel on Fremont Street , then famously usher in the era of the megaresort on the Strip with the Mirage in 1989 .
Wynn build the Bellagio on the land site of the Dunes , which wasimploded in a fireballtied to the 1993 opening of Wynn ’s Treasure Island , where the in - house pirate show shot off a cannon to " ignite " the eruption . A year by and by , the implosion was the coming ofTreasure Island : The Adventure Begins , atruly awed NBC television specialfeaturing Wynn himself in a starring office .
The Dunes ' iconic 180 - foot - magniloquent power pylon , the tallest freestanding house in the world at one point , was lose in the demolition . ( This was long before theNeon Museum keep and protected this sort of clobber . ) According toLas Vegas Then and Nowby Su Kim Chung , the house was work up with three miles of Ne tubing , creating a deep flushed radiance that was hard to dismiss by those stay on in the Strip - facing hotel rooms ( History repeated itself asthe Sphere ’s glow is currently keeping hotel guests up . )
Bellagio Lake|Photo by Darrin Bush, courtesy of LVCVA Archive/Las Vegas News Bureau
The original idea for the Bellagio ended up in Mississippi
The Bellagio was initially announced as Beau Rivage ( " beautiful shoreline " in French ) with the resort see in the centre of a 50 - acre lake and accessible by bridge deck . After holiday in Northern Italy , Wynn scrapped his design plans , shifted to an Italian theme , and rename the refuge after Bellagio , a township know for waterside serenity and timeless , historical architecture .
The mogul saved the original name and repurposed it forBeau Rivagein Biloxi . The 1,740 - way hotel towboat even sort oflooks like the Bellagio and remain the tallest building in Mississippi to this daylight . It was also the heavy US hotel outside Nevada when it opened in 1999 . The casino was built on barges due to jurisprudence then in place that only leave gambling at ocean and was seriously damage during Hurricane Katrina . After extensive haunt , the refuge reopened just one yr after Katrina walk out .
The Bellagio’s exterior is an illusion
The Bellagio was designed by Jon Jerde , who was instruct to give the resort a dress shop feel despite being more than 500 foot tall and 36 stories with at least 3,000 hotel rooms ( as detailed inThe Strip : Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dreamby Stefan Al ) . The designer used afavorite prank among hotel designers , grouping four window together with the appearance of being one unmarried windowpane when viewed from a distance . Using this optical illusion , the Bellagio seems to be just 16 stories . Other Las Vegas hotels , include Caesars Palace and Treasure Island use a like sleight of deal .
Windsurfing was once planned for the Bellagio’s lake
It ’s good to say theFountains of Bellagioare the resort ’s most well - know feature and attraction . More than a thousand nozzles project weewee up to 460 feet in the air , terpsichore and rock in synchronise light and euphony prove that run every half hour in the afternoon and every 15 min at night , weather let .
Originally , Wynn want his version of Lake Cuomo to offerwater skiing and lead - surfriding . design transfer , and the 8.5 - acre lake evolved to be something better for viewing than swimming – althoughsome have tried . Today , 30 qualified divers wield the natural spring and gather up whatever coin tourists toss in the lake , which are thendonated to charity .
The Bellagio ushered in a new era of fine dining
The Bellagio fix a new monetary standard for hunky-dory dining back when cheap peck and loss - leader buffet dominated Vegas . Jean - Georges Vongerichten ( Prime ) , Julian Serrano ( Picassoand laterLago ) , and Michael Mina ( whoseself - title seafood restaurantwas originally called Aqua ) have been on display board since the Bellagio opened , clear restaurants attractions in their own right or else of a property to eat between a one-armed bandit machine and a show . However , multitude were still on the go in the other days , and some of the restaurants used tiffin systems for dinner because mass want to get through their meals much faster than they did in other cities . The Bellagio also brought in a version of New York ’s legendaryLe Cirque , which is still go strong today after the original close in 2018 .
There were two nightclubs at one time; now there are none
Even the Bellagio was n’t immune to the feeding bottle service bonanza of the early aughts . Light Nightclub open in 2001 , eviscerate the same younger demographic courted by a revived Studio 54 at the MGM Grand . The 11,170 - square - groundwork space became Bank Nightclub , whichenjoyed an 11 - year runbefore closing in 2018 . The club had a distinctive Methedrine - encased terpsichore level , tiered VIP booths , and was one of the first places to feature Bruno Mars in Las Vegas .
Hyde Bellagio was a little pocket-size at 10,000 square animal foot , with more of a lounge vibe and an internal receptive - air dance trading floor that look across the lake . You could even palpate a contact of mist in the airwave during fountain shows . The venue was most famous for offer a$250,000 high - roll packagethat let in a 30 - liter Ace of Spades champagne bottle and permit to activate the fountain with a touch of a release . After seven year , Hyde Bellagio was replaced byMayfair Supper Club , with night life trends drifting off from crowded dance floors , cranberry vodkas , and belated - night disk jockey and toward sit down dinners with wine , craft cocktail , and alive entertainment . The Hyde brand be on in Vegas with alounge on the top level of the T - Mobile Arena .
The Bellagio introduced art to Vegas casinos
Back in the day , most casinos avoided fancy decoration , believing they draw aid away from table game and slot machine . The Bellagio aid change that perception with afine art galleryto show off Steve Wynn ’s private $ 300 million collection . According toA Short History of Las Vegasby Barbary and Myrick Land , visitor could book appointments to see work by Picasso , Van Gogh , Gauguin , Matisse , Cezanne , Monet , and Renoir with Wynn ’s own recorded voice , provide a guided tour of the exhibit .
When MGM Resorts read over the place , Wynn reclaimed his fine art collection , which was technically leased to the Bellagio . A year later , the gallery was hosting Picassos , Hockneys , Lichtensteins , and Seurats , owned by Steve Martin with the histrion ’s voice replacing Wynn ’s on the audio tour . The drift has since expanded , changed its location to be more centrally place , and now apply a tag system for rotating art presentment .
At least eight people clean Fiori di Como every morning
Fiori di Como is the Bellagio ’s most notable art palm , breed more than 2,000 solid feet on the ceiling of the check - in foyer . Wynn commission Dale Chihuly to create the 50,000 - pound musical composition , featuring more than 2,000 hand - blow deoxyephedrine flowers on a backlit steel systema skeletale . The artist gain $ 10 million for the Book of Job . You do n’t want to see something this expensive cod debris , so a team of eight - to-10 engineerscleans the sculpture every morning .
A fake elevator was built forOcean’s Eleven
The 2001 remake ofOcean ’s Eleven , a heist film about break into the Bellagio , was inspired by the 1960 Rat Pack movie of the same name — and both flicks are quintessentially Vegas . The yield crew was give 24 - hour entree toshoot on location at the resort , thanks to a secure relationship between producer Jerry Weintraub and both Steve Wynn ( who signed off on the deal ) and Kirk Kerkorian ( who was in charge when the five workweek of filming take place ) . A few scene will look unrecognisable to those familiar with the Bellagio today . An lift window dressing built in front of the box office was only temporary and a grand stairway used by Julia Roberts near the Conservatory was remove a couple of years later . You ’ll also get a glance of the originalBellagio Gallery of Fine Artbefore it was relocate .
Owas originally calledEau
It ’s easy to wonder whyOby Cirque du Soleil is named after a undivided alphabetic letter . The show was originally pass to be forebode " Eau " ( French for water ) . The word is articulate the same fashion ( " oh " ) , but Bellagio executive fear Americans would call it " eww”—and of course , nobody want that . The dramatics was designed to resemble a fourteenth - century European opera menage with frogman , dancers , acrobat , and others perform in and around a 1.5 million - gallon pond .
O , which has more Olympians in the cast than any other Cirque show , has been a striking since sidereal day one . Ticket demand was so huge that a third - party inspection and repair in Canada was hired to handle the call loudness with at least 100 people on the line at any ease up time . ( This was before on-line ticket sales agreement became the norm.)Ohas sell more than 19 million tickets over 25 years with around 12,000 full performances – and counting .
Dozens of horses were kept outside
Cheval ( French for " buck " ) was a new production by Cirque du Soleil co - beginner Guy Gilles Ste - Croix that ran in Las Vegas in later 2001 and early 2002 . The show feature 30 horses , 27 performers , and a alive orchestra in a 70,000 - hearty - foot large - top collapsible shelter that stretched across Harmon Avenue between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo ( now the Park MGM ) . That seems like a huge amount of distance to cover up , considering the Cosmopolitan and entire CityCenter complex are all squeezed in there today . Cheval was adifferent kind of equestrian show , earning plus reviews for a Cirque - esque mix of dramatic play , love story , clowning , and acrobatics with 17 breeds of horses appearing throughout 90 minutes .
Flowers are changed every week at the Conservatory
About 15,000 people visit theBellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens , which — like the recourse ’s fountain — are one of thebest free attraction in Las Vegas . Roughly 80 gardening team members are responsible for elaborate seasonal flowered display , which exchange five time a year . Traditionally , fresh exhibits arrive in time for spring , summer , fall , the winter vacation ( with a loom 42 - foot - tall white true fir as the centrepiece ) , and the Lunar New Year . A flowered display of the US fleur-de-lis was display for an extended stop following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 . There are anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 thousand industrial plant and trees in any given exhibit . single plant are replaced every calendar week , meaning an showing can have up to 60,000 of them over the duration of its run .
The Bellagio hosted a UFC event
It may seem a touch modality off - brand , but the Bellagio actually host the Ultimate Fighting Championship back in 2002 withUFC 37.5 : As Real As It Gets , which Sherdog called"one of the UFC ’s strange events"in chronicle . The denary power point is because the UFC already schedule UFC 38 for a high-pitched - visibility UK debut a calendar month later and put this fight bill together at the last mo for a promotional coaction with Fox Sports Net . Without an arena on attribute , the Bellagio held the event inside the convention hall with the caged octagon built over a dance palace carpet . The main event saw future Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddel bring in a decision triumph over Vitor Belfort .
UFC 37.5 was also the first UFC show to feature Joe Rogan on comment and the first UFC show send on connection television in Brazil , the home country of jiu - jitsu , which hard influenced the modern geological era of Mixed Martial Arts . The Bellagio dabbled further in combat sports with boxing and K-1 kickboxing events over the years .
The Bellagio’s influence is felt in Asia
Nobody speak about it much , but there ’s in reality asecond Bellagio in China — and it depend nothing like the original . Bellagio by MGM Shanghaihas less than 200 rooms on the waterfront near the Huangpu River in Shanghai ’s historic Bund district . No fountains , indoor garden , or even a cassino . This is basically a branding arrangement in name only with Suning Real Estate Group . The hotel ’s stern concrete exterior will do nothing to remind you of Northern Italy , but it does have a edition of Lago by Julian Serrano .
Steve Wynn ’s Macau resort , the 1,706 - roomWynn Palace , is a better representation of the Bellagio ’s influence and bequest in Asia . The luxuriousness hotel open up on the Cotai Strip ( often compared to the Vegas Strip ) in 2016 with a lake and fountain show that was clearly shape by Wynn ’s old Bellagio property .
The Bellagio was the last hotel built by Mirage Resorts
Wynn establish the Bellagio for $ 1.6 billion ( or nearly $ 3 billion when adjust for inflation today ) , making it the most expensive hotel in the world when it opened . The property struggled to be profitable , but thing sour around after Wynn ’s Mirage Resorts merge with MGM Grand , Inc. , forming MGM Mirage and later MGM Resorts International . The new ownership finally turned the Bellagio into the most profitable hotel in the world and tally a second tower with nearly a thousand additional room in 2004 — a year before Steve Wynn would open his own self - titled Wynn Las Vegas fall back far north on Las Vegas Boulevard .
The Bellagio was betray to private equity firm Blackstone , with MGM Resorts still operating the hangout under a leasing accord . Realty Income recentlypurchased a 22 % stakefrom Blackstone in a deal that now prize the holding at more than $ 5 billion . And really , this might be the Bellagio ’s greatest legacy — kicking off an earned run average of leverage , asset , and spate so complex , the general public barely empathize who really own the position when it ’s all enounce and done . Welcome to the fresh Las Vegas .
Fiori di Como|Photo courtesy of LVCVA Archive/Las Vegas News Bureau
Bellagio Conservatory on 5.20.10|Photo by Darrin Bush, courtesy of LVCVA Archive/Las Vegas News Bureau
