Las Vegas – Bellagio

Bellagio is a resort, luxury hotel and Online Casino Australian on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and Online Casino Australian. Inspired by the Lake Como town of Bellagio in Italy, Bellagio is famed for its elegance. One of its most notable features is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) lake between the building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio, a large dancing water fountain synchronized to music.

Inside Bellagio, Dale Chihuly’s Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 sq ft (190 m2) of the lobby ceiling. Bellagio is home to Cirque du Soleil’s aquatic production "O". The main (original) tower of Bellagio, with 3,015 rooms, has 36 floors and a height of 508 ft (151 m). The Spa Tower, which opened on December 23, 2004, and stands to the south of the main tower, has 33 floors, a height of 392 ft (119 m) and contains 935 rooms.

MGM Resorts International owned the Bellagio until 2019, when it sold the resort to The Blackstone Group for $4.25 billion. MGM continued to operate the property under a lease arrangement.

Bellagio was conceived by Steve Wynn, and Atlandia Design (a Mirage Resorts, Inc. wholly owned subsidiary) managed the design, construction and furnishing of the facility, following the purchase and demolition of the legendary Dunes hotel and Online Casino Australian in October 27, 1993 after the grand opening of Luxor Las Vegas. Bellagio’s design architect was DeRuyter Butler, and Peter Smith was the project executive. Construction on the Bellagio began in May 1996. Bellagio had an original design and construction cost of US$1.6 billion.

The interior design on the Bellagio was designed by Architectural Digest 100 four-time winner Roger Thomas. Roger Thomas is the executive vice president of design for Wynn Design & Development, and principal of the Roger Thomas Collection.

Bellagio opened on October 15, 1998, just before 11 pm, in a ceremony that was reported to cost US$88 million. The VIPs invited to the grand opening were expected to donate to The Foundation Fighting Blindness US$1,000 a person or US$3,500 a couple, which entitled them to an overnight stay at Bellagio’s suite rooms. Opening nighttime’s entertainment began with Steve Wynn giving a 40-minute welcome speech followed by the opening of the Cirque du Soleil production O. Performing in Bellagio lounges that nighttime were New York cabaret and recording artist Michael Feinstein, George Bugatti, and John Pizarrelli. When it opened, it was the most expensive hotel ever built.

In 2000 it became an MGM Mirage property when Mirage Resorts merged with MGM Grand Inc. to create MGM Mirage. In 2010, the company was renamed MGM Resorts International in a move to go worldwide with its brands.

Bellagio employs approximately 8,000 people. In the Autumn of 2006, the Online Casino Australian flooring was remodeled and new uniforms were issued, changing the original color scheme to a more than subdued beige theme.

On December 15, 2010, a helmet-wearing gunman robbed the Online Casino Australian of $1.5 million in chips. In August 2011, he was sentenced to a prison term of 9–27 years.

In the early morning hours of March 25, 2017, the Rolex jewelry store was robbed by men in pig masks.

On April 14, 2017, section of the roof caught fire.

In October 2019, MGM Resorts announced it would sell the Bellagio to The Blackstone Group 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. The joint venture was owned almost entirely by Blackstone. Under the deal, MGM acquired a five-percent ownership stake in the venture and continued to operate the resort through the lease.

Many professional poker players prefer to play at the Bellagio poker room, calling it their home base (or more than commonly "The business office") due to the high table limits, including the high-stakes Big Game located in "Bobby’s Room", named after Bobby Baldwin. The stakes at the Big Game can range up to $4,000/$8,000, and are frequented by such poker pros as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, and Jennifer Harman. It is reported that the pots during this game can far top $1 million.

Bellagio has also partnered with the World Poker Tour to host several of their tournaments.

Bellagio has won the AAA Five Diamond Award 15 years in a row, from 2000 to 2015; it was the first Strip hotel to receive the award ten or more than times in a row. Two of its restaurants, Picasso and Le Cirque, have got also received the Five Diamond award. The hotel is a fellow member of The Leading Hotels of the World. In addition, Picasso has received two Michelin stars. Le Cirque and Michael Mina have got each received one Michelin star. The resort is recognized on the Condé Nast Traveller Gold listing as one of the "Top Hotels in the World".

Bellagio serves as the central setting for the 2001 film Ocean’s Eleven, in which a group of thieves conspire to rob its vault. In the film’s 2007 second sequel, Ocean’s Thirteen, two of the characters stand in front of Bellagio, reminiscing about Dunes, which had previously occupied the site.

"Baby One more than Time" singer Britney Spears performed at the Bellagio Fountains, and so did rap artist Drake. The Bellagio fountain was also included in the Bruno Mars’s "24K Magic" music video.

The 2007 film Lucky You features many of its poker scenes inside Bellagio, although it is never specifically shown or mentioned.

The resort appears in the 2008 film Bolt, when Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino watch the fountains of the Bellagio.

(Wikipedia)

Das Hotel Bellagio ist ein Luxushotel am Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas im US-Bundesstaat Nevada. Es gehört dem Verbund Leading Hotels of the World an und ist eines der größten Hotels weltweit. Eigentümer ist die MGM-Resorts-International-Gruppe, welche das Resort auf dem Gelände des ehemaligen The Dunes erbaute.

Das Bellagio wurde vom Unternehmer und Kasinobetreiber Steve Wynn konzipiert und von seiner Firma Mirage Resorts gebaut. Dem Baubeginn im Mai 1996 ging der Abriss des bis dahin auf dem Grundstück befindlichen Hotels The Dunes im Oktober 1993 voraus. Eröffnet wurde die Anlage am 15. Oktober 1998. Im Jahr 2000 erfolgte der Zusammenschluss von Mirage Resorts und MGM Grand Inc. zu MGM Mirage, welche seit 2010 wiederum als MGM Resorts International auftritt; das Bellagio ist damit heute im gleichen Besitz wie einige der bekanntesten Las-Vegas-Hotels (darunter Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage und New York-New York). Das Bellagio beschäftigt rund 8.000 Mitarbeiter.

Das Bellagio war Hauptschauplatz der Filme Ocean’s Eleven (2001) und Ocean’s 13 (2007). Ein Großteil der Szenen wurde vor Ort im Hotel gedreht; auch die Springbrunnenfontänen kommen am Ende der beiden Filme vor (jedoch nicht im zweiten Teil der Filmreihe).

2006 wurde der Casinobereich neugestaltet, im Jahr 2011 folgte die Renovierung aller im Main Tower befindlichen Zimmer.

Die Anlage des Hotels ist der italienischen Landschaft des Comer Sees nachempfunden, benannt ist es nach der dort gelegenen Stadt Bellagio. Zur Hotelanlage gehören ein 3,2 Hektar großer künstlicher See, die Ladenpassage „Via Bellagio“, ein Kasino sowie zwei Hochzeitskapellen. Das Hotel besaß bei seiner Eröffnung 1998 3.015 Zimmer im 36-stöckigen Main Tower (151 m), 2004 kamen durch den Bau des 33-stöckigen, südlicher gelegenen Spa Towers (119 m) 935 Zimmer und Suiten hinzu. Die Bellagio Towers zählen zu den Leading Hotels of the World und wurden zwölfmal in Folge (2000–2012) mit dem bekannten AAA Five Diamond Award ausgezeichnet. Zwei der Restaurants im Komplex, Le Cirque und das Picasso, tragen ebenfalls diese Auszeichnung. Darüber hinaus erhielten die Restaurants Picasso (zwei Sterne) sowie Le Cirque und Michael Mina (je ein Stern) Auszeichnungen des Guide Michelin. Der Cirque du Soleil gastiert mit der Wassershow O in einem eigens errichteten Theater im Hotel inklusive Pool.

Teil der Anlage ist auch die Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, eine Kunstgalerie mit wechselnden Ausstellungen, sowie ein Wintergarten, in welchem je nach Saison aufwendig gestaltete Gartenschauen präsentiert werden.

Bekannt ist das Hotel vor allem wegen der Fontänen (Fountains of Bellagio), einer computergesteuerten Wassershow. Dazu befindet sich im See vor dem Hotel eine Installation aus über 1200 Düsen und rund 4000 Lampen. Einige der Düsen schießen Wasser über 140 Meter in die Höhe, andere sind beweglich und können ihren Strahl „tanzen“ lassen. Die Anlage wird vollautomatisch gesteuert. Täglich zwischen 15 und 24 Uhr zeigen die Fountains mehrmals pro Stunde ihre Show, die zu wechselnden Musikstücken choreographiert wird. Es sind etwa 30 verschiedene Stücke im Repertoire, u. a. The Pink Panther Theme von Henry Mancini und All nighttime Long von Lionel Richie. Der See wird durch eine lange vor Errichtung des Hotels gefasste Grundwasserquelle gespeist, welche einst der Bewässerung des Dunes-Golfplatzes auf dem Gelände diente. Die Anlage wurde von der amerikanischen Firma WET erbaut, welche auf die Errichtung solcher Wasserspiele spezialisiert ist.

Das Bellagio beheimatet zudem den legendären Bobby’s Room, in dem das sogenannte Big Game stattfindet. Hier spielen die vermögendsten Pokerspieler um die höchsten verfügbaren Einsätze. Um Eintritt zu erhalten, muss man bereit sein, um mindestens 20.000 US-Dollar (minimaler Buy-in) zu spielen.

(Wikipedia)