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Bellagio
Facts and statistics
Address	3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Opening date	October 15, 1998
Theme	Bellagio, Italy
No. of rooms	3,933
Total gaming space	116,000 sq ft (10,800 m2)
Permanent shows	"O"
Signature attractions	Bellagio Gallery Of Fine Art Conservatory The Fountains of Bellagio The Bank Nightclub
Notable restaurants	Le Cirque Circo Picasso Michael Mina Jasmine Jean-Georges' Prime Olives Sensi
Casino type	Land
Owner	MGM Mirage
Architect	DeRuyter Butler and Atlandia Design
Years renovated	Bellagio Spa Tower, 2004, 2006-07
Website	bellagio.com

Bellagio is a 30 story luxury, AAA Five Diamond award winning hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Paradise area of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, USA and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. It is owned by MGM Mirage and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino.

Inspired by the Lake Como resort 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".

History

Bellagio at day, front view

Bellagio was conceived by Steve Wynn and built by his company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. following the purchase and demolition of the legendary Dunes hotel and casino in 1993. Bellagio was designed by DeRuyter Butler and Atlandia Design.^[1][2] Bellagio had an original construction cost of US$1.6 billion.

The Bellagio opened October 15, 1998, just before 11 p.m. 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 night'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 night 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.

The Bellagio employs approximately 10,000 people. In the fall of 2006, the casino floor was remodeled and new uniforms were issued, changing the original color scheme to a more elegant type.

Film history

• The Bellagio and its fountains are featured in the 2007 film Lucky You and the 2008 film 21.
• The Bellagio was featured prominently in the film Ocean's Eleven. The curved staircase that Tess Ocean (played by Julia Roberts) descended was removed during a 2006 remodel to accommodate the entrance pathway from a newly built hotel tower, called The Spa Tower. New shops and restaurants fill the space. The fictitious vault for the three casinos that were robbed (MGM Grand, Mirage, and Bellagio) owned by Terry Benedict (played by Andy Garcia) was located beneath the Bellagio.
• In the 2007 film Ocean's Thirteen, Daniel Ocean (played by George Clooney) is talking about The Dunes Hotel (which was situated on the same place before the Bellagio was built) while he is standing in front of the Fountains of Bellagio together with Rusty Ryan (played by Brad Pitt).
• In the 2009 film 2012, The Bellagio along with the rest of the The Strip were destroyed while the dome of the hotel is nearly crashed into by the giant plane similar to the Antonov An-225.
• In the 2009 film The Hangover (film), Doug (played by Justin Bartha ) finds $80,000 worth of Bellagio chips in his pocket after being found.

Gambling

Poker room

Many professional poker players prefer to play at the Bellagio poker room, calling it their home base (or more commonly "The Office") due to the high table limits, including the high stakes Big Game located in "Bobby's Room", named after Bobby Baldwin.

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

Attractions

Fountains of Bellagio

The Fountains of Bellagio as seen from the Paris Las Vegas hotel, across the strip from the Bellagio.

The Fountains at night, as seen from Paris Las Vegas

The Fountains of Bellagio is a vast, choreographed water feature with performances set to light and music. (See musical fountain.) The performances take place in front of the Bellagio hotel and are visible from numerous vantage points on the Strip, both from the street and neighboring structures. The show takes place every 30 minutes in the afternoons and early evenings, and every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight. Before a water show starts, the nozzles break the water surface and the lights illuminating the hotel tower turn to a purple hue (usually), or red-white-and-blue for certain music. Shows may be cancelled without warning because of wind, although shows usually run with less power in face of wind. A single show may be skipped to avoid interference with a planned event. The fountain display is choreographed to various pieces of music, including songs by Andrea Bocelli, Frank Sinatra, and Gene Kelly.^[3]

The fountains are set in a 9-acre (3.6 ha) manmade lake. Contrary to urban myth, the lake is not filled with treated greywater from the hotel. The lake is actually serviced by a freshwater well that was drilled decades prior to irrigate a golf course that previously existed on the site. The fountains actually use less water than irrigating the golf course did.^[4] They incorporate a network of pipes with more than 1,200 nozzles that make it possible to stage fountain displays coordinated with more than 4,500 lights. It is estimated that the fountains cost $75 million to build. The fountains were created by WET, a design firm specializing in inventive fountains and architectural water features.^[5]

Four types of nozzles are used for the various effects:

• Oarsmen - Jets with a full range of spherical motion
• Shooters - Shoot water upwards
• Super Shooters - Send a water blast as high as 240 ft (73 m) in the air.
• Extreme Shooters - Send a water blast as high as 460 ft (140 m)

Bellagio Fountain show (view in high quality)

Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Conservatory

Summer display

The hotel also contains a Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The displays are changed out five times a year and reflect the current season (winter, Chinese New Year, spring, summer, and fall). Colorful displays decorated with many flowers are often used, and small fountains may also be present.

Awards

The Bellagio has received numerous awards, including being rated a Five-Diamond hotel by AAA, and receiving the Forbes Four-Star award.

See also

• Las Vegas Strip
• Musical Fountain

References

External links

• Bellagio website
• Bellagio Slots Website
• The Bank - Nightclub at Bellagio
• Satellite view of the site on Google Maps tour

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Coordinates: 36°06′47″N 115°10′35″W / 36.11306°N 115.17639°W / 36.11306; -115.17639