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Bellagio
is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las
Vegas, Nevada, USA. It is owned by MGM Mirage and was built
on the site of 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 eight-acre (32,000 m²) artificial lake between the
building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio,
a major free attraction which provides a romantic ambiance
for couples walking along the strip.Inside
Bellagio, Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000
hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 square feet (610 m²)
of the lobby ceiling.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 Marnell Corrao Associates
and Jon Jerde.
Bellagio
is home to Cirque du Soleil's aquatic production of "O",
only the second permanent production show for the world-renowned
troupe.
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 contemporary
blue tone.
 On
October 15, 1998, just before 11:00pm, Bellagio opened. The
Bellagio reportedly spent $88 million on its opening. The
VIPs invited to the grand opening were expected to donate
to The Foundation Fighting Blindness $1,000 a person or $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 and then 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, having cost over
$1.6 billion.
In
2000 it became a MGM Mirage property when Mirage Resorts merged
with MGM Grand Inc. to create MGM MIRAGE.
The
Bellagio and its fountains are featured in the 2007 film Lucky
You.
In the 2007 film Ocean's Thirteen, following Ocean's Twelve
(2004), and Ocean's Eleven (2001), Rusty Ryan (played by Brad
Pitt) 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 Daniel Ocean (played by George Clooney).
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
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. There is no confirmation
whether in fact the vault exists as portrayed in the movie.
The English-American actor Justin Pierce, who starred in the
controversial film Kids hanged himself in room 25125 at the
Bellagio on July 10, 2000. He was found by hotel security
officers and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two suicide
notes were found at the scene. Pierce, a Los Angeles resident,
had apparently been in Las Vegas to do a video shoot for a
fashion company. Many professional poker players prefer to
play at the Bellagio poker room, calling it their home base
due to the high table limits. Poker professionals refer to
the high-limit table as The Big Game.
Bellagio
has also partnered with the World Poker Tour to host several
of their tournaments.
The
Fountains of Bellagio attraction consists of an elaborate
and massive musical fountain display set to light and music.
The display takes place in front of the Bellagio hotel and
can be viewed from the Strip. The fountain show takes place
every 30 minutes in the afternoons and early evenings, and
every 15 minutes from 8 pm to midnight. Exceptions: a single
or string of shows may be withheld when winds prevail; a single
show may be skipped to avoid interference with a planned event.
The
fountain display is chorepgraphed to various pieces of music.
Current pieces include:
And
All That Jazz (from Chicago)
Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye) - Andrea Bocelli
Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra
God Bless The USA - Lee Greenwood
Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Hey, Big Spender (from Sweet Charity)
Hoe-Down - Aaron Copland
Luck Be A Lady (from Guys & Dolls) - Frank Sinatra
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
One, Singular Sensation (from A Chorus Line)
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini - Rachmaninov
Singin' in the Rain - Gene Kelly
The Star Spangled Banner
Viva Las Vegas - Elvis Presley
Your Song - Elton John
A full list of songs is on the Bellagio's web site.
The
Fountains, which are set in a eight-acre man-made lake, incorporate
an array of underwater pipes with over 1,200 nozzles that
makes it possible to stage fountain displays coordinated with
over 4,500 lights. It is estimated that the fountains cost
$50 million to build.
Three
types of nozzles are used for the various effects:
"Oarsmans"
- Swing back and forth to create dancing water
"Shooters" - Shoots water upwards
"Super Shooters" - Sends a water blast as high as
250 ft (76 m) in the air.
The Fountains were created by WET Design, who specializes
in creating intricate water shows. Following the success that
WET Design had with the Fountains, Steve Wynn asked them to
improve and modify the volcano attraction at sister casino
The Mirage.
The hotel also contains a Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
The displays are changed out several times a year and reflect
the current season.
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