Bellagio (hotel and casino)
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Bellagio is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned by MGM Mirage.
Inspired by the Lake Como resort Bellagio in Italy, Bellagio is famed for its elegance. One of its most notable features is an eight acre (32,000 m²) artificial lake [1] (http://www.marnellcorrao.com/Divisions/Architecture/1990/Bellagio.php) between the building and the Strip. Wet Design, a company specializing in creating intricate water shows, designed an array of underwater pipes with over 1,000 nozzles that makes it possible to stage intricate displays of fountains, coordinated with over 4,000 lights and music. Inside, the lobby ceiling has 2,000 square feet of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers created by Dale Chihuly in a piece entitled Fiori di Como. The hotel also contains the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.
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.
History
When it opened on October 15, 1998, it was the most expensive hotel ever built, having cost approximately $1.8 billion.
Bellagio was featured prominently in the remake of the film Ocean's Eleven. The safe for the three casinos that were robbed was located at the Bellagio.
Bellagio is home to Cirque du Soleil's production of O, the second permanent production show for the troupe.
The sex tape that propelled hotel heiress Paris Hilton to stardom was shot in a hotel room here.
In 2000 it became a MGM Mirage Property when Mirage Resorts merged with MGM Grand Inc. to create MGM Mirage.
External links
- Bellagio homepage (http://www.bellagio.com/)
- Wet Design (http://www.wetdesign.com/client/bellagio/). Creator of the Fountain show
- Bellagio Hotel Virtual Tour (http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/nevada/las-vegas/bellagio.php) - 360 degree virtual tour
- Las Vegas Travelog (http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/las_vegas/bel.html) - photo collection