It's been 25 years since The Venetian opened on the Las Vegas Strip. It was a transformative time, arriving within months of the Bellagio, Paris, and Mandalay Bay, all stretching the possibilities of what could be done with a resort's image and identity.
"When the Strip was beginning in the '40s, the Western theme was big, but we tend to associate theming with Caesars Palace and Circus Circus," says UNLV history professor Michael Green. "The boom began with the Mirage and Excalibur in '89 and '90, yet The Venetian pushed its theme more than any other place."
As time went on, The Venetian expanded the main property with the Venezia tower in 2003 and the Palazzo wing in 2007. Add it all together and you have more than 7,100 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the United States and the second largest in the world.
For most of its existence, The Venetian followed the vision of Las Vegas Sands Corporation CEO Sheldon Adelson, who passed away in 2021. The property was sold to Vici Properties and now operates under the direction of Apollo Management. The Venetian entered a new era with the arrival of the Sphere, which connects directly to the resort, and a recently announced $1.5 billion renovation—an ambitious move for a luxury resort that's barely showing its age. Changes are already in motion with the recent debut of a new poker room (the largest on the Strip with 50 rooms) and the imminent arrival of COTE, a Michelin-awarded Korean steakhouse.
As we look to the future, take a moment to look at the past as well. The Venetian has a fascinating history that helped set the stage for modern Las Vegas. Here are 15 things you may not know about the property.
The resort was inspired by the owner's honeymoon
Sheldon Adleson built The Venetian at the suggestion of his wife Miriam when the couple was on a Venice honeymoon in 1991. Architects and artists were enlisted to research the landmarks and designs of the Northern Italian city, importing materials like Botticino marble and Verde St. Denis, a green stone found in the Italian Alps. Adelson imploded the Sands Hotel & Casino in 1996, clearing the way for The Venetian to be constructed, opening less than three years later.
The beginning was rough
After a two-week delay, The Venetian opened on May 3, 1999, but only part of it was operational due to ongoing inspections and construction, which continued through the end of the year. Three workers died as the hotel was built and Adelson ended up in a legal battle with the general contractor that was settled years later. The Grand Canal Shoppes opened more than a month after the hotel did with just 16 tenants.
You can stand in the footprints of the Rat Pack
The Venetian was a dramatic change of pace from the Sands, which had a 44-year run and famously saw the Rat Pack perform at the Copa Room. The modern-day location of where the club once stood is up for debate, but The Venetian has a small tribute to the Rat Pack on the sidewalk that runs alongside Las Vegas Boulevard, based on a famous photo taken in front of the marquee. Just look for a plaque and five sets of footprints representing Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.
The Expo Center redefined Vegas tourism
One year after buying the Sands Hotel in 1989, Adelson opened the Sands Expo and Convention Center. The move ushered in a new era for Las Vegas, which was previously focused on gambling tourism. The first privately owned and operated convention center targeted business travelers and helped give Las Vegas a reputation as a trade show destination—although Adleson often had an abrasive relationship with the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. It's worth pointing out that Adelson was a founder of COMDEX, a computer expo that coined the phrase "Geek Week" and was eventually bypassed by the Consumer Electronics Show.
The rooms are like apartments
The Venetian is the only Strip hotel that follows an all-suites format. Even the smallest rooms are 650 square feet—or nearly double the size of an average Vegas hotel room and comparable to more than half the apartments in Manhattan. The Venetian suites are notable for marble decor, spacious bathrooms, and sunken living rooms with views that can face the Strip, Sphere, or neighboring Wynn Golf Course.
The Venetian once had Guggenheim museums on site
The Venetian had two museums in partnership with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The larger Guggenheim Las Vegas featured just one exhibit, The Art of the Motorcycle, and barely lasted a little more than a year. The smaller Guggenheim Hermitage Museum lasted seven years, drawing mostly tourists in a tough period, opening a month after the 9/11 attacks. A collaboration between the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the gallery featured works by the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, and Monet before closing in 2008. Today, the Venetian still has its share of art in public spaces, from a replica of the Armillary Sphere in the lobby to the LOVE installation in the Waterfall Atrium waterfall, which is easily one of the most photographed places in Vegas.
The Venetian was a heated spot for culinary conflict
Adelson was a staunch opponent of the Culinary Workers Union, one of the most influential forces in Las Vegas and the largest labor union in Nevada. The conflict turned ugly at points. Adelson, who was Jewish, blamed the union for an anti-semitic message scrawled on his cabana mirror. He also pulled a major donation from his own synagogue for moving an event from The Venetian after Mayor Oscar Goodman refused to cross a culinary picket line. At one point, there were also legal issues over picketers using The Venetian sidewalk, which was technically private property but allowed for public use. It wasn't until Adelson passed away in 2021 and the resort was sold that Venetian workers finally reached a deal with union organizers.
The Grand Canal Shoppes financed the Palazzo
The Grand Canal Shoppes had a slow start and a few high-profile tenants fizzled out over the years, including Act nightclub, a movie-themed Warner Bros. restaurant named WB Stage 16, and a three-level Barneys New York. However, the shopping plaza became an attraction in its own right and now draws more than 25 million visitors a year to ride gondolas through indoor and outdoor canals, spend money at more than 160 shops and restaurants, and see recreations of iconic Italian landmarks like St. Mark's Square underneath a blue sky painted on the ceiling. The Venetian sold the Grand Canal Shoppes to an outside operator in 2004 for $766 million, which helped finance the Palazzo expansion.
The Palazzo had the Strip's first underground parking garage
Is the Palazzo really its own hotel? Depends on who you ask. (It all connects anyway). The Palazzo has a more contemporary image and an additional semi-secret check-in desk on the 23rd floor for high rollers at the ultra-exclusive Prestige Club. Adding to the convenience, the Palazzo was the only Strip hotel tower to have an underground parking garage until the Cosmopolitan came along in 2010. If you didn't count the Stratosphere observation tower, the Palazzo was the tallest building in Vegas when it opened, although its height has since been exceeded by Resorts World and Fontainebleau.
The Venetian never had a buffet
Adelson believed a buffet would clash with the resort's high-end image (although a few individual restaurants offered their own versions here and there to meet demand). Instead, the dining lineup aimed high, emerging at a time when celebrity chefs and foodie culture were taking hold on the Strip. Just look at the ongoing success of Thomas Keller's Bouchon, Cut by Wolfgang Puck, and Delmonico Steakhouse, which features the cuisine of Emeril Lagasse and one of the largest whiskey lists in the entire country. Late Chicago chef Charlie Trotter earned a coveted Michelin star for the short-lived Restaurant Charlie, often described as ahead of its time.
The resort gave the Grand Lux Cafe to the world
Okay, you can't have fine dining all the time. The Venetian turned to Cheesecake Factory founder David Overton to build a new restaurant on property with the masses in mind. The only problem: there was already a Cheesecake Factory at the Forum Shops at Caesars and contracts prevented a second one from competing with it on the Strip. So Overton came up with the Grand Lux Cafe, which was kinda like the Cheesecake Factory with an in-house bakery and sprawling book-like menu, but a little bit more upscale. Open round the clock and seating more than 500 people, it became such a hit upon welcoming guests in 1999, a second Grand Lux Cafe opened at the Palazzo in 2008. At one point, there were at least 13 locations throughout the country, but that number is now down to seven.
The Venetian "Strip-ed" down the Phantom of the Opera
Entertainment is a big part of any Strip casino, but traditionally, you didn't want to keep people away from the casino floor for too long. That's even true when Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera is your in-house show. Nearly 45 minutes was trimmed from the original, giving the Venetian production a 95-minute run time with no intermission under the name Phantom—the Las Vegas Spectacular. Audiences didn't seem to mind. The show ran for five years.
There was a rivalry with the Wynn
The Venetian and Wynn resorts are only separated by Sands Avenue and there was a history of tension between their billionaire founders. Steve Wynn believed Shledon Adelson didn't give the Venetian and its expo hall enough parking spaces and worried about conventioneers using the Wynn garages and walking across the street. The two were also aggressive competitors in the booming Macau casino market and even parked their private Gulfstream jets in the same airport hanger. We assume relations between the two resorts are better today under different owners.
The Venetian has an unfinished tower
And it's hiding in plain sight. The planned St. Regis luxury condo tower was only partially constructed with work coming to a halt during the economic downturn of 2008. A Walgreens operates at the base, but most of the remaining skeleton is surrounded by a wrap that blends in surprisingly well with the rest of the property's architecture.
Employees were paid through the pandemic
Sheldon Adelson was a controversial figure. He poured millions into conservative causes and political campaigns, making him a hero to some and a villain to others. He bought the big newspaper in town, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which financed local journalism but drew accusations of the billionaire trying to influence coverage. Yet everyone can agree on one thing: Adelson did the right thing during the pandemic, even during the lockdown when the Strip became a ghost town. The Venetian continued to pay employees with full benefits, while other Vegas resort companies gave in to furloughs and layoffs. The resort slowly reopened and kept staff busy by hosting TV tapings for Shark Tank in 2020 before returning to full operations.
Rob Kachelriess is a full-time writer who covers travel, dining, entertainment, and other fun stuff for Thrillist. He's based in Las Vegas but enjoys exploring destinations throughout the world, especially in the Southwest United States. Otherwise, he's happy to hang out at home with his wife Mary and their family of doggies. Follow him on Twitter @rkachelriess.
