Taking the place of The Sands Hotel, The Venetian Resort broke ground in 1997, and has been gaining historical report ever since. The resort opened in 1999 with the aid of the owner, Sheldon Adelson, and famous Italian bombshell, Sophia Loren, and the two christened the first motorized gondola. The entire construction of the resort came out to 1.5 billion dollars and was one of the most expensive resorts in it’s time to be constructed.

Since its construction over 10 years ago, The Venetian has expanded, and now is a totally of 120k sq. ft. with over 4,000 suites. The Venetian was once the home to the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, a brief installment by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Known as the “Jewel Box” the museum finished its seven-year run in 2008 and closed in 2008, after attracting over 1 million tourists and visitors. The Venetian, known for being one of the world’s largest hotels, is also home to many other types of entertainment.

In 2011, The Venetian opened Cantor Race & Sportsbook, which, at the time, was one of the only Sportsbooks in Las Vegas opened for 24 hours. A Sportsbook is a location where gamblers can assemble and make their bets on numerous different types of sports in one place. The Sportsbook doesn’t stop the expansion of The Venetian, in fact, within the last year The Venetian has started a Summer-long festival known as “Carnevale”.

“Carnevale” is a festival dedicated to a much bigger festival in Venice, Italy, known as The Carnival of Venice. The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival that begins on Fat Tuesday (or Mardi Gras in French) and birthed the beautiful Venetian masks that most people see in Mardi Gras parades within the states today! The Carnival of Venice celebrates the victory of Venice in an ancient battle in the 1100s.

The Venetian also has many outlets for entertainment that are available all year long. There are over 10 Fine Dining restaurants within the resort, and over 15 casual dining restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse CUT. Even though, The Blue Man Group moved to The Monte Carlo, The Venetian is still home to Rock of Ages, Smokey Robinson’s Human Nature, and Soul2Soul with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. More great places to visit at The Venetian are the night clubs and lounges, and what would a resort be without a few spas?

Some of the TAO, AVO, and The Act Club are all night clubs within The Venetian, that offer parties that seem endless when started at the beginning of the weekend. There’s also more than 5 different Wedding Chapels within the resort.

When you’re vacationing in Las Vegas, The Venetian is a great place to stop by, because of its magnitude and history. It’s also been featured in great films such as Con Air, Miss Congeniality 2, and Rat Race. On THE Vegas tour, see it all with a licensed Tour Guide by your side, and remember to wear sneakers! After all, this is only one resort, and the first of many to see!