Bellagio is a hotel and casino placed 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 well-known for its elegance. One of its most well-known
features is an eight acre (32,000 m²) non-natural lake
between the building and the Strip. Wet Design, a company
focusing in creating intricate water shows, designed an
array of submerged pipes with over 1,000 nozzles that makes
it possible to stage complicated 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 shaped by Dale Chihuly in a piece entitled
Fiori di Como. The hotel also is full of the Conservatory
& Botanical Gardens.
Bellagio was conceived by Steve Wynn along with built by
his company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. following the purchase
plus demolition of the legendary Dunes hotel and casino
in 1993. Bellagio was designed by Marnell Corrao Associates
along with Jon Jerde.
History
When it opened on October 15, 1998, it was the classiest
hotel ever built, having cost approximately $1.8 billion.
Bellagio was featured prominently in the restructure of
the film Ocean's Eleven. The safe for the three casinos
that were robbed was situated at the Bellagio.
Bellagio is home to Cirque du Soleil's production of O,
the subsequent permanent production show for the troupe.
The sex tape that pushed hotel heiress Paris Hilton to
stardom was shot in a hotel room here.
In 2000 it became a MGM Mirage Property when Mirage Resorts
combined with MGM Grand Inc. to build MGM Mirage.
