Overview of the Venetian and Palazzo Hotels in Las Vegas
The Venetian is a Las Vegas landmark recognized by millions. This hotel, resort and casino is themed on Venice, Italy and even includes canals with Gondolas. Las Vegas Sands own these resorts and the associated convention center. The Palazzo is an extension to the Venetian and is linked by the shopping mall. This adds massive capacity to the resort, and holds the world record for offering the largest standard rooms of any hotel – at 67 square meters.
This page gives you an overview of exactly what to expect at the Venetian and Palazzo. The history and background of this amazing hotel resort comes first, including some of the key features which differentiate this casino from the rest. After that, the focus shifts to the casino, including poker and sports betting opportunities. Finally, you will find news on the shows and nightclubs which the Venetian is well known for.
The Venetian is physically located towards the north of the Las Vegas strip. This is between the Wynn (to the North) and Harrah’s to the south. On the opposite side of the street is Treasure Island. It should take no more than 15 minutes (traffic permitting) to reach this resort from the airport.
Venetian and Palazzo – Features and History
This casino is built on the space previously occupied by the Sands Hotel. It is owned by Sands, whose chairman is Sheldon Adelson. At the time of opening, in May 1999, the Venetian was the single most expensive resort casino ever created. The attention to detail with recreating Venice is impressive, as are the rooms, shops and restaurants here. The Venetian contains an impressive 4049 rooms including many suites.
The Palazzo was built as an all-suite extension to the main hotel, which was opened in December 2007. At the time it was built it help a record for total floor space, as well as the largest standard room size of any hotel worldwide. This adds an additional 3068 rooms to the resort, as well as its own mall, and even a Lamborghini dealership. This hotel has a separate casino, though this is really an extension of the Venetian’s casino.
Along with the hotels, this site includes the Sands Expo Convention Center which is one of the largest conference facilities anywhere in the US.
Venice-themed shopping is the main attraction here, this includes an indoor recreation of St Mark’s square and other landmarks complete with fake sky. Many of the shops are by luxury brands, though they are not all high-end. This makes the shopping experience more accessible to regular tourists than (for example) the Wynn, which is a lot more high-end.
The canals start outside, which attracts passers-by from the strip. Inside, the ‘grand gallery’ with opulent painted ceilings which connects the reception to the casino is definitely worth checking out.
The Venetian and Palazzo Casinos
Impressive is an understatement when it comes to the Casino at the Venetian, this is 120,000 Square feet (11,000 square meters) and packed with just about every casino game you can imagine. The slots are everywhere, and cover the full range of machines. These include the latest multi-player slot games with shared bonus rounds, right through to the traditional 3-reel ‘line up the 7’s’ type games – and just about everything in-between. If you do play on the slot games, I recommend you get a player’s card which you can put into the machines to get comps for your play.
Table games are spread around the casino and include a lot of variations on the popular games. Blackjack is the most popular (as elsewhere), and you can play variations of this include Blackjack Surrender or enjoy side-bets like perfect pairs while you play. Casino poker variations, Baccarat, Craps, Roulette and Pai-Gow can all be enjoyed here. The Palazzo casino is an extension of the main Venetian one, and is included in the overall size estimate.
Poker fans will find a nicely separated poker room here, which is shielded from the noise of the slots and from traffic walking by the tables. Features here include the deep-stack extravaganza tournament festival, as well as a busy weekly schedule. You’ll find cash games running around the clock here, with the smallest games having $1 / $2 blinds.
The Venetian was the first casino to run a 24 hour sports book in a lounge type setting. Again the size and the scope of this are impressive, with opportunities to bet on all the professional sports. You’ll find lines on a lot of international sporting events here too.
Entertainment and Nightclubs at the Venetian
There is a large theatre in this resort, the shows will change over the years as new ones come through. The biggest show at the moment is the musical ‘Rock of Ages’ along with the Motown show ‘Human Nature’. You’ll find world-class restaurants at this resort, including fine dining and casual dining options. If partying is your goal, then why not try the famous TAO nightclub.