The Palazzo

Background The Palazzo is a sister property to The Venetian, located directly south. Both were developed by businessman Sheldon Adelson through his company Las Vegas Sands. The Venetian opened in 1999, and Adelson planned to begin construction later that year on a second resort, known then as Lido, named after Lido di Venezia. The Palazzo site had been occupied by numerous motels dating as far back as 1949. The Tam O'Shanter motel was built and opened in 1959, and featured a distinctive neon sign resembling a tam o' shanter cap. Zeldin declined numerous offers to purchase the Tam O'Shanter, Before his death in 1997, Zeldin finalized a $12.5 million deal to sell the Tam O'Shanter to Las Vegas Sands. Adelson was a friend of Zeldin. Zeldin's daughter operated the Tam O'Shanter until its closure. Tam O'Shanter closed on January 12, 2004, and was demolished a month later, following an asbestos-removal project that took 19 days to complete. A Vagabond Inn, also located on the property, contained asbestos as well and was demolished simultaneously. The asbestos removal cost between $500,000 and $1 million. as well as several small stores owned by the Venetian that were expected to close, helping make way for the Palazzo. Foundation work on the Palazzo began in September 2004, without a groundbreaking ceremony. Filming for the 2007 film ''Ocean's Thirteen'' took place at the Palazzo's hotel tower during construction, filling in as the film's fictional Bank resort. The total cost for the resort was $1.9 billion. In December 2004, Las Vegas Sands made its initial public offering, with some of the proceeds going toward the Palazzo project. Other financing came from the sale of the Grand Canal Shoppes, a mall within the Venetian. Opening and subsequent years Construction continued after the resort's opening, A few days later, Las Vegas Sands promoted the resort with a parade float during the Rose Parade in California. with performances by Diana Ross and Seal. The resort employed 4,000 workers. Like the Venetian, convention-goers would be an important demographic at the Palazzo; Travel + Leisure included the Palazzo on its list of top 100 hotels in the world, ranking it 48th and 18th for 2009 and 2010 respectively. Travelocity ranked it in eighth place in a 2011 list of top 10 Las Vegas hotels, based on guest reviews. In 2020, readers of USA Today ranked the Venetian and Palazzo among the 10 best casinos in Las Vegas. By the end of 2020, Las Vegas Sands wanted to focus on its operations in Macau. The company was in early discussions to sell the Venetian, the Palazzo, and the adjoining Sands Expo. Adelson died in January 2021, and Las Vegas Sands announced two months later that it would sell the three Las Vegas facilities for $6.25 billion. Through the deal, Vici Properties bought the land under the facilities for $4 billion, and Apollo Global Management acquired the operations for $2.25 billion as part of a triple net lease agreement with Vici. The sale was finalized in February 2022. ==Features==

The Palazzo covers . It includes of gaming space. Like the Venetian, the Palazzo is an all-suite hotel. It has 3,066 rooms. The 50-story hotel tower rises , and was briefly the tallest building in Nevada upon opening. The 67-story Fontainebleau Las Vegas was topped out later in 2008 and opened in 2023. The resort was designed by HKS Architects. Unlike the Venetian, the Palazzo features only a minimal Italian theme and has a more modern design. The Palazzo includes a shopping mall, the Grand Canal Shoppes, which connects with the Venetian. The Palazzo also includes the Waterfall Atrium, which features seasonal decorations overseen by a team of gardeners, horticulturalists, and landscapers. The decorations are exhibited for free, and themes include Chinese New Year, Fourth of July, and Christmas. The atrium competes with the Bellagio Conservatory. In its first year, the atrium also hosted a free show, The Living Garden, which featured actors dressed as statues and grapevines. Rosina, a 65-seat lounge with an Art Deco design, opened in 2017, as part of a two-year renovation which included the casino floor and hotel rooms. Completed in 2018, the project included the addition of colored lighting on the casino's ceiling, and the new Electra Cocktail Lounge. Restaurants and clubs The Palazzo initially featured more than a dozen restaurants, from chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Trotter, and Guy Savoy. Upon opening, notable restaurants included Grand Lux Cafe, Chinese restaurant Woo, and Mexican restaurant Dos Caminos. 40/40 Club, a sports bar and restaurant by rapper Jay-Z, opened along with the casino. It closed less than nine months later, and was replaced in 2009 by Lagasse's Stadium, a new sports bar and restaurant from chef Emeril Lagasse. In August 2008, the resort added Lavo, a restaurant and nightclub designed to resemble a bathhouse. Adelson had wanted the business opened sooner, blaming its developers for repeated delays brought on by redesigns. He had terminated the nightclub's lease in March 2008, stating that the failure to open on time resulted in poor business for the resort. A legal battle ensued and continued after the club's opening, Woo closed in 2010, and Dos Caminos closed the following year, amid a lease disagreement with Las Vegas Sands. Table 10, another restaurant by Lagasse, featured mostly American food. It eventually closed in 2017. Lagassee's Stadium closed in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resort had three steakhouses upon opening, including Carnevino by chef Mario Batali. After 10 years of operation, it closed in 2018, following sexual misconduct allegations made against Batali. In 2019, chef David Chang opened Majordomo Meat & Fish in its place. He opened a second, quick-service restaurant, Moon Palace, in 2020. Both of Chang's restaurants closed in 2022, and were replaced by new eateries from chef Eyal Shani. Japanese chef Tetsuya Wakuda opened his first U.S. restaurant in 2022, at the Palazzo. St. Regis Residences The St. Regis Residences at the Venetian Palazzo, Las Vegas is an unfinished condominium tower at 3355 South Las Vegas Boulevard, In November 2006, Las Vegas Sands sought approval from the Clark County Commission to construct a condominium tower on part of the Palazzo land. Construction of the $465 million tower began in early 2007, with condominium pre-sales expected to begin by September. The tower was built atop a retail building that was part of the Palazzo project. Both the retail building and tower were constructed on less than an acre of land, previously occupied by the Rosewood Grille restaurant. In September 2008, Las Vegas Sands and Starwood announced a partnership to open the tower as "The St. Regis Residences at the Venetian Palazzo, Las Vegas", named after the St. Regis Hotels & Resorts brand. The tower would include 398 units, and was expected to cost $600 million at that time. Under the deal, Starwood would manage the tower upon its opening, which was scheduled for March 2010. An additional 18 months of work was needed to finish the project, which was to stand 50 stories high upon completion. In November 2009, Las Vegas Sands stated that work would remain suspended until the economy improved. In June 2011, Las Vegas Sands covered the unfinished building with a $1 million wrap made of giant cloth sheets that were printed to resemble a finished building. A company spokesman said that until a decision was made regarding the project, "We thought it was appropriate to improve it aesthetically in the meantime. We wanted it to look a little more like it belongs between a pair of five-diamond resorts like The Venetian and Palazzo." ==Live entertainment==

The Palazzo's 1,800 seat It ran until 2011. A Frank Sinatra tribute show opened in 2015, starring impressionist Bob Anderson. Clint Holmes also performed in the theater a year later. A musical, Baz – Star Crossed Love, opened in the Palazzo Theatre in 2016. It was based on several films by director Baz Luhrmann, including Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), and The Great Gatsby (2013). Baz closed in 2018, and the theater sat mostly vacant until the musical Six opened for a seven-week residency in 2023. ==Gallery==

File:DSC07149, Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (3108850081).jpg|Casino floor in 2008 File:Palazzo (Jan 2014) 13.JPG|Hotel lobby File:The Palazzo lobby and Acqua di Cristallo fountain.jpg|A dome in the hotel lobby. File:DSC32329, Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (5789005936).jpg|The Acqua di Cristallo fountain and sculpture, displayed in the dome until 2025. File:Interior of the Palazzo Dome, Las Vegas.jpg|The dome in 2025 File:DSC32324, Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (4991168891).jpg|Retail area leading to the dome File:DSC07169, Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (3108854073).jpg|Fountains in the retail area ==See also==