The Story of the Bellagio Casino

Since the early 1950s, Nevada has been a hub for gambling, and it has brought millions through the door.

Whether it has been the jingling of slot machines or players chancing their luck at the blackjack or roulette tables, there has been something eminently appealing about Las Vegas.

The Vegas Strip is littered with tons of casinos, and some of these are considered revered institutions. Among them is the Bellagio Casino, which is known worldwide, and continues to see throngs of players flock there.

We have reminisced by charting a concise history of the Bellagio Casino, as well as explaining what the future holds. Make sure you read on to learn more.

Cutting the red ribbon

Originally home to the Dunes Hotel and Casino, this particular casino was demolished in October 1993 and the land was sold for $75million to Steve Wynn. Plans were then put in place to the tune of $1.6billion which made the Bellagio Casino one of the most affluent hotels in the world when construction got underway in May 1996.

No expense was spared with this project. The casino featured granite countertops, marble statues, and a botanical garden with flowers, which is all in keeping with what you would expect from an extravagant Las Vegas casino.

Once the Bellagio was finally completed in October 1998, the celebrations were far from muted. Around $90m was spent on the opening party, and the place was packed with celebrities to enjoy the official launch, including Michael Jordan, Clint Eastwood, and Drew Barrymore.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, aside from a 40-minute speech from Wynn, there was the first-ever performance of the Cirque du Soleil production O.

Changing of Hands

Fast forward a couple of years to 2000, and the Bellagio changed hands. It had now become an MGM Mirage asset following a merger between Mirage Resorts and MGM Grand Inc.

By 2006, the casino floor was remodeled, and the Bellagio Casino was sold again in October 2019 to the Blackstone Group, this time for $4.25bn. MGM acquired a 5% ownership stake, and it continues to operate the resort through its lease.

Interestingly, the MGM group has branched out and it has an expansive online gambling offering that has managed to successfully co-exist with the land-based casino establishment. This isn’t just the case with the MGM, but also with other casinos around the world.

Grosvenor Casino, for example, has over fifty land-based locations spread throughout the UK and for the last few decades has also expanded its offerings digitally with an online casino of the same name. With hundreds of slots to choose from on their site, you would even be wise to read online slot reviews on trusted sites like online-slot.co.uk first to know where to begin with.

What does the future hold?

But what does the future hold for the Bellagio? Well, recent reports have suggested that Blackstone is considering selling half of its shares, and they are weighing up a variety of offers.

When you consider how much the US investment giant acquired it for ($4.25bn), that could be a serious coup for them.

Although nothing has been confirmed yet, this is a fascinating development, but whoever does invest some shares will still have a goldmine. Only a few chapters of the illustrious Bellagio history have been published, but there are bound to be more written in the years to come.