Still the Belle of the Ball

Twenty-Eight Years Later, the Bellagio Remains the Magnus Opus of the Nation’s Gambling Capital

Amidst all the glut and smut smearing the Las Vegas strip, the Bellagio Hotel & Casino still sparkles like the elegant debutante of an otherwise unsavory gathering.

Nearly thirty years after its elaborate construction, the Bellagio remains the glowing centerpiece of the Vegas grid, a place where luxury and leisure so gallantly intersect.

Even with such aristocrats as Encore at Wynn, The Venetian, and Aria more recently cutting in on their waltz, the Bellagio still dips and dazzles with the utmost class and panache.

The cream of the world’s gambling mecca, Bellagio plays host to the acclaimed “O” by Cirque du Soleil, a bristling, sky-blue luxury pool, and a whale of a brunch buffet that whips up everything from prime rib to Oysters Rockefeller.

Saunter outside and you’ll be graced with the hotel’s signature water show, a symphony of fountains spurting to the hum of classical melodies.

A long, meandering corridor features extravagant shopping outlets and five-star eateries, leading into a resort that oozes with refinement and botanical decor.

But that’s neither here nor there.

What we’re really on board for is the table action, truth be told, and the Bellagio delivers like a frantic FedEx courier during rush hour.

Sashaying across the vibrant carpeting, you’re now upon the 160,000 square foot gaming quarters that feels like an amusement park for gambling fanatics.

Its star attraction, no doubt, is its doozy of a poker parlor, home to the World Poker Tour and some forty tables of a high-limits variety.

Over 120 tables appease indulgers of craps, roulette, blackjack, and so forth, while a plethora of slot machines (2,400, to be exact) keep boredom low and the variety at a maximum. The plush layout of the Bellagio breeds a flavor of ritz that lacks in counterparts like Caesar’s Palace and The Cosmopolitan around the bend.

Bellagio gaming floor

Among its many virtues, the location of Bellagio is primo, husked at the magnetic core of the Vegas universe, attracting visitors from every which direction. With Paris to its forefront, Caesar’s to its north and Cosmo its south, the Bellagio remains just a hop-skip to more modest, low-stakes establishments like Flamingo and Harrah’s.

We at chipster recently mingled with the high rollers of the Big “O”, flinging dice, clicking chips, and watching the magic marble whirl about the roulette wheel.

While Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and cronies scored a tad bit higher with their eight-figure take (damn that Terry Benedict!), we pulled in generous working-stiff earnings for a random spring afternoon.

The Call:

Every trek to the electric desert should include at least one brush with the crooning fountains and the botanical gardens dwelling within. While once the undisputable monarch of Sin City, the eminence of the Bellagio has slightly faltered due to the outbreak of newer, grander monstrosities like Aria and Wynn Encore.

Nonetheless, the Bellagio still reigns supreme by balancing all facets of excellence (gaming, dining, pampering, shopping, etc.) across its 2.2 million square foot premises. And despite the vast expansion of the 2026 Vegas skyline, the Bellagio Hotel & Casino remains the city’s true magnus opus.

-- TB