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Venetian Las Vegas Remodel More Costly Than Durango Casino

Author Shawn Tempesta
The Venetian Las Vegas is turning 25 this month, and they are planning for a nip, tuck and face lift.

When remodeling your casino costs more than building a brand new casino, you know it’s going to be a big one. That’s exactly what is in the works for the newly announced Venetian Las Vegas remodel.

The high-end casino on the Las Vegas Strip is showing its age. The property turns 25 this Saturday, May 4th. So the property, run by the mega-conglomerate Apollo Global Management, is planning for a massive $1.5 billion remodel of the property from the common areas to the rooms and everywhere in between.

This is the nicest thing the company has done to something old (allegedly) lately.

The Venetian Las Vegas Remodel Is Monumental

When the Durango Casino And Resort opened in December, it had a $780 million price tag. Red Rock Resort Casino And Spa ran a cool billion dollars back in 2006. So the remodel for this property could pay for two Durango Casinos.

The undertaking is massive and makes this the most expensive and largest hotel remodel in the history of the planet (so says Venetian). Holy moly.

The plan is to take the hotel’s suites up a notch, remodeling them with a “contemporary, fresh design”. They’ll take that money outside of the rooms as well, planning to bring brand new restaurant concepts to the resort. The poker room will see an upgrade, convention spaces will see a new coat of everything, and more.

All Part Of The Celebration

Just like many of us in our older age, we are seeking a face lift as we hit a big birthday. This year marks The Venetian’s 25th year on the Las Vegas Strip, and they are going all out (mind the sound of drilling and jackhammers).

Emeril Lagasse will be at Delmonico Steakhouse, where he is a partner, to celebrate the anniversary. The property will feature several restaurant special items all month long. They will also be offering discounted stays at the property throughout the summer.

Getting old isn’t easy. But The Venetian Las Vegas remodel will be sure to have our jaws hitting the floor. It better for $1.5 billion.

Shawn Tempesta is the co-host of Aimee+Shawn on 102.7 VGS in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is also an Emmy award nominated television host. As a content creator for 102.7 VGS, Shawn writes about current events, education, funny and trending stories.

The Most Brazen Casino Robberies In Las Vegas History

It’s been a busy month when it comes to casino cage robberies in Las Vegas.

In the early morning hours on Wednesday, November 9th, a man walked up to the cage at Resorts World. He showed the cashier a note demanding money, and that’s exactly what he got. The cashier put an undisclosed amount of cash into a bag, he headed outside, hopped into a taxi and left. The taxi driver was later found but it was determined he didn’t know anything about the robbery.

Then just yesterday, Wednesday, November 16th, a man walked into Gold Coast and robbed the cage. No word on how much he stole, but Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told 8 News Now the suspect in that case is “a black male adult wearing a white mask in black clothing.”

The allure of staging a heist at a casino is too much for some to stand. Movies like Oceans Eleven romanticize the premise of pilfering millions from Las Vegas’ richest businesses.

But in reality, it’s among the craziest things someone could do. CityCenter (where Aria, Vdara and other properties are) alone has nearly 3,000 cameras. There isn’t a corner of that property you could go undetected, and they aren’t alone. Las Vegas is one of the most surveilled cities in the world!

Not all “heists” are illegal. The MIT Blackjack Team, who mastered the art of card counting, walked away with millions before the casinos realized what was going on. At the end of the day card counting isn’t illegal, but casinos are well within their right to tell you your business is no longer welcome (and they did). Heck, even UFC President Dana White has been shown the door at several casinos for winning just a little bit too much.

But this isn’t about the smart players. This is about the dumb criminals that got away with stupid money… but in nearly most cases, they didn’t get away for long.

  • Circus Circus Armored Truck Heist - $3,000,000

    Not all heists happen at the cage. A convicted-but-freed murdered named Roberto Solis was, astoundingly, able to get a job working for the armored vehicle company Loomis. He’d drive around with untold fortunes in the back, refilling casino ATMs. Enter Roberto’s boyfriend Heather Tallchief. She got in the truck and stole it from the Circus Circus lot in 1993, getting away with three million dollars. They left the country never to be seen again. At least Roberto did. Heather returned in 2005, turned herself in to authorities and supposedly only saw a sliver of the fortune. Roberto on the other hand has yet to be found.

  • Bellagio "Biker Bandit" - $1,500,000

    This robbery had all the crazy twists and turns of a Hollywood movie. Back in 2010, a man parked his motorcycle at an entrance of the Bellagio. He walked in wearing his helmet, showed off his gun, and ran off with $1,500,000 worth of chips he swiped from a craps table. He got away on his bike. The guy was Anthony Michael Carleo, the son of a local judge! He’d stolen chips from the Suncoast just before that for $20,000. His lips got a little too loose and he was busted.

  • Stardust Sportsbook Heist - $500,000

    Another one of the rare “and he got away with it” stories. Back in 1992, a guy named Bill Brennan was in a trusted position at the now flattened Stardust. He was in charge of counting the money coming in at the sportsbook. He was looking at a cool half a million bucks. So what’d Bill do? He took those bills and just walked out. Poof. Vanished. He was on the FBI Most Wanted list for a while, but he never turned up, and when the Stardust vanished, so did his case.

  • Stardust Smoke Bomb Heist - $1,250,000

    It was an inside job. Back in 1992 (what was it with Stardust in 1992) a security guard tapped his kids to pretend to rob the place. They walked away with $150,000. Half a year later they were back at it, this time ransacking a security guard and walking away with a much larger purse: $1,100,000. They even used smoke bombs to disorient people and make their getaway. It was all fun and games until they were caught.

  • Bellagio Commando - $160,000

    A former commando in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, Jose Vigoa walked into the Bellagio in 2000 on a string of crimes. He walked in wearing bulletproof gear, got a bag and stuffed it with casino chips totaling $160,000. He was captured shortly after the theft.

  • The Bad Cop At The Rio... And Red Rock... And Aliante - $90,000+

    There are many people you’d suspect for a casino robbery. A Las Vegas Metro officer is not one of them. But that’s exactly what happened about a year ago. Officer Caleb Rogers stole over $70,000 from the Red Rock in November 2021 brandishing his department-issued gun. A couple months later he hit the Aliante, stealing $11,500. Then a month after that, a robbery at the sportsbook at Rio. That was one stop too many. He was apprehended and is in custody.

  • Treasure Island Triple Dipper - $30,000

    Reginald Johnson is not a bright man. He walked into Treasure Island in July 2000 and robbed them. He did it again in October of 2000, shooting at guards while he did. The total take was around $30,000. But that wasn’t enough for Reginald. Nope. He decided to go for thirds. The same casino. Two months later. He got captured and pled guilty.

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