More Than $1 Billion In Upgrades Coming To The Venetian

Last year, Las Vegas Sands sold The Venetian for a total of $6.2 billion. Under the deal, Apollo Global Management secured the rights to operate:

• The Venetian
• The Palazzo
• Sands Expo & Convention Center
• MSG Sphere

Changes to the convention area are already underway. The space is now known as The Venetian Convention & Expo area.

When the sale closed in March Apollo offered vague references to how the Nevada casino would change. The company recently expanded on how it will spend more than $1 billion to upgrade The Venetian and its parts.

The upgrades at The Venetian include hotel suites, pools, entertainment and dining. Despite all of the changes, the property will look the same to many visitors.

The Venetian keeps its iconic Italian theme

Las Vegas casinos were once the kings of kitsch. Almost every property had a distinct theme in the 1980s and early 1990s.

After the calendar turned to the 2000s, casino operators started to slowly de-theming some properties. Then casinos like Aria, The Cosmopolitan, and most recently Resorts World Las Vegas opened without a specific theme.

The company has confirmed that The Venetian and The Palazzo will keep the Italian theme. Las Vegas Sands has done a good job of updating the design aesthetic since the property opened in 1999 and that will continue.

The Palazzo design remains the more modern of the hotel towers. The Venetian design is more modern than it was in the 1990s but is still a more traditional design.

CEO of The Venetian, Patrick Nichols, told Travel & Leisure that “We are a themed hotel and we will always be a themed hotel.” Upgrades to the property will continue to play off of the theme while remaining a modern casino resort.

Visitors that enjoy the theming of Las Vegas casinos will appreciate this move as the property across the street will lose its theme in the next couple of years. Hard Rock plans on removing the Polonysian theme and iconic volcano after it takes over operations of The Mirage.

Suites at The Venetian will be redesigned and remodeled

During its hearing with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) earlier this year Apollo said it would look to increase hotel room revenue.

It does not appear as though the company will add new hotel rooms anytime soon. However, upgrading the rooms should bring a higher room rate.

Along with Wynn and The Cosmopolitan, The Venetian typically has the most expensive hotel rooms in Las Vegas. Improving the room product should only increase revenue.

Between three hotel towers (The Venetian, The Palazzo, and Venezia) the property has more than 7,000 hotel rooms. Every room at The Venetian is a suite of at least 650 square feet.

The suites at The Venetian will get more than a facelift. The company will redesign and remodel all of the suites.

The pool deck at The Venetian will receive an immediate refresh. The Palazzo pool will be upgraded in the future.

There’s no timeline for how long the hotel room renovations will take. However, construction on other parts of the property is already underway.

The Venetian introduces first Israeli restaurant to Vegas Strip

There will be numerous changes to the food and beverage program at The Venetian.

The Venetian will continue adding new restaurants. Japanese restaurant Wakuda recently opened. The fine dining and Instagram-friendly restaurant will be adding a $750-per-person omakase room.

Miznon from chef Eyal Shani will take over the space formerly occupied by David Chang’s Majordomo. This will be the first Israeli restaurant on the Vegas Strip.

Next year Shani will open HaSalon at The Venetian. The menu of this Mediterranean restaurant will change nightly.

Massive entertainment upgrade calls for 700 to 1,000 shows per year

The Venetian has typically put on anywhere between 70 and 100 shows per year. The new ownership plans to expand entertainment at The Venetian tenfold.

Plans call for 700 to 1,000 shows a year moving forward at the Las Vegas casino’s four showrooms and MSG Sphere. The expansion of entertainment quietly started earlier this year.

The B-52s, Earth, Wind & Fire, ZZ Top, and Alejandra Guzmán all have limited engagements planned for this year. Atomic Saloon still has shows from Wednesday through Sunday every week.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Freestyle Love Supreme” show will begin in November and continue until at least April next year. Many will know Miranda from his hit show “Hamilton.”

The casino recently announced a slew of performers returning to The Venetian in 2025 for limited engagements including:

• Styx
• Chicago
• Foreigner
• Mike Epps

Earlier this year Billboard reported that U2 will perform a residency at the MSG Sphere at The Venetian.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if this coincided with the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is set for the weekend of Nov. 18, 2025. Both The Venetian and MSG Sphere are partners in the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas.