Look straight ahead and slightly up! The Palazzo stands right before you-a massive golden tower with creamy tan and golden accents, stretching fifty stories up into the sky. Its entrance is flanked by tall palm trees and grand staircases, leading into a facade dotted with elegant arches, decorative windows, and bold red awnings. The letters spelling "PALAZZO" are perched right above the glass dome of the main entrance. If you see a building that looks like a palace straight out of Italy, shimmering in the Las Vegas sun, you’ve found it.
Now, take a breath and imagine the music of clinking glasses and chatter as people pour onto the marble steps in front of you. Welcome to The Palazzo! This isn’t just any hotel-if hotels were actors, The Palazzo would always get the lead role. Together with its famous neighbor, The Venetian, this place is so huge, it’s the second-largest hotel in the world. That’s right, if you suddenly feel very small, you’re not alone.
The whole resort looks like it belongs in a movie, and fun fact-it actually was! During construction, the Palazzo starred in Ocean’s Thirteen as the swanky new “Bank” resort. You can almost picture George Clooney and crew sneaking past the slots, right? But long before all this Hollywood glamour, this land held friendly motels and even the Tam O’Shanter, complete with a big neon hat sign. Imagine a time in the 1950s when you could grab a deli sandwich and see the desert stretch out for miles behind you, before the towers and glamour arrived.
Building this palace of luxury was no easy feat. Crews dug down almost seventy feet, carting away earth to make room for a massive underground garage. That’s a lot of shoveling-not even a jackpot win would make that job easier! The whole project ended up costing $1.9 billion. Even removing old asbestos from the former motels took weeks and a pretty penny.
And amidst all the glitz, The Palazzo has a green heart: it was the world’s biggest LEED-certified building in 2008. That means in between the marble, gold, and dazzling lights, there’s energy-efficient air and water swirling around you.
So, as you gaze up at this Italian dream soaring over the Strip, let yourself feel the old Vegas mingling with the new-mobsters and movie stars, blackjack dealers and Broadway shows, all layered in with a little bit of history and a whole lot of spectacle. Ready to wander inside, or shall we keep rolling down the boulevard for even more stories?
