World's costliest hotel opens today

It's being billed as the world's most expensive hotel, and gaming's most anticipated event.

The Bellagio hotel-casino is scheduled to open to the public Thursday tonight following a VIP gala that is expected to raise some $1.5 million for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

"The opening of Bellagio could be the most anticipated event in gaming history," says Jason Ader, senior managing director of Bear, Stearns & Co., and a leading gaming analyst.

The hotel has been nearly five years in the making and cost some $1.6 billion - up from an original projection of $1.3 billion.

The hotel is the latest showplace of Mirage Resorts Inc., which began a wave of new construction here in 1989 with the opening of its flagship Mirage hotel-casino.

Mirage Chairman Steve Wynn has added another $300 million to the price tag by buying up art by masters such as Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Piccasso.

The opening is the realization of a dream for Wynn, who sat in his Mirage office five years ago and talked of "stealing" the old Dunes hotel and 170 acres of land for $70 million.

Wynn vowed at the time that the Dunes would be imploded, which it was in a fiery spectacle in October 1993, and would be replaced with "the most beautiful hotel in the world."

Wynn has kept the new property under wraps, allowing only a handful of media to tour the 3,025-room showplace. Celebrities and casino customers are scheduled in over the weekend, with the media getting their turn Sunday night, with three days of activities planned.

Thursday night's VIP opening will include a look at the hotel's newest show, "O," produced by Cirque du Soleil. From there, guests will proceed outside to watch a spectacle on the resort's 11-acre lake, which features 22 million gallons of water. After a fireworks show, the 36-acre resort will be opened to the public.

Alan Feldman, Mirage vice president of public relations, said the public would be let in "nice and slow" until the hotel "begins to feel full" - a contrast with previous megaresort openings when tens of thousands of people jammed the properties.

One of the hotel's major attractions will be one of Wynn's favorite features, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. On a tour of the property last week, Wynn pointed out the various pieces of art, explaining each in detail, and recommending lighting and placement details to art consultants.

"As paintings go, this is tall grass," Wynn said of the masterpieces.

The opening comes at a time when Las Vegas officials are concerned over stagnant visitor counts and a drop in casino customers because of economic woes in Asia.

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