Tuesday, Feb. 2, 1999 | 2:50 a.m.
On a sprawling patch of real estate where Sammy and Frank, Dean and Joey once conducted casino chaos, Venice Vegas-style is taking shape.
Developer Sheldon Adelson is betting $1.5 billion he can capture the essence of Italy's most romantic city in the middle of the Nevada desert.
Where the legendary Sands Hotel once stood, construction workers scurried Tuesday to put the finishing touches on a canal that will snake its way along the Las Vegas Strip at one of the city's newest megaresorts, The Venetian.
Adelson showed off the 3,036-suite hotel Tuesday, promising the project will take Las Vegas to a new level when it opens April 14.
"There's two types of properties in Las Vegas," Adelson said, taking a breather in a richly-appointed suite after a 90-minute tour of the resort. "There's the Venetian and there's everybody else."
The resort will be one of four new hotel-casinos opening here in seven months, one of six over an 18-month span.
Bellagio opened in October, Mandalay Bay opens March 2, the Resort at Summerlin in April and Paris-Las Vegas in September. The new Aladdin opens in the spring of 2000.
Adelson donned a hard hat, stepped atop a pile of tiles and used a bullhorn to make his comments heard above the din of construction equipment swarming over the giant property.
The Venetian will "replicate not only the look, but the feeling of Venice," Adelson said, standing in the shadow of a replica of the Campanile Tower, rising the height of a football field.
He pointed out intricate statuary on building columns, the carvings so fine you could distinguish fingernails on the figures.
The exterior of the resort will feature life-size replicas of some of Venice's most famous landmarks, like the Doge's Palace and the Rialto Bridge.
The hotel lobby will have a domed ceiling 65 feet high. The dome, 50 feet in diameter, will feature replicas of artwork found in Venice. So, too, will a nearby gallery, 150 feet long, 40 feet high and 30 feet wide.
The hotel will feature 15 restaurants, with a dozen the top in their markets, Adelson said.
Past a richly-appointed casino that will also feature murals and three-dimensional paintings ("We want to pass along the luxury and the decadence of Venetian palaces"), Adelson wound his way down a Venice-style streetscape that will be lined with upscale shops.
Retailing will be a major push at the new resort, with 78 stores paying $300 million for their space - one fifth the resort's $1.5 billion price tag.
A canal winds its way through the shops, and gondolas will carry visitors from one area to another.
A 1,450-seat theater will feature headline entertainers.
The Venetian is on the site of the old Sands Hotel, where Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop created entertainment history as "The Rat Pack" four decades ago.
Adelson, who made a fortune in the convention business, most notably his Comdex computer shows, is counting on conventions to help fill his rooms at a time when the city's visitor count is stagnant. The hotel is linked to his Sands Expo convention center.
Jason Ader, gaming analyst for Bear Stearns, said a key to the Venetian's success will be the convention business and "how deep they think that is." Ader said the question was how much the convention business could grow here "in light of travel restraints into Las Vegas."
Tourism officials have complained about decreased air service here as airlines opt for more lucrative routes accommodating business flyers.
Ader said Adelson's convention facilities would help his property.
"I think Sheldon is on to something that's going to be important, as opposed to other properties that don't have those facilities."
Tourism officials are hopeful new attractions such as the Venetian can spur more visitors, as they have in the past.
"We think the market will grow, but we think it may take three to five years to achieve market supply/demand equilibrium," Ader said.
William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of the Venetian, said the company was moving ahead with plans to build a second 3,036-suite tower just north of the present facility.
"We hope to start moving dirt this summer," Weidner said during Tuesday's tour.
Ader isn't so sure.
"The primary focus should be to get the rooms open, the property stablized," Ader said. "To talk about adding more rooms in the current environment is premature."
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