Friday, May 16, 2003 | 9:16 a.m.
Since the $1.2 billion Venetian opened in May 1999 entertainment at the world's third-largest hotel has been treated like an unwanted stepchild.
Venetian President Robert G. Goldstein says all of that is about to change.
"We are looking at putting in major productions, possibly Broadway shows," Goldstein said.
The Venetian, which sublets its showroom space to H&H of Nevada, is making up for lost entertainment time.
Goldstein says it's going to start by buying back a 30-year lease agreement it signed with H&H of Nevada when the hotel opened in 1999.
Not only will it take over the 85,000-square-foot Showroom at The Venetian, which a source said will take place in November, but it is going to convert the space that formerly housed the 64,000-square-foot Guggenheim Las Vegas Museum into a second showroom.
The museum closed in January after just one exhibit, "Art of the Motorcycle."
Both rooms will be remodeled into state-of-the-art venues, Goldstein said, "befitting the most popular hotel in Las Vegas." He added The Venetian is among the elite venues in the city, at the top in dining, rooms, shopping and convention space.
But entertainment has been lacking.
"Now, we will have two magnificent theaters," Goldstein said.
Guggenheim will continue to have a presence at The Venetian the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum is a smaller facility near the casino that exhibits art.
Published reports stated $25 million will be spent on converting the larger Guggenheim space.
"That could be low," he said.
Goldstein says The Venetian has been talking to at least a dozen producers, including Tommy Tune, who is working with Jerry Herman on a new musical, "Miss Spectacular."
Goldstein says they have also considered a production hot in London called "Gold Diggers."
"We're looking at everything," Goldstein said.
The only thing certain at this point, he says, is that The Venetian won't have a Cirque du Soleil production.
"That's been overdone," he said, noting that soon there will be six shows on the Strip by Cirque.
The fate of the two shows currently at the Showroom at The Venetian are not yet known.
Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance," formerly at New York-New York, debuted in November. Rumors were that Flatley was trying to buy the showroom in a lease-purchase agreement that was never consummated.
David Saxe's "V, the Ultimate Variety Show," debuted in August.
Saxe says he wants to remain at The Venetian when the smoke clears.
"I hope they realize what a gem they have now," Saxe said. "We have the most successful show ever at The Venetian."
He says the show is sold out 75 percent of the time.
"That's pretty good for a 6 o'clock show," he said.
Goldstein declined to reveal details about taking back the lease with H&H, but he said there are a number of reasons why The Venetian decided to take the step at this time.
"The third-party agreement simply didn't work out," he said.
Also, a lot of controversy has swirled around the operation of the showroom by H&H, which sublet the space to producers in four-wall arrangements.
Producers and performers often complained that they received no support either from H&H or from The Venetian, and that the lease arrangements were draconian -- dooming shows to failure.
In addition to a showroom, the space leased by H&H houses C2K, an after-hours dance club.
When C2K first opened, it was subleased by H&H to Silver Hammer of Nevada, but H&H bought out the lease after allegations surfaced that the facility was a haven for drug transactions and other unseemly activity.
The parents of a 21-year-old Henderson woman claim their daughter died after taking illegal drugs at the club.
A lawsuit against The Venetian filed by the family more than two years ago was settled in February.
Danielle Heird died from an overdose of the drug ecstasy on July 20, 2000, after going to the C2K nightclub. An investigation by Metro Police determined Heird had taken the drug before she went into the club and took the drug again once inside.
The lawsuit, filed by Heird's parents, James and Elsa Heird, alleged that The Venetian had an obligation to provide a safe environment for patrons of the club and that the owners of C2K created a drug-friendly environment, even profiting on drug use by increasing the cost of bottled water.
Besides the contentious relationship between The Venetian and H&H, Goldstein says economically, the timing to build the showrooms is right.
Goldstein says The Venetian posted record earnings this quarter, the second quarter in a row that the income has shown dramatic increases.
Las Vegas Sands Inc., parent company of The Venetian, reported net income for the quarter ending March 31 of $13 million, compared with $5.1 million for the comparable period in 2002. The company reported revenue of $158.7 million, a 16.3-percent increase over the $136.4 million reported in the first quarter of 2002.
The Venetian is scheduled to open a new $250 million, 1,013-suite second tower in June. It will bring the property to 4,049 rooms, putting it behind the 5,034-room MGM Grand and the 4,524-room Luxor.
The expansion also includes parking and a $45 million addition to The Venetian Congress Center and the Sands Expo & Convention Center.
The company also is planning a second Las Vegas destination resort, between The Venetian and Steve Wynn's Le Reve.
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