Hotel/shopping corridor in Bellagio Hotel with high domed glass ceilings

 My first vacation destination this year was to  hotter, drier Las Vegas. While I enjoy hot weather (it was a scorching 110 degrees Fahrenheit, 43 degrees Celsius in July), and beaches and lounging poolside, I also am an avid aficionado of history and culture. Not so much a gambler. So with sky-reaching hotels replacing 1950's and 60's classics like the Sand, Dunes, the Sahara... was Vegas a Viva or Vaya vacation (Long live or Bust)?  Interestingly, the growing number of glitzy, posh hotels tell a story.  A new history. I love it.  Apart from gambling, drinking and watching shows, the other must-do activity for Vegas visitors is hotel hopping. Immediately I picked up on a telltale sign since my last visit 20+ years ago. A change is occurring. Long overdue and still slow to evolve.  Vegas has finally seen the light! (Blog post photos best viewed on large computer screen).


Las Vegas is still sizzling with bright digital outdoor lights, whirling slot machines, the ding-ding-ding of the small win, and even non-intoxicated guests like myself still need a map to find their way though the maze of the casino to get to the other side--the hotel guest rooms.  But what has changed?  The hotel design and decor to attract passerbys, ultra wealthy guests, and to seduce gamblers.

DID YOU KNOW?

If you have visited Vegas old and new then you are probably aware that older Vegas hotels/casinos all have interiors with no windows or natural light or even clocks.  Except for guestrooms. A long-held belief is that casino design was meant to have low ceilings void of windows and clocks to help gamblers lose track of time and spend more money.  "Really?" I thought to myself. The psychology did not add up to me.  At least for this native Floridian, the more sunlight, the more motivation for me to do anything.  My immediate thought was that given the history of Vegas, a town built in the middle of the desert as a railroad town and later to build a dam, the men who worked there needed a distraction and entertainment. Soon appeared show girls and later prostitutes and casinos.  A Mormon funded town which graduated to a mob haven, (a natural progression of course--slight joke), I would say the buildings were designed to keep these vices clandestine and provide a reprieve from the blinding desert sun. After some research, turns out my theory was correct.

Traditional "Casino design" with low ceiling and dim lighting

Is It True?

According to British psychologist, Mark Griffiths, after 15 psychological studies, he found no conclusive evidence of the effect on windows and wall clocks on gamblers to spend more time. However he did conclude that scent and lighting did affect mood and tendencies to stay longer and gamble more.
 

Theme Hotels in Vegas

While theme hotels were the trend for years (Circus Circus Hotel, Paris Hotel) the interior casino design remained the same. This visit I stayed at the elegant Venetian hotel which opened in 1999. A slice of Venice in many regards.

Gondolas parked in front of Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas

After crossing the bridge and Venetian canal immediately I noticed the change. I was entering a fusion of Venice meets Vegas. No windows or natural light and a casino maze to greet me.  Here is where I needed a GPS to find the lobby to check in. However the design and attention to detail was stunning. The lobby boasted 25 foot wide columns made of solid Botticino marble imported from Italy. The Venetian Colonnade's marble floor was hand fitted and modeled after the floor of the Church of the Santa Maria del Rosario in Venice.

Venetian does not have interior windows but adds more lighting and rich design details

Enclosed restaurant plaza with digital sky (no windows) inside the Venetian and Palazzo hotels.

The Bellagio Breaks Tradition

The Bellagio Hotel broke the mold of casino design in 1998. At the time it was the most expensive hotel built in the world at a tune of $1.6 billion dollars.

The Bellagio Hotel

The Bellagio hotel welcomed the natural light in a smart design with high dome glass ceilings to prevent glare. The casinos are still in the center of the hotel with no windows but the surrounding natural light was most inviting, contrary to old hotel design thinking. Vegas was designed for men--the dark macho man caves.  The new design welcomed everyone.

The Bellagio- first hotel to add ceiling windows to let in natural light

Wynn and Encore hotels

Outside the Wynn Hotel waterfall

The pool with a swim- up bar also features outdoor gaming tables.  During my visit,  a group of people played at one card game table behind the bar (the covered island pictured below on the left) and were cheering and applauding the entire two hours.  In the middle of the afternoon surrounded by a pool, bright day light, and a well stocked bar steps away, guests gambled to their heart's content.  Proof again that the "playground" design worked.

Encore hotel pool

Jardin restaurant at Encore Hotel, Las Vegas Ceiling window radiates light like the heavens

Christine about to exit and standing on whimsical mosaic tile floor

Jardin bar

This is the CEILING not the wall of the Jardin bar. Bottles suspended. So delicate like a woman's boudoir.

Christine sits in Jardin restaurant Notice the natural light all around, bright colors and the whimsical floor pattern