The galaxy of goodies in the shops along the canal satisfies a wide range of tastes: there are magic tricks at Houdini’s and ice-cream cones at Haagen Däzs; there are pearls at Mikimoto and smart sportswear at banana republic. Travel by gondola or meander the (rather long) walkway linking the stores. Stars of the Venetian’s gastronomic line-up include Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio (Asian- Mediterranean cuisine), Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse, Stephan Pyles’ Star Canyon (New Texas dishes), and Joachim Splichal’s Pinot Brasserie (French-California fare). Splurge on a meal at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, named by Hotels Magazine as “one of the ten greatest restaurants in the world.”
In a building fashioned after the library on St. Mark’s Square, the wax museum opened in 1999 and soon became a top attraction; some visitors say the figures are even more lifelike than those in the London original. Completed in late 2001, this is the fifth of the world’s Guggenheim museums. The others are in New York, Bilbao, Berlin, and Venice. Also established in late 2001, this is the first permanent museum outside St. Petersburg, Russia, to house treasures from the Hermitage. Set in the Doge’s Palace, the vast casino has 110 table games and 2,000 slot machines. On the walls of the high rollers’ “Renaissance Room” hang works by Tiepolo, Tintoretto, and Titian. Costumed singers belt out arias in counterpoint to the cacophony of slot-machine bells and clanging coins.
The journey of a major hotel-casino from the drawing board to the grand opening is a long and often tortuous process. Of course, plans must be submitted and approved by city government and county commissioners. But the most rigorous scrutiny is reserved not for the building but for those involved in owning and managing the casino. These people are vetted by the Nevada Gaming Commission and subjected to a thorough background check before a gaming license is issued.
Property investors have managed to make great premium on their property and are now considering putting the properties in the market to support the tourism boom which is about to hit the UAE by 2010 where Dubai will have the tallest skyscraper in the world, the largest manmade island on earth, by far bigger than Manhattan and the largest shopping malls in the globe.