The Most Beautifully Designed Casinos in Vegas

Las Vegas is often associated with gambling, strip clubs, and other so-called sins, which is why it is known as Sin City. If you have ever been there, however, you know that there is much more to Las Vegas than that. Even if we look at the history of casinos themselves, they are far from places where people just rolled dice, drew cards, and played slots.

Moreover, many of the casinos in Vegas are genuine architectural masterpieces, and you can absolutely go there as a tourist merely to marvel at their beauty as you would in any other great international city. That being the case, let’s go over some of the most beautifully designed casinos in Vegas that you should definitely not miss the next time you’re in Sin City, even if you have no intention of gambling.

1 – The Venetian

Many of the casinos in Las Vegas are named and styled after famous attractions elsewhere on the planet. The Venetian is a prime example of that, as the whole casino and the complex around it are designed after the famous city of Venice. A particularly awesome part of The Venetian is its famous Grand Canal shopping center.

It is designed as a Venetian shopping lane with all the shops situated in gorgeous two-story Venetian buildings on two sides of a wide canal. You can even take gondola rides in the canal and get transported not just from one shop to the next but from the Mojave Desert to northeast Italy!

2 – New York-New York

Designed by Neal Gaskin, the New York-New York casino is designed to look like the famous New York skyline. It includes sights such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge. There is also a full-sized roller coaster, and many other parts of the casino are designed as smaller notable buildings from the NY skyline. The casino’s interior, which includes indoor recreations of Times Square, Broadway, Central Park, and a VIP high rollers area made to look like the Rockefeller Center, is equally impressive.

3 – The Mirage

Even just from the name, it is clear that The Mirage is a sight to behold. Designed by Joel Bergman, it is one of the largest casinos in the world. Comprising an immersive tropical theme, the entire complex of the casino includes highlights such as an artificial volcano, lagoon, waterfall, tiger and dolphin habitats, and tropical rainforest display. As the name suggests, The Mirage is a literal mirage in the middle of the desert.

4 – ARIA Resort & Casino

The ARIA Resort & Casino was designed by Argentinian-American architect Cesar Pelli and built in 2009. Unlike many of the other casinos in Vegas, ARIA doesn’t have a specific theme. Instead, it was just built to be as gorgeous as possible in and of itself. The casino resort comprises two curved glass towers counterpoising each other with their shimmering facades and surrounded by landscaped pools and palm trees. ARIA also hosts a permanent art collection of some of the world’s most famous artists, such as Tony Cragg, Sanford Biggers, and Maya Lin.

5 – Bellagio

Few casinos in Vegas – or even worldwide – are more famous than the Bellagio. Jon Jerde designed the casino to represent the beauty of the Bellagio village in the Lombardy area of northern Italy. That’s why it includes jaw-dropping views such as domed rotundas with gorgeous painted ceilings 50 feet above the ground, stunning dancing fountains, and interior gardens with art displays.

6 – Luxor Las Vegas

The Luxor in Las Vegas was designed by Veldon Simpson in 1993 to transport the beauties of the Egyptian Sahara to the Mojave Desert but with a unique postmodernist twist, and it was a hit right from the start. It captivates visitors with its black pyramid, which is 350 feet tall, projects the famous Luxor Sky Beam, and has a 30-story atrium inside. Outside the pyramid is a beautiful replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza, countless palm trees, huge Nile-like pools, and more.

7 – Caesars Palace

Few hotels and casinos in Las Vegas are as synonymous with the city as Caesars Palace. The hotel opened in 1966 and was designed by Jay Sarno to bring the opulence and beauty of the Roman Empire to Nevada. The entire casino and hotel complex is full of remarkable sights representing various historical epics blended with an Art Deco style. The water features of Caesars Palace are especially infamous, as they go through about 240 million gallons of water annually – in the middle of the desert!

Conclusion

If you’re planning to visit Las Vegas, checking out the city’s casinos should probably still be first on your list. But if you need a break from playing blackjack, poker, slots, and understanding game dynamics, make sure you check out the seven gorgeously designed casinos above.

And keep in mind that there are dozens of other amazing manmade sights in Vegas that are often overlooked. Other incredible architectural marvels include the Neon Museum Visitors’ Center, designed by Paul Revere Williams; Carbone and Sadelle’s by Ken Fulk; the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas by David Rockwell; the Shops at Crystals by Daniel Libeskind; and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health by Frank Gehry.