Sheldon Adelson opened the Venetian in May 1999 on the site of the imploded Sands Hotel, and at that moment it was the largest hotel in the world. Sheldon Adelson built it to replace the Sands, where the Rat Pack had performed decades earlier, and he did so with a scale and ambition that made even Steve Wynn's Bellagio seem modest. The Venetian has 3,000 suites — no standard rooms, only suites — all with sunken living rooms and separate sleeping areas.
The Venice theme extends to extraordinary lengths. A reproduction of the Grand Canal runs through the hotel's retail complex, complete with gondoliers who sing opera while paddling guests past replica Venetian facades. The ceiling above the canal is painted to resemble a blue sky with drifting clouds, creating a perpetual artificial afternoon. The Bridge of Sighs, the Doge's Palace, and the Campanile bell tower all appear in various scales and configurations throughout the property.
Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corporation became one of the most powerful casino companies in the world, eventually operating properties in Macau and Singapore that dwarfed even the Venetian in scale and revenue. Adelson himself became one of the most influential political donors in America, channeling billions into Republican causes until his death in 2021. The Venetian is, among many other things, the origin point of a political dynasty as much as a casino dynasty.