On May 2, ahead of its 25th anniversary, the Venetian Resort Las Vegas announced plans for the largest and most expensive hotel renovation in its history. The reinvestment project cost $1.5bn and included a new poker room that was unveiled on August 1 as part of a celebration with executives and celebrity guests in attendance.
Located on Level 2 of the Grand Canal Shoppes, the expanded space now features 50 table games spread across 14,000 sq ft, making it the largest room on the strip.
“This poker room is a long time coming, it's part of a $1.5bn reinvestment into the Venetian Resort. Poker players are incredibly important to us and we’re excited you are all here and appreciate you coming,” Venetian Resort Las Vegas President and CEO Patrick Nichols said.
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas has stated it remains committed to delivering unparalleled gaming experiences and catering to the evolving needs of players as the new poker room includes upgraded seating arrangements and a range of amenities aimed at enhancing player comfort and enjoyment.
The room will also have kiosks for both the resort’s loyalty program, Venetian Rewards, and sports betting operated by William Hill.
“We started demolition on February 1, from there it's been a whirlwind of construction and getting to this point where we’re at today. We’re very excited to unveil this clean, modern, state-of-the-art room with all the amenities that the players could ask for,” Venetian Resort Las Vegas Director of Poker Operations Tommy LaRosa said in an exclusive interview with Gaming America.
“We’re here to spread limits for all player types. If you’re a beginning player, a player that has been playing for a few years or the most experienced player, we want to have the game for you.”
LaRosa stated the resort will also be building a streaming studio with hopes of producing live content and partnering with strategic podcasts that could be recorded live from the poker room as well. He expects the state-of-the-art studio to be completed sometime in November or December.
Gaming America also asked LaRosa about the recent news regarding Caesars reaching an agreement with the NSUS Group, which operates GGPoker, to sell the intellectual property rights for the World Series of Poker brand for $500m.
LaRosa was still fresh to the recent announcement, having said, “I heard it, I haven't seen or read anything about it. Anything that can help grow the game I’m for so I’ll learn more about it in the days to come. But we’re super excited to help grow the game as well which is better for everybody.”
The new poker room also hosted a number of celebrities and professional poker players to mark the official “first hand.” Some celebrities included musical artist Nelly as well as magician Shin Lim, whose show will be coming to the resort shortly.
