ART PRINTS FLOWERS

Bellagio is an AAA Five-Diamond, Mobil Five-Star rated luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Paradise area of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, USA. It is owned by MGM Mirage and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino. Inspired by the Lake Como resort of Bellagio in Italy, Bellagio is famed for its elegance. One of its most notable features is an 8-acre (32,000 m2) artificial lake between the building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio, a large dancing water fountain synchronized to music.

Bellagio was conceived by Steve Wynn and built by his company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. following the purchase and demolition of the legendary Dunes hotel and casino in 1993. Bellagio was designed by Marnell Corrao Associates and Jon Jerde. Bellagio had an original construction cost of US$1.6 billion.

The Bellagio employs approximately 10,000 people. In the fall of 2006, the casino floor was remodeled and new uniforms were issued, changing the original color scheme to a more elegant type.

Inside Bellagio, Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 sq ft (190 m2) of the lobby ceiling. Bellagio is home to Cirque du Soleil's aquatic production of "O", only the second permanent production show for the world-renowned troupe.

The Bellagio opened Oct. 15, 1998, just before 11 p.m. in a ceremony that cost a reported US$88 million. The VIPs invited to the grand opening were expected to donate to The Foundation Fighting Blindness US$1,000 a person or US$3,500 a couple, which entitled them to an overnight stay at Bellagio's suite rooms.

Opening night's entertainment began with Steve Wynn giving a 40-minute welcome speech followed by the opening of the Cirque du Soleil production "O." Performing in Bellagio lounges that night were New York cabaret and recording artist Michael Feinstein, George Bugatti and John Pizarrelli. When it opened, it was the most expensive hotel ever built at around US$1.6 billion. The Bellagio was also opened on the fifth anniversary of the Luxor Hotel.

In 2000 it became an MGM Mirage property when Mirage Resorts merged with MGM Grand Inc. to create MGM MIRAGE.

* The Bellagio and its fountains are featured in the 2007 film Lucky You and the 2008 film 21.
* The Bellagio was featured prominently in the film Ocean's Eleven. The curved staircase that Tess Ocean (played by Julia Roberts) descended was removed during a 2006 remodel to accommodate the entrance pathway from a newly built hotel tower, called The Spa Tower. New shops and restaurants fill the space. The fictitious vault for the three casinos that were robbed (MGM Grand, Mirage, and Bellagio) owned by Terry Benedict (played by Andy Garcia) was located beneath the Bellagio.
* In the 2007 film Ocean's Thirteen, Daniel Ocean (played by George Clooney) is talking about The Dunes Hotel (which was situated on the same place before the Bellagio was built) while he is standing in front of the Fountains of Bellagio together with Rusty Ryan (played by Brad Pitt).

Many professional poker players prefer to play at the Bellagio poker room, calling it their home base (or more commonly "The Office") due to the high table limits. Poker professionals refer to the high-limit table as The Big Game.[1]

Bellagio has also partnered with the World Poker Tour to host several of their tournaments.

Bellagio's slot floor features an expansive collection of more than 2,400 machines. With denominations ranging from 1? - $1,000, Bellagio offers a wide variety of slots designed to accommodate every level of player. The slot floor also features exclusive games, progressives and promotions only available at MGM MIRAGE™ properties.

The Fountains of Bellagio is a vast, choreographed water feature with performances set to light and music. (See musical fountain.) The performances take place in front of the Bellagio hotel and are visible from numerous vantage points on the Strip, both from the street and neighboring structures. The show takes place every 30 minutes in the afternoons and early evenings, and every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight. Before a water show starts, a gong sounds to warn people that the show is about to start. Exceptions: a single or string of shows may be withheld when winds prevail; a single show may be skipped to avoid interference with a planned event. The fountain display is choreographed to various pieces of music.

The fountains are set in a 9-acre (36,000 m2) manmade lake. Contrary to a common urban myth that the lake is filled with treated greywater from the hotel, it is actually serviced by a fresh water well that was drilled decades prior to irrigate a golf course that previously existed on the site. The fountains actually use less water than irrigating the golf course did.[3] They incorporate a network of pipes with more than 1,200 nozzles that make it possible to stage fountain displays c

I took this picture in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. A huge display just inside the reception area celebrated the Chinese New Year. I thought this was so odd because it was about the weekend of Valentine's Day, and I figured Vegas would capitalize on it, i.e. all of the wedding chapels galore. Instead, a huge approximately 40 foot Chinese idol with massive looking gold coins strewn beneath it was the focus. The only place we found in town celebrating Valentine's Day was Walmart.

Though my hubby and I enjoyed the short vacation we took in Vegas through many of the sights and sounds that were family friendly, this aspect of blatant idol worship disturbed me. Though the displays all over town celebrating this festival were very alluring as noted above in this picture I took, those things that it represented to me is perhaps the core of humankind's separation from God--the love of money and sin. When I read these passages listed below during one of my devotions, I was reminded of the pictures I shot in Vegas and decided to post them on my flickr site:

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. (Psalm 135:15-18, NIV)

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21, NIV)

The result of of the love of money and sin brought to mind these like passages:

He said to me, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:6-8, NIV)

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. (Revelation 22:14-16, NIV)

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15, NIV)

The Good News after reading these very convicting passages can be found in passages like these that sum up the whole purpose of the Lord, bringing to light our many failings:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:19-24, NIV)

For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:32, NIV)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

The cool thing about this grace and righteousness given freely to us as a gift is that it has a wonderful side effect: We no longer desire or love to sin because His power touches us and are inclined instead to desire to do good and love (Romans 6:1 to 8:14 and Deuteronomy 5:29). This effect does not come by reading and studying and memorizing Scripture, though it is most certainly advantageous: Through it, we discover what sin is in order to agree with Him that it is wrong and it encourages us to do good and to love and to show ourselves approved and to fellowship with Him and others along with exhorting and rebuking us in Him, etc. (1 Corinthians 1:17 to 2:16). This new desire/inclination, instead, comes