Venetian, Las Vegas

A few photos of the The Venetian, a high-end hotel & casino in Las Vegas with an over-the-top Venetian theme (hence the name). Luxury hotels in Vegas often aren't themed, and theme hotels tend to be more mid-market than this. But in this case they had a big budget and turned everything up to 11 -- including, unfortunately, the fragrance in the casino's climate control. I started in on a major sneezing fit and we didn't stay inside for long. Oh well.

The construction cranes you'll see in a few of the photos are for the stalled St. Regis Residences project, which would have added an ultra-expensive condo tower to the Venetian-Palazzo complex. They didn't quite get it finished before the Vegas condo bubble imploded, and it's anyone's guess what will happen with it next, or when that might occur.

Meanwhile, the replica Rialto Bridge shown here is the scene of a pivotal zombie attack in Resident Evil: Extinction. Which is actually an enjoyable zombie flick, and not just because parts take place in post-apocalypse Las Vegas. The part with the zombie crows is pretty cool too. If you like that sort of thing, I mean, and I realize not everyone does.