YOU MUST SEE THE BELLAGIO CONSERVATORY!

Happy 4th of July Week.

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens opened their summer display.

And what a display it is this summer. The new display has several thousand of flowers for it’s Italian theme. The Italian theme is “La Dolce Vita” depicting summer in Italy.

Video Courtesy of Review Journal

On the east side of the conservatory there is a garden full of lemons that represents the Isle of Capri.
The west garden has a 20-foot fountain that pays homage to the Fontana dell’Ovato in Villa d’Este.

The south garden, has three massive horses being ridden by larger-than-life jockeys, which represent the Palio horse race that takes place twice a year in the city of Siena.

The background is the palazzo Pubblico.

1,400 flowers and 2 huge swans make up the north garden replicating The Teatro alla Scala in Milan with a romantic picnic scene.

125 team members maintain the 57,000 flowers that are on display in the exhibit, which will be on display until mid-September.

Las Vegas Keeps On Keeping On

This article is written by Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segallon Twitter.

A chunk of the Strip has sold for a big price and is slated for new retail offerings.

New York investment firm Gindi Capital announced Friday it bought 9.5 acres of real estate along Las Vegas Boulevard for $172 million, or about $18 million an acre.
The holdings include the Hawaiian Marketplace retail plaza and the low-slung Cable Center Shops next door.

Gindi is “working with its development and design teams to unveil plans for a new flagship retail, entertainment and dining experience,” the announcement said.
It did not elaborate, and a representative for Gindi said the company is not doing interviews at this time.

Gindi, co-owner of the nearby Showcase mall, bought the buildings from New York investment firm Spectrum Group Management.

Michael Parks of CBRE Group, a former listing broker for the site, said that he expects Gindi to tear down the buildings and develop a new project and that this section of Las Vegas Boulevard, between Harmon and Tropicana avenues, has “a massive number of people walking” around.

He also said the purchase shows the best use for land on the casino-choked Strip nowadays isn’t always a hotel.

If someone bought nearly 10 acres on Las Vegas Boulevard 20 years ago, it was a safe bet the buyer would build a casino-resort, Parks agreed.
“Times have changed, for sure,” he said.

Gindi’s purchase comprises more than half of the property Spectrum put on the market last year for $800 million.

A multibillion-dollar, Elvis-themed resort reportedly was planned for the site years ago. Spectrum acquired the property out of bankruptcy in 2010, after the economy crashed.

Spectrum managing partner Jeff Schaffer confirmed the sale to Gindi and that his firm recently sold a Walgreens building next to Gindi’s new holdings for $30 million to the drugstore chain.

Walgreen Co. closed the purchase June 7, property records show. The pharmacy giant declined to comment Friday night.

Spectrum initially owned 18 acres on that part of the Strip and wanted to sell it all at the same time. But the buyer pool for such a large, expensive property was small, and Spectrum didn’t get the price it wanted, so it decided to sell in pieces, Schaffer said.

In 2017, Spectrum sold the now-demolished Smith & Wollensky building to Showcase owners Gindi and Jordache jeans founders the Nakash family for $59.5 million.
“We’re exceeding our expectations at this point,” he said of the prices his group is fetching.

Spectrum still owns about 6 acres at the corner of Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard. Schaffer said his group has received offers of $50 million an acre for part of that section but added he wants to sell it all in one deal.

Coming Soon! Labor Day!

Cleopatra’s Barge hosts Dionne Warwick. She is the latest star to take to the seas, metaphorically, for a residency at Caesars Palace’s moated enclave. Warwick opens Sept. 5, swapping dates with Wayne Newton, through March 1. Warwick is set to perform at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (tickets start at $125 at ticketmaster.com).

The venue is smaller than those Warwick has played in her Las Vegas career including the late, great Copa Room at the Sands.

One intimate lounge act is a selling point. The 165-seating capacity at Cleopatra’s Barge is expected to expand slightly for Dionne’s shows.

The venue features four seating platforms and multiple sight lines to the stage; its water drained in favor of lights that create an aquatic vibe.

“We certainly consider Cleopatra’s Barge as a headlining room,” Caesars Entertainment executive Damian Costa said as his company announced Newton’s headlining run in January. “It’s gone through a lot of different versions, lots of different things have happened over the years, but it’s good for headlining entertainment.”

THINKING OF MOVING TO LAS VEGAS?

CHECK OUT ALL THE AVAILABLE HOMES IN THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY.

SEARCH ALL THE AVAILABLE HOMES