The Best Bet in Vegas

Gaming was officially born in Venice in 1638 at Il Ridotto, in a wing of a palazzo that today is home to the luxury Hotel Danieli. The stakes were high at the city’s first public and state-sanctioned gambling house, where the preferred game, basetta—a hybrid of poker, blackjack, and gin rummy—paid winners 60 times their wager. The action was hot and lasted until 1774, when pious reformers convinced the government to ban gambling. Not that Venetians paid any attention. They just took their cards and dice and opened the private clubhouses that became known as “casinos.”

 Needless to say, gambling has come a long way since then, and players can experience the best of it—the games and the wagers, the wins and the thrills, and, yes, a taste of that classic Venice history and style—at The Venetian Resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

The options at The Venetian Resort are almost endless. The two casino floors—spanning nearly 200,000 square feet—are home to 2,500 slot machines and single-and multi-hand video poker. Actual poker, along with favorite table games like blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat, can all be played at more than 200 tables. 

Table games players have special incentive to play at The Venetian Resort: The Millionaire Progressive. The bonus offering can turn a $5 side bet into a seven-figure payout. And, yeah, it’s happened—more than a dozen times. 

The Venetian Resort’s poker options got even better this summer with the debut of an impressive new poker room at The Palazzo—a gaming temple (the biggest on the Strip) with 50 tables, state-of-the-art amenities, and a dedicated streaming room for tournaments and vlogging.

High rollers will also feel at home at the new High-Limit Gaming Lounge at The Palazzo, the ultimate luxury gaming experience, where bets per spin can go up to $5,000 at the 67 slot machines in this stunning space. Or try your hand at one of the 18 high-limit table games. It’s totally full service around here: you can request your favorite branded machines and relax with a cocktail in the lounge. 

When it comes to sports—especially during those glorious few months that bring us the Big Game, March Mayhem, and MLB Opening Day—there is no better place to watch than on the towering, 46-million-pixel, 1,770-square-foot LED wall at the new Yahoo Sportsbook powered by William Hill. The sportsbook is open 24/7, as are the state-of-the-art betting stations and kiosks. 

Follow your wagers from a velvet armchair in the middle of the house, tracking 40 sporting events showing simultaneously on the wraparound screen, individual TVs, and a live ticker showing odds and scores. Or make it a private party at one of two exclusive Yahoo Fan Caves, where you and up to a dozen of your pals can sit back (or stand and holler) and enjoy a 98-inch screen and primo bites like burgers and wings from Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer and potstickers and mei fun from Noodle Asia. We call that a winning combination.