Las Vegas: the adult Disneyland, never ever closed, operating non-stop 24/7/365. That’s the image presented by the glamorous gambling capital, anyway. But the behind-the-scenes reality with this type of entertainment behemoth is that, at some point, upkeep and repairs need to have completed. And just as the iconic Bellagio fountains must occasionally be drained and washed, therefore too must the ersatz waterways that constitute the faux canals of Venice at Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Venetian, the ritzy Strip property owned by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Recreating the Illusion

And now for the first-time since it had been built in 1999, almost 15 years ago that’s exactly what is happening. As opposed to singing gondoliers and charming canal rides drifting involving the high-end retail shops, people to Las Vegas now will discover: cement. It is kind of like seeing that man behind the hologram of Oz, the Great and Terrible. The cement base of the canals needs a repainting; apparently the paint that creates an illusion of sparkles beneath the water has lost its luster.

‘There’s an extremely specific sparkling color that is blue we are attempting to achieve,’ spokesman Keith Salwoski said. ‘It dulls over time. This is certainly our chance to start fresh and have the canal be as bright as the it exposed. time’

The canals won’t reopen until October.

But the show must go on, as they do say, so the Venetian will stay to play Italian arias to drown the rattle out of concrete mixers and distract visitors from the reality that they are seeing the bowels regarding the Vegas machine get a scrub-down and reboot right in the front of the very eyes. The usual 280,000 gallon waterflow which would need 65 days of garden hosing to fill up is barren.

Repair is Inconvenience for Some

It’s a lot like the freeway: we all want that it is maintained, but perhaps not during our drive time. Same means with casino upkeep: please never do it while we are vacationing at your property. Now, the place that is only usually takes a gondola ride at the Venetian is right out front, as well as for those maybe not attuned to desert fall weather, it is still pretty hot and an intense sun during the days.

‘It’s one of the things that it’s most famous for, isn’t it?’ said Will Husbands, a tourist that is british Vegas for his honeymoon, and obviously disappointed to be missing the canals.

Do not think the Venetian it self is not inspired to get the canals back up and running; they truly are quite the bucks cow for the resort casino. At $18.95 for a 10-minute group trip, or an astonishing $75.80 for a couple’s ride replete with singing gondoliers encouraging you to kiss as you pass under bridges, multiply that times a half million tourists ponying up for tickets a year and you do have a serious chunk of change.

Most of the canal overhaul work is happening in the wee hours, as soon as the shops are closed and fewer tourists are mourning and strolling their short-term closing. Through the day, workers need certainly to camouflage their hoses and tools, or just make them vanish under huge blue tarps that are arranged below the temporarily defunct kissing bridges.

And tourists aren’t the only ones anxious to obtain the canals reopened; gondoliers, both male and female, who steer the boats on their somewhat pre-determined paths and sing opera to riders, were either laid off or had to take the toasty outdoor gig. And for anyone in search of the ‘wedding gondola’ that normally comes replete with ceremony officiant, that too has gone out of purchase for the time being.