Las Vegas’ Bellagio Named World’s Most Instagrammed Casino

Posted on: September 13, 2022, 01:55h. 

Last updated on: September 13, 2022, 06:16h.

The Bellagio in Las Vegas tops a new list of casino-related Instagram posts, surprising no one anywhere. According to Bestcasinosites.net, the famous fountains out front are why nearly 3 million Instagram users have hashtagged their photos “#Bellagio.” That’s a million more hashtags than received by the runner-up, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Bellagio fountains
The Bellagio fountains are one of the most iconic Las Vegas tourist attractions. According to a new ranking of casino-related Instagram posts, they have been hashtagged 50% more often than the runner-up. (Image: elitetravel.com)

For anyone who’s ever wondered why a casino would want to spend $300K-$400K per month on an attraction like the Bellagio fountains, which generates no revenue, the answer is that it does generate revenue.

Every one of those posts represents a free Instagram ad. They’re better than ads because social media users scroll past ads to seek out posts from their friends.

To compile its list, Bestcasinosites.net said it collated a seed list of 43 of the world’s most iconic casinos from articles mentioned in the media outlets Architectural Digest, Town & Country, Trips To Discover, New York Spaces, Space Coast Daily, Our Culture Mag, Cool Things, Finances Online and One World 365. The website then scoured Instagram to count the number of relevant hashtags received per casino.

Welcome to Vegas

The MGM Grand Vegas placed third on the list with 1,537,806 posts. Six of the Top 10 Instagrammed casinos were located in Las Vegas. Mandalay Bay came in fourth, Wynn Las Vegas fifth, the Venetian seventh, and the Cosmopolitan ninth.

“Casinos aren’t just a place to gamble, they can also be picturesque places to stay,” read a statement from Bestcasinosites.net. “From the fountains of the Bellagio to the Egyptian-inspired pyramid of the Luxor, casinos make iconic Instagram snaps with their decadent architecture and interior design.”

Fun Fountain Facts

  1. The Bellagio fountains were ranked the No. 1 tourist attraction in the US by TripAdvisor in 2013.
  2. The fountain show is controlled by a computer but started by a button pushed by an engineer sitting in a control room overlooking the lake.
  3. Water from the Bellagio fountains can shoot up as high as 460 feet, up from 240 feet when the show debuted. The fountain heights are adjusted to conform to wind conditions, to keep the show synchronized, and to avoid soaking spectators on the Strip.
  4. The fountain show requires 1,214 water nozzles and 4,792 lights.
  5. The fountains cost $40M to build.
  6. The Bellagio had the largest fountain show in the world from the casino’s 1998 opening until the Dubai Fountain opened in 2009.
  7. The Bellagio fountains and the Dubai Fountain were constructed by the L.A.-based water feature design firm, WET.
  8. The 8.5-acre lake housing the fountains is called Lake Bellagio or Lake Como. It is reportedly based on northern Italy’s Lake Como, situated near the village of Bellagio, Lombardy.
  9. The lake uses 500 pounds of chlorine per day.
  10. At the end of the 2001 movie Ocean’s Eleven, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon marvel at the Bellagio fountains before disappearing into the night.
  11. Fifteen years later, the fountains backdropped a car chase in the Matt Damon movie Jason Bourne.
  12. On weekdays, the fountain shows start every 30 minutes from 3 p.m.-7 p.m., then every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to midnight.  Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays start every 30 minutes from noon until 7 p.m. and then every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to midnight.
  13. Britney Spears sang “I’m a Slave 4 U” from atop Bellagio’s lake during the 2001 Billboard Music Awards.
  14. Drake performed “Gyalchester” in front of the fountains during the 2017 Billboard Music Awards
  15. Bruno Mars rode a jet ski around the fountains in 2016 for his “24K Magic” music video.