Bellagio’s New 33-Foot Boat, Fortuna, Arrives

By Scott Roeben, on October 06 2025
4 min read 1 comment
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Bellagio’s Lake Como has a new addition, a 33-foot boat called Fortuna. The boat was brought in for a new restaurant coming to the Strip resort, Carbone Riviera.

The boat won’t be available for commoners, of course, but will (as we were the first to share weeks ago) be used for VIPs and special occasions.

Everyone made a big deal out of the arrival of the boat (it was a slow news day) with Bellagio hyping it up as a “yacht,” which is absolutely isn’t. We’re here for all the disillusioning snark you can stomach, of course, so let’s set sail for some stolen valor and crushing disappointment, shan’t we, matey?

We like big boats and we cannot lie, this one doesn’t qualify.

First, Carbone Riviera. It’s replacing Picasso. It’s from the same folks as Carbone at Aria, Major Food Group. The space is designed by Martin Brudnizki, featuring seafood, our least favorite genre of food other than vegetables.

Second, we’ll need to remind you we were the first to share Carbone was coming to Bellagio (even before they’d landed on the Riviera name). We broke the story about the boat, too, but let’s not get bogged down by facts.

Bellagio’s boat arrived with the requisite hoopla on Oct. 3, 2025, and by that we mean it was launched in the morning, so no way in hell we were personally attending the event.

The boat was delivered by pick-up truck.

Bellagio shared some highlights on Twitter, as if you needed further evidence of how truly horrible casino social marketing is

The guy in the ill-fitting uniform isn’t an actual captain. That’s the stolen valor part. It’s a joke. We’re sure he has plenty of Central Casting valor.

If you are thinking Las Vegas has lost its hoopla mojo, you are correct.

Our publicity stunts used to draw massive crowds and make national headlines, even if the thing being publicized was sort of goofy.

At one point, Caesars Entertainment closed off the Las Vegas Strip for a media event touting the end of resort fees. This was one of the dumbest media events in the history of Las Vegas, but at least it was creative and fun and there was an actual photo op involved.

No resort fees rally
Don’t cringe. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Another time, Caesars shut down Flamingo Blvd. and The Strip for a herd of horses. It was a Shania Twain thing.

Broken clocks and casino PRs both get it right twice a day. Less often with PRs, but you get the point.

Lately, we get boats posing as yachts, painting walls purple and handing out bottled water at the airport and groundbreakings for ballparks that aren’t funded. Sigh.

The point being, wow, the boat arrival was a yawner.

While MGM Resorts hasn’t shared how much the boat cost, it was rumored to be in the $3 million range, which is as the kids say, utter hooey.

A boat like this (yes, boat, as the cut-off for yachts is 40 feet) might fetch $2 million, so it’s not cheap, but it wasn’t $3 million.

On the list of further disappointment around the boat is the fact nobody could really see it delivered because Bellagio’s fountains and lake are obscured from public view due to an irksome F1 grandstand. It blocks the view of the Bellagio fountains for millions of visitors for months.

Yay, a boat.

Yes, we sound negative sometimes, but that’s because we cover Las Vegas and there are more negative things to report, sadly.

How about getting a celebrity captain the boat? Bruno Mars rode a Jet Ski around the fountains for his music video. They couldn’t get Bruno Mars? They could pay him in promotional blackjack chips. Yeah, we went there.

How about the boat being christened with the World’s Largest Champagne Bottle? If they wanted headlines, they could’ve asked Steve Wynn to do it. He built the place.

How about a synchronized fountain show or light projection spectacle like they did to promote “Game of Thrones”?

Why couldn’t Shin Lim or Mat Franco make the boat appear out of thin air?

How about a dramatic high seas battle where Fortuna symbolically sinks a Venetian gondola?

Why couldn’t one of the Red Bull guys jump the lake like the stunt at Paris a few years ago?

Where are the Elvises or projection mapping or showgirls or any exertion of effort whatsoever?

Publicity Stunts 101: Everything is better with showgirls and manatees.

All right, focusing on the positive, Bellagio’s lake has a new boat and it looks very nice.

Fortuna was made in Italy by a company called Riva and it is one of only 18 of its kind ever produced, part of the famed shipyard’s “Anniversario” collection, commemorating Riva’s 180th anniversary. Each of the 18 boats is numbered, but did anyone take the time to find out which number Fortuna is? No. We shall not rest until someone more ambitious than us delves into this mystery and provides the boat number! We definitely aren’t going to get any questions answered by the folks in MGM Resorts’ public relations department due to our terrible attitude.

Fortuna has a top speed of 40.5 knots. We trust its top speed in Bellagio’s lake will be approximately one or fewer of those. Knots, that is. Bellagio’s lake is about 500 feet wide. Fortuna’s voyages are going to involve a lot of circles and, much like our love life, people asking, “Is that it?”

We look forward to taking a ride on Fortuna as long as we’re guaranteed mist from the fountains will in no way interfere with our hair.

Update (Oct. 6, 2025): Fortuna is 11 of 18.

Update (Oct. 6, 2025): Now, we’re feeling guilty about all the mean things we said about casino public relations professionals, the unsung heroes of the gaming and industry.