Bellagio Conservatory Whips Up Visual Feast for Chinese New Year

The geniuses at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens have done it again.

The Conservatory’s Chinese New Year display was recently unveiled and you should definitely see it before Congress tries to ban it.

Bellagio’s display runs through March 1, 2025.

The Year of the Snake With Dramatic Eyeliner runs from Jan. 29, 2025 until Feb. 16, 2026. Next up is the Year of the Horse With Ironic Facial Hair.

According to Bellagio, “Brought to life by designer Ed Libby, in collaboration with the talented Bellagio horticulture team, the exhibit immerses visitors in festive traditions, symbolic animals and a rich color palette, thoughtfully celebrating and honoring Asian culture while kissing up to this very important consumer segment who love them some baccarat.”

We may have paraphrased that last part.

So much time and attention for an attraction drunk people stumble through thinking they’re in a Dragon Link slot lounge.

Why do you think Bellagio and pretty much every other casino in Vegas are so enthusiastically celebrating Chinese New Year? It’s the gambling.

Whatever the impetus for the display, Bellagio’s Chinese New Year bloomfest is an eye-popper.

One of the few places in a casino where you won’t be hassled by a security guard for taking a photo.

Here are some highlights of the exhibit: Knick-knack peddlers, children and pandas, simulated fireworks, a Banyan Temple and waterfall, a 28-foot floral serpent, koi fish, money trees, cherry blossom trees, “qinghua” porcelain sculptures and a 33-foot porcelain pagoda.

Here are some fun facts about the Lunar New Year display at Bellagio.

If you don’t recognize the name Jeremy Aguero, you’re probably better off. He’s the one who fluffs up the numbers for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, among others. Sometimes, our jokes are just for the people who believe F1 generated $1.5 billion in revenue and the A’s are coming to Las Vegas.

Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens continue to be one of the best free attractions in Las Vegas, surviving budget cuts and belt-tightening we feared might end its incredible run that started in 1998.

Hey, MGM Resorts is still footing the bill for the Conservatory, so we’ll cut them some slack on the product placement.

Visitation from Asia has yet to recover following the pandemic. Which is why Las Vegas casinos woo these enthusiastic gamblers with giant pandas and parades and special restaurant menus and lion and dragon dances. No, lion and dragon dances are not the same thing. There’s a pretty good chance you’re mixing them up. That’s O.K., because you probably know more about Asian history and culture than casinos putting on these spectacles. It’s sort of like when casinos get all plattitudy on Memorial Day or religious on Easter or patriotic on Independence Day.

It’s only pandering if you think of it that way. Which we do, but you shouldn’t. Just go check out the free Bellagio Conservatory and please don’t throw coins in the koi pond. Yes, a lot of dumbasses actually do that. And TITO vouchers.

For the record: Killing koi with copper is really, really bad luck.

If you can’t visit Bellagio, you can take a virtual tour of the display on the Bellagio Web site.