The Venetian Las Vegas is owned by two companies. Apollo Global Management owns and runs the resort’s operations, while VICI Properties owns the real estate and the land beneath it. Las Vegas Sands, which built the Venetian, sold both in a $6.25 billion deal that closed in February 2022.
If you are asking who owns the Venetian Las Vegas, the honest answer is that it depends on what you mean by “own.” One company owns the ground and the buildings. A different company owns the business that runs the casino, the suites, and the conventions. And the famous name most people still associate with the Venetian, Las Vegas Sands, walked away from it entirely in 2022. Here is exactly who owns what, how the ownership changed, and what it means when you book a stay or a ride to the resort.
- Two owners: Apollo Global Management owns and operates the resort; VICI Properties owns the real estate and land.
- The deal: Las Vegas Sands sold the Venetian, the Palazzo, and the Venetian Expo for $6.25 billion, closing February 23, 2022.
- The split: VICI paid about $4 billion for the real estate; Apollo-managed funds paid about $2.25 billion for the operating business.
- Who built it: Las Vegas Sands, founded by Sheldon Adelson, opened the Venetian in May 1999 and the Palazzo in 2007.
- Las Vegas Sands is out: the Venetian was its last Las Vegas property; the company now operates only in Macao and Singapore.
- What is next: Apollo is pouring about $1.5 billion into a resort-wide renovation announced for the Venetian’s 25th anniversary.
What’s in This Guide
- Who Owns the Venetian Las Vegas Today?
- Owner vs. Operator: VICI and Apollo
- How the Venetian’s Ownership Changed
- Who Were Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands?
- What About the Grand Canal Shoppes?
- Who Owns VICI Properties and Apollo?
- What the New Ownership Means for Guests
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Las Vegas Hotel Guides
Who Owns the Venetian Las Vegas Today?
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, which includes the Venetian tower, the connected Palazzo tower, and the Venetian Expo convention center, has two owners that handle two very different jobs.
VICI Properties owns the physical real estate: the land, the towers, and the convention halls. Apollo Global Management, through funds it manages, owns the operating company that actually runs the resort, from the hotel and casino floor to the restaurants and meeting space. The two arrived together in a single transaction, but they bought different things.
Las Vegas Sands Corp., the company Sheldon Adelson founded and that built the Venetian, sold everything in one package deal worth $6.25 billion. The sale was announced in March 2021 and closed on February 23, 2022. Here is how the money split between the two buyers.
The most common mistake: Many people still believe Las Vegas Sands owns the Venetian. It does not. Las Vegas Sands exited Las Vegas completely in 2022, and the Venetian was the very last property it held in the city. The Sands name you see in “Venetian Expo” is a leftover from the Sands Expo era, not a sign of current ownership.
Source: VICI Properties official announcement | Las Vegas Sands corporate history
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Owner vs. Operator: VICI and Apollo
The single confusion that trips up almost everyone is the difference between owning the Venetian and operating it. They are not the same thing, and the gap matters.
Think of it like a house and the business run inside it. VICI Properties is the landlord that owns the building. Apollo is the tenant that runs the resort and pays rent to stay there. This structure, where a real estate company owns the property and a separate operator runs the business, is now common across the Las Vegas Strip. Apollo signed a long-term lease with VICI with an initial annual rent of $250 million and an initial term of 30 years, plus two 10-year renewal options.
Here is how the three key players line up today.
| Company | Role at the Venetian | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| VICI Properties | Owner of the real estate (landlord) | The land, the towers, and the convention center; collects rent |
| Apollo Global Management | Owner-operator of the business (tenant) | The hotel, casino, dining, and conventions; day-to-day management |
| Las Vegas Sands | Former owner (seller) | Nothing in Las Vegas; exited the city entirely in 2022 |
Why the split exists: Selling the real estate to a REIT like VICI and keeping only the operating lease frees up billions in cash. Las Vegas Sands used the proceeds to double down on Asia, while Apollo got to run a trophy Strip resort without tying up $4 billion in land. It is a financial structure, not a change you can see walking through the lobby.
Source: VICI Properties: Venetian acquisition and lease terms
How the Venetian’s Ownership Changed
The Venetian has only ever had one builder and one sale, but the story stretches back more than 30 years, to the old Sands hotel that stood on the same ground.
- 1989: Sheldon Adelson’s group buys the legendary Sands hotel, home of the Rat Pack, on the Las Vegas Strip.
- 1996: The old Sands is closed and demolished to clear the site for a new mega-resort.
- May 1999: The Venetian opens at a cost of about $1.5 billion, themed on Venice and built for the convention crowd.
- December 2007: The Palazzo tower opens next door, expanding the complex into one of the largest hotels in the world.
- January 2021: Sheldon Adelson dies, and Las Vegas Sands soon confirms it is exploring a sale of its Las Vegas holdings.
- March 2021: The $6.25 billion sale to VICI Properties and Apollo is announced.
- February 2022: The deal closes, and Las Vegas Sands leaves the Las Vegas market for good.
Source: The Venetian Las Vegas: history and timeline | 2021 sale announcement
Who Were Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands?
You cannot tell the Venetian’s ownership story without Sheldon Adelson. A self-made billionaire who built his fortune on trade shows and casinos, Adelson founded Las Vegas Sands and personally drove the vision for the Venetian as a resort aimed squarely at convention and business travelers, a group he felt Las Vegas had ignored.
Adelson died in January 2021 at age 87. His wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, remains the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, but the company he built no longer operates anything in Las Vegas. After the 2022 sale, Las Vegas Sands concentrated entirely on its Asian resorts, including Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and its properties in Macao. For a company that defined a stretch of the Strip for two decades, leaving its hometown market was a genuine turning point.
Source: Las Vegas Sands corporate profile
What About the Grand Canal Shoppes?
Here is a twist that surprises even frequent visitors: the Grand Canal Shoppes, the canal-lined indoor mall with the gondolas inside the Venetian, are not owned by the resort at all, and never changed hands in the Apollo and VICI deal.
Las Vegas Sands sold the mall separately back in 2004, long before the resort itself was sold. The buyer, General Growth Properties, was later acquired by Brookfield Properties, which controls the shopping complex today. So when you stroll past the storefronts under the painted sky, you are in a Brookfield-owned mall physically inside an Apollo-run, VICI-owned resort. Three different companies, one building.
Source: Grand Canal Shoppes ownership history
Who Owns VICI Properties and Apollo?
Both of the Venetian’s current owners are large, publicly traded financial companies rather than traditional casino operators, which is a big shift from the Adelson era.
VICI Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) and a member of the S&P 500. It specializes in experiential real estate and is one of the largest owners of property on the Las Vegas Strip, holding the real estate under landmarks such as Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand in addition to the Venetian. VICI does not run casinos; it owns the buildings and leases them to operators.
Apollo Global Management is one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, with holdings across private equity, credit, and real assets. At the Venetian, Apollo-managed funds own the operating company and are responsible for how the resort is run, staffed, and reinvested in.
Source: VICI Properties corporate announcement
What the New Ownership Means for Guests
For travelers, the good news is that the change of ownership has translated into money spent on the property rather than a drop in service. Under Apollo, the Venetian kept its Italian theme and its name, and brought in a new president and CEO, Patrick Nichols, in 2022.
In May 2024, timed to the resort’s 25th anniversary, the Venetian announced what it called the largest and most expensive hotel renovation in its history, a roughly $1.5 billion reinvestment touching rooms, restaurants, and public spaces across the complex. With more than 7,000 all-suite rooms between the Venetian and Palazzo towers, that is a lot of ground to cover, and the work is scheduled to roll out over several years.
Whoever signs the checks, the Venetian sits in the heart of the Strip, and getting there smoothly is the same challenge it always was. Whether you are arriving from Harry Reid International Airport or moving a group between resorts for a convention, a licensed private car service skips the rideshare surge pricing and the taxi line entirely.
Source: The Nevada Independent: Apollo takeover and new CEO
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns the Venetian Las Vegas?
Does Las Vegas Sands still own the Venetian?
How much did the Venetian sell for?
Is VICI Properties the same as Apollo?
Who built the Venetian Las Vegas?
Related Las Vegas Hotel Guides
- Best hotels on the Las Vegas Strip – where the Venetian ranks among the Strip’s top stays.
- Top luxury hotels in Las Vegas – the five-star resorts worth the splurge.
- The most expensive hotel in Las Vegas – the priciest suites in town.
- Cheap hotels on the Las Vegas Strip – the Strip without the splurge.
- Best hotel pools in Las Vegas – including the Venetian’s pool deck.
- Las Vegas car service – private rides across the Strip and the valley.
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Sources and Methodology
Ownership structure, sale prices, and lease terms come directly from the companies involved, through the VICI Properties and Las Vegas Sands announcements of the 2021 agreement and the 2022 closing. The $1.5 billion renovation figure comes from the Venetian Resort’s own 2024 press release. Historical details, including the 1999 opening, the roughly $1.5 billion original build cost, the Palazzo’s 2007 opening, and the Grand Canal Shoppes ownership chain, are drawn from well-documented public records and reputable reporting. Suite counts and corporate leadership come from company and news sources. Figures are stated as reported; where sources described a figure as approximate, it is presented that way here.
- Las Vegas Sands and VICI Properties: 2021 sale announcement ($6.25 billion)
- VICI Properties: completion of the $4 billion acquisition and lease terms
- The Venetian Resort: 25th-anniversary renovation (2024)
- The Venetian Las Vegas: history and facts
- Grand Canal Shoppes: ownership history
- Las Vegas Sands: corporate profile
