“When we were filming, there would be thousands of people watching,” Berry recalled. “But we didn’t care, because we were having so much fun, and we recognized the power of what this movie was going to be.”Īn influx of visitors were hoping to catch a glimpse of the actors and the action. Part of the conservatory became the hotel’s check-in lounge, and guests were shuttled in and out through emergency exits. “Operationally it was ‘interesting,’ as we would call it,” Berry said, reflecting on the times the film shoot took over the front desk, half the casino floor and the entire driveway for days.

And the Fountains of Bellagio served as the focal point of the movie’s most iconic scene: when members of Danny Ocean’s crew go their separate ways after watching the water sway to the sounds of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” Don Cheadle disappeared down a manhole in front of the hotel. As Terry Benedict, the casino’s fictional owner, Andy Garcia had the run of the joint.

Comedy legend Carl Reiner, Scott Caan and Casey Affleck strutted beneath the lobby’s Dale Chihuly glass sculpture. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon hit the casino floor, where Bernie Mac dealt cards.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts smoldered in their scenes inside Picasso restaurant. The update of the Rat Pack’s 1960 master class in cool is practically dripping with Bellagio. “It’s as boring as boring can be.”īerry was director of hotel operations in 2001 when one of the greatest concentrations of star power ever assembled took over the resort for almost six months. “There’s a count room,” Paul Berry said, deflating “Ocean’s Eleven” fans everywhere. If you really wanted to rob the vault at Bellagio, it would take more than a team of highly skilled thieves and grifters, experts in munitions and surveillance, and a tiny acrobat.įor starters, you’d have to hire somebody to build a vault. Matt Damon and George Clooney star in Ocean's 11.

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