Sophia Loren a hit at resort anniversary

Robert Macy

Sunday, July 2, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

Gondoliers and minstrels sang Italian favorites and thousands of tourists gawked as actress Sophia Loren paid a return visit to the $1.5 billion Venetian resort Saturday night.

The Italian icon christened the Venice-themed resort in May 1999, then returned over the weekend for a first anniversary celebration.

"It's incredible what they have done," Loren said, praising the work of Venetian Chairman Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson. "They're making reality out of a dream."

Construction delays left the resort unfinished when she visited in 1999, and Loren said she was amazed at the changes in the past 14 months.

"When I was here for the opening, not everything was ready," she said in an interview in a room overlooking a replica of St. Mark's Square. "Now it is really great.

"They took all the magic atmosphere of Venice and re-created it. It's a dream world."

Adelson said when Loren arrived on Friday, she insisted on touring the property before going to her room.

Loren said she doesn't like to gamble, but added the city has more to offer, including entertainment, fine dining and upscale shopping.

She took a 20-minute gondola ride with the Adelsons along a canal that runs between posh shops in one section of the resort.

Of the wide array of Venice icons that are replicated at the Venetian, Loren said the gondolas are her favorite.

"They are so nice, so silent, so romantic," she said.

As for her career, Loren says she has three new films in the offing - one in America and two in Italy.

Adelson admitted last year's opening, carried out in stages over several months, had been frustrating and had generated negative reviews.

"We've now transitioned from Rodney Dangerfield status to accepted normal status," he said.

Adelson said the 3,036-room Venetian is now running 98 percent occupancy with the highest average weekday rate in town - $185.

Another 3,036 rooms will be built on adjacent land Adelson owns, but the start of that project is 6 to 12 months away, depending on more favorable money markets. In the meantime, he plans to build a 1,000-room tower atop a parking garage at the resort, with that work expected to begin soon and take 18 months to complete.

Adelson likes to think of himself as an entrepreneur rather than a hotel-casino expert.

"You don't have to be an expert in the business to be a success," Adelson said. "You just have to know what the people want, to challenge the status quo."

The Venetian chief said his resort now ranks No. 2 in the city behind the MGM MIRAGE showplace Bellagio resort.

"We're not in a race to be No. 1 or No. 2, we just want to be the best we can be," Adelson said.