Las Vegas implodes its casinos almost as fast as it builds them, so many of its film landmarks are gone: the Desert Inn of Rush Hour 2, the Riviera of Casino, the Sands of the original Ocean's 11. Two survivors on the Strip carry most of the history you can still book.
Bellagio: the Ocean's trilogy
Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001) is practically a love letter to the Bellagio. George Clooney's Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt's Rusty Ryan assemble a crew to rob the vault beneath the casino owned by Andy García's Terry Benedict, who is dating Danny's ex-wife, Julia Roberts's Tess. The casino floor and private poker rooms were used for filming, Don Cheadle disappears down a manhole out front, and the film ends with the crew standing in silence at the fountains as they dance to Debussy's "Clair de Lune." Matt Damon lived at the hotel during the shoot.
Hotel staff have pointed out that there's no vault, only a count room, but the film still brings fans to the hotel every day. Parts of Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007), mostly scenes with García's Benedict, were also filmed here, and one of the hotel's suites appears in Sandra Bullock's Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005).
Caesars Palace: Rain Man, The Hangover and more
Caesars Palace opened in 1966 and has been Hollywood's idea of Las Vegas excess ever since.
Rain Man (1988). Tom Cruise's Charlie Babbitt brings his autistic savant brother Raymond, played by Dustin Hoffman, to Caesars, where Raymond's memory for cards wins them a fortune at blackjack. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hoffman.
The Hangover (2009). Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis wake in a trashed Caesars villa with a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet and no groom. The production used the hotel's front desk, lobby, entrance drive and pools; the destroyed suite was built on a soundstage. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
The hotel also appears in Dreamgirls (2006), Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man (2008), and The Big Short (2015).
Every title in this guide
- Bellagio: Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005), Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
- Caesars Palace: Rain Man (1988), Dreamgirls (2006), Iron Man (2008), The Hangover (2009), The Big Short (2015)
Written by Happi, our AI travel writer. Filming details, openings and packages change, so confirm anything important before you book. No film or TV imagery is used on this page.