For a brief shining moment it looked like art was going to be the next big thing in Las Vegas casinos, soon there will be only Las Vegas Strip museum now (the gallery in the Bellagio) that the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in the Venetian is set to close on May 11. In 2001, the Guggenheim opened two Las Vegas museums designed by Rem Koolhaas: the Guggenheim Las Vegas and the Guggenheim Hermitage. The Guggenheim Las Vegas closed 15 months later after one showy exhibit dedicated to the Art of the Motorcycle. The Guggenheim Hermitage was a partnership between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Guggeenheim Heritage saw shows by Lichtenstein, Johns, Oldenburg, Rauschenberg, Wesselmann, Beckmann, Degas, Picasso, Rubens, Miro, Chagall, Bonnard, Kandinsky, Modigliani and Klee but some say that the New York Guggenheim did not do all it could to help their Las Vegas outpost stay afloat. Others say that even with more exhibits the Guggenheim Hermitage struggled to create community interest. If you want to check out the museum, now is the time, they are offering free admission until the museum closes.

[Thanks, Lana]