Damien Hirst Designs Shark Bar at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas

Damien Hirst has designed a bar called The Unknown at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, featuring his 1999 installation The Unknown (Explored, Explained, Exploded)—a shark dissected into three parts, each suspended in formaldehyde within individual glass and steel tanks. The bar, which opened recently, also includes 16 new paintings, a custom logo, candy-colored paper napkins, lemon-yellow and mandarin-orange coasters, and cocktail stirrers shaped like pills, all inspired by Hirst's Pharmaceutical series. The project was commissioned by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, owners of the resort, who purchased the shark installation directly from Hirst. The Fertitta brothers, who sold the Ultimate Fighting Championship for $4 million in 2016, are long-time collectors of Hirst's work. The installation had never been exhibited before its debut at the bar. Hirst's previous concept restaurants, Pharmacy in Notting Hill (closed 2003) and Pharmacy 2 at Newport Street Gallery (opened 2016), served as inspiration for the bar's design. The Palms Casino Resort recently underwent a $600 million renovation.