The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip. The MGM Grand is operated by MGM Resorts International,. and owned by Vici Properties.
The MGM Grand casino resort opened on December 18, 1993. With more than 5,000 rooms, it was the largest hotel in the world at the time when it opened. Much of the hotel is 30 stories, excluding a 14-story section, which originally opened as the Marina Hotel in 1975. The resort’s main theme was from the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, such theming would be removed during a two-year renovation that began in 1996. The MGM Grand includes a 171,1024 sq ft (15,930 m2) casino, the world’s largest at the time of opening.
The MGM originally opened with a theme park, MGM Grand Adventures, which operated on 33 acres (13 ha) northeast of the resort. The total cost for the MGM Grand and its theme park was $1 billion. MGM Grand Adventures closed in 2000, replaced by The Signature at MGM Grand, a condo hotel; and a Topgolf attraction.
MGM Grand Hotel Casino Resort Las Vegas Photo by David Vives on Unsplash
MGM Grand Hotel and casino
The MGM Grand has 5,044 rooms; its hotel towers rise up to 30 stories, while the original western wing remains a 14-story structure. The MGM Grand opened with 5,005 rooms; by room count, this made it the largest hotel in the world, beating the Rossiya Hotel in Russia. MGM Grand still is the largest hotel in the U.S.
Upon opening, the MGM Grand resort also included the world’s largest casino, measuring 171,1024 sq ft (15,930 m2). It featured 3,1024 slot machines and 165 table games. The casino floor was divided into four themed areas, including the Emerald City Casino, themed after the eponymous fictional locale in The Wizard of Oz. This casino area featured performers in costumes and animatronics depicting characters from the film. The entry featured a seven-story dome with a ceiling that switched between day and night; and a 15-minute magic show known as The Wizard’s Secret, which incorporated a hydraulic moving floor. Other themed gaming areas included the Hollywood Casino, featuring a Hollywood movie theme.
In 2005, the hotel opened Skylofts at MGM Grand, consisting of 51 units occupying the top two floors. Skylofts, are intended for wealthy guests. A trio of condo hotel towers, known as The Signature at MGM Grand, began opening in 2006.
Cirque du Soleil Kà theater entrance
Magician David Copperfield has been a longtime performer at the MGM, entertaining there since 2000. Kà, a show by Cirque du Soleil, has been performed at the resort since 2005. It takes place in a custom-built theater seating nearly 2,000 people.
MGM Grand Facade
The MGM’s original facade along the Las Vegas Strip was a giant lion head, with visitors able to enter beneath the lion’s closed mouth. Measuring 88 feet in height, the lion was a cartoon-like version of MGM’s logo, Leo the Lion. Because of its design, Asian gamblers reportedly interpreted the facade as if they were entering through the lion’s mouth, which is considered bad luck in Chinese culture. Plans were announced in May 1996 to remove the lion entrance. Demolition began on May 13, 1997, and was expected to take two weeks, with a new $40 million facade in its place.
Newer MGM Grand lion facade
The new facade at MGM Grand is a lion statue is on a 25-foot pedestal that weighs 50 tons, and at 45 feet (14 m) tall,, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S. In November 1997, the property installed 18 promotional and entertainment LED screens, including 15 outside the resort. Installation of the statue was underway a month later, with the addition of a 5,000-pound Leo the Lion paw. The new facade also includes 11 statues of winged Atlas-like men holding 16-foot diameter bowls. The statues were made of bronze-finish and accompany the Leo the Lion statue, along with water fountains and the LED screens. Work on the statue and accompanying fountains was finished in February 1998.
MGM Grand In popular culture
The MGM Grand has made appearances in several comedy films.
The resort is featured prominently in The Great White Hype (1996).
The Wizard of Oz theme is referenced in Swingers (1996); the character Trent picks up a waitress whose friend works as a costumed Dorothy Gale at the MGM.
The resort also appears near the end of Vegas Vacation (1997), as the casino where the Griswolds win back their money in a game of keno.
The MGM appears during the finale of Ready to Rumble (2000).
The MGM is one of three casinos to be robbed by Danny Ocean and his crew in Ocean’s Eleven (2001). A staged title unification match between heavyweight boxing champions Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko is also prominently featured in the film.
The MGM has made television appearances as well.
The MGM resort is featured in a 2001 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, titled “Table Stakes”.
MGM also appears in The Amazing Race 15 (2009) and The Amazing Race 24 (2014).
In Dominion (2014–15), the MGM serves as the home base of David Whele.