The MGM Grand Las Vegas, often called The Grand Hotel or The MGM is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand, Inc. Kerkorian had previously developed another MGM Grand, which opened on the Strip in 1973, was renamed Bally's in 1986, and was again renamed Horseshoe in 2022.
Planning for the new MGM Grand began in 1989. The resort opened on December 18, 1993. With more than 5,000 rooms, it was the largest hotel in the world at the time of its opening. Much of the hotel is 30 stories, excluding a 14-story section, which originally opened as the Marina Hotel in 1975. The MGM Grand includes a casino, the world's largest at the time of opening. The resort's dominant theme was the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, although this theming was removed during a two-year renovation that began in 1996.
The MGM originally opened with a theme park, MGM Grand Adventures, which operated on northeast of the resort. The total cost for the MGM Grand and its theme park was $1 billion. MGM Grand Adventures closed in 2000, with the property replaced by The Signature at MGM Grand, a condo hotel; and a Topgolf attraction.
The MGM has featured restaurants from several prominent chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, Michael Mina, and Joël Robuchon. From 1997 to 2012, it also included Studio 54, a nightclub featuring memorabilia from the original Studio 54 in New York. The resort has several entertainment venues, including the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Longtime shows at the resort have included Kà and magician David Copperfield.
History The property was originally the site of the Tropicana Country Club and the Golf Club Motel, both opened in the 1960s.
Marina (1975–1990) Tom Wiesner, a Clark County Commissioner, co-founded Southwest Securities Development Company in 1972, and later founded Wiesner Investment Company. In November 1973, Southwest Securities was planning the Marina Hotel. It would be next to the Golf Club, which itself would receive a renovation. The Marina was built by Wiesner Investment Company, and opened on May 1, 1975.
The Marina was 14 stories, and contained 714 rooms, as well as a casino, two restaurants, and an entertainment lounge. The casino portion was initially operated by Allen Glick through his company, Argent Corporation. Fred Harvey Company served as operator of the hotel, its restaurants, and other areas of the property. Fred Harvey had previously opened other Marina-branded hotels in the United States. Meanwhile, the adjacent Golf Club Motel later operated as the Mariner, before being demolished in 1986 to become a parking lot for the larger Marina.
The Marina faced financial problems in February 1987, owing $700,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. Landlord Southwest Securities also filed a writ of attachment, seeking $393,000 in back rent from the resort's operators. The Marina filed for bankruptcy in March 1987, and gaming was briefly shut down the following month, after the casino cage bankroll fell below $256,000, a minimum set by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
In 1989, Wiesner and his partners agreed to sell the Marina to Kirk Kerkorian, through his company MGM Grand, Inc. Also purchased was the Tropicana Country Club, located behind the Marina. Kerkorian announced plans to construct the MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park on the parcels. The project was part of ongoing efforts to make Las Vegas a family friendly tourist destination. An earlier MGM Grand had been opened by Kerkorian in 1973, at the center of the Las Vegas Strip; it was rebranded as Bally's in 1986. The present MGM is located near the southern end of the Strip, at the Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection.
Kerkorian's $80 million purchase of the Marina was completed in January 1990. The hotel structure was remodeled and briefly operated as the MGM Marina. The Tropicana Country Club closed later that year, followed by the MGM Marina on November 30, 1990, both making way for the MGM Grand. The Marina was incorporated into the MGM Grand, becoming its West Wing.
MGM Grand (1993–present) A groundbreaking ceremony for the MGM Grand, heavily inspired by the resort's Wizard of Oz theme, was held on October 7, 1991. A topping off ceremony followed on February 23, 1993. Casino executive Clifford S. Perlman was named to oversee the resort and theme park, the latter known as MGM Grand Adventures. The MGM Grand and its theme park occupied , and cost a total of $1 billion to build.
The MGM Grand opened to the public on the morning of December 18, 1993, following a private VIP party for 3,000 guests the night before. The opening came three months earlier than initially planned, as construction proceeded ahead of schedule. The MGM employed 8,000 people. A 251-foot-high sign was added along the Strip shortly after the resort's opening, and was among the biggest signs in Las Vegas. A monorail opened in 1995, connecting the MGM Grand with Bally's. It served as a forerunner to the Las Vegas Monorail. In 1996, the MGM Grand received a four-star rating from Mobil Travel Guide.
Rapper Tupac Shakur visited the MGM on the night of his murder in 1996. He attended the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match at the resort, and subsequently got into a fight with gang member Orlando Anderson in the hotel lobby, before being shot later that night just off the Strip.
In mid-1996, MGM Grand, Inc. began a 30-month, four-phase renovation of the resort. Terrence Lanni, the chairman of MGM Grand, Inc., said he wanted customers to "feel like guests coming to a premiere of one of the world's greatest movies. When we're completed, every aspect of this property will bespeak entertainment." Much of the Wizard of Oz theming was removed during the renovation, and revenue improved substantially. As the resort marked its 10th anniversary, additional renovation work was underway to help it compete against the nearby Mandalay Bay. A $160 million hotel renovation took place from 2011 to 2012, marking the first makeover for the rooms in more than a decade. The West Wing was renamed the Studio Tower in 2022, following renovations. A $300 million renovation of the other hotel rooms concluded in 2025, after nearly a year.
In January 2020, MGM Resorts announced that it would sell the resort to a joint venture consisting of MGM Growth Properties and The Blackstone Group. MGM Growth would own 50.1 percent of the joint venture, and Blackstone would own the remainder. The MGM Grand would be leased to MGM Resorts, which would continue to operate the resort. The deal was finalized a month later. Vici Properties bought MGM Growth in April 2022, and then bought out Blackstone's stake in the MGM Grand in January 2023.
Features
Veldon Simpson was the MGM's architect, while the original interior design was handled by Henry Conversano & Associates, and Miller & Jedrziewski Associates.
Hotel and casino The MGM hotel towers rise up to 30 stories, while the original western wing remains a 14-story structure. The MGM originally opened with 5,005 rooms; by room count, this made it the largest hotel in the world, beating the Rossiya Hotel in Russia. It remains the largest single-building hotel in the U.S. The 2025 renovation combined some smaller rooms to create an additional 111 suites, for a total of 752, while reducing the overall room count to 4,762.
Upon opening, the resort also included the world's largest casino, measuring . It featured 3,500 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 area featured costumed performers 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; the Monte Carlo Casino, focused on high rollers; and the Sports Casino, which included the property's sportsbook.
Hotel rooms were also divided into themes, including Casablanca, Hollywood, and southern American. The Wizard of Oz served as the primary hotel theme. The hotel's exterior consists of green glass panels, originally meant to evoke Emerald City. Blair Kamin, architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, considered the movie and Wizard of Oz themes poorly integrated, and wrote that the resort exterior "resembles a bland suburban office building with a cartoonish lion's face stuck on the front." Kamin also was critical of the property's size, calling it "so overwhelming and, occasionally, so confusing, that they hand out a map of the hotel-casino at the front door."
The casino opened with 50 Lion's Share slot machines, offering a jackpot of more than $2 million. Only one of the machines remained after several years, gaining a cult following among gamblers. It was the most popular slot machine at the casino. A New Hampshire couple eventually won the jackpot in 2014, after which the machine was retired.
In 2000, the hotel launched a satellite registration and reservations desk at McCarran International Airport. It was the first Las Vegas resort, along with New York-New York across the street, to offer such a feature.
The Mansion, a secluded area of private suites and villas reserved for high rollers, opened in May 1999. It was inspired by Tuscany architecture. The Mansion's villas and dining were opened to the public two years later.
In 2001, the MGM Grand led an effort to legalize private casinos, which are closed off to the general public. The Nevada Legislature agreed to change state law, allowing the operation of private gaming salons for players with at least $500,000 to spend and willing to bet $500 minimums. In August 2002, the MGM Grand became the first Nevada casino to offer a private gaming salon. However, demand for such a feature turned out to be extremely low.
In 2005, the hotel unveiled its Skylofts at MGM Grand, consisting of 51 units occupying the top two floors. The units were designed by Tony Chi to resemble urban apartments and are meant for wealthy guests. A trio of condo hotel towers, known as The Signature at MGM Grand, began opening in 2006.
The casino has a poker room with 13 tables and hosts both cash games and tournaments.
Facade
The MGM's original facade along the Strip consisted of a giant lion head, made of fiberglass and blocky in appearance, with visitors entering 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 perceived the facade as if they were entering through the lion's mouth, which is considered bad luck in Chinese culture. As a result, 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 taking its place.
The new facade consists of a lion statue. It weighs 50 tons, and at tall, on a 25-foot pedestal, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S. It was designed by Snellen Johnson, and created through his Arizona company American Art. Johnson initially worked with a team of 11 people to sculpt a foam mold, which would be used to create the statue.