The MGM Grand Hotel has been a part of the Las Vegas Strip since 1973 in one form or another. The hotel baring the name has achieved multiple record-breaking events and made news as one of the great disasters of the 1980s and of Las Vegas. With each new milestone the owners of the MGM Grand have managed to reinvent the icon in newer and bigger ways.
The First MGM Grand Hotel
When Kirk Kerkorian opened the MGM Grand in 1973, it was the largest hotel on the strip, with 2,000 rooms. The MGM replaced the former New Bonanza Hotel Casino, which stood at the corner of Flamingo Road and the Strip.
The MGM Grand Hotel Fire
In November 1980, an electrical fire erupted inside the hotel between the walls of the hotel and a restaurant within the hotel causing the worst fire in Nevada history. The fire killed 87 people and injured 650 others. Both firefighters and patrons were treated for smoke inhalation which occurred mainly on the upper floors. While the MGM Grand re-opened months later, it never overcame the stigma of the fire and Kerkorian sold the hotel to Bally's Entertainment.
The Second MGM Grand Hotel
In 1989, Kirk Kerkorian bought the Marina Hotel and the adjoining Tropicana Country Club. Two years later, ground was broken for the new MGM Grand and the hotel was opened for the public in 1993. The second MGM Grand was bigger than the first and again set records for being the biggest and the best on the Strip with over 5,000 rooms on 30 floors. This hotel was set in the theme of the “Wizard of Oz” throughout. It also had an original entrance where you walked through a lion's mouth to enter. The lion was replaced when Chinese patrons refused to enter the front doors because they had to walk through the lion's mouth and considered this bad luck.
The Grand Adventure Theme Park
An addition to the second MGM Resort was the Grand Adventure Theme Park which also opened in 1993. The theme park was built behind the casino as part of a marketing effort to include the entire family in the Las Vegas experience. It was part of the Kirkorian goal to make the hotel a destination resort. The theme park, however, didn't do well. The price of admission, originally $25, was dropped by $10 to revive interest, but this also failed. The theme park was closed in 2001.
The Legacy of the MGM Grand
Through its history and reincarnations, the MGM Grand created many firsts and a legacy for itself. The MGM Grand holds the distinction of being the largest hotel built in Las Vegas and Nevada, twice. The MGM Grand is also the first mega-casino and resort on the Strip. Until 2005, when the Wynn Hotel Resort was built, the MGM Grand held the title of biggest casino on the Strip. The MGM Grand was also the first, and is still the only, hotel to have had a theme park as of 2009.
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