The first MGM Grand hotel and casino caught fire in November 1980, killing 87 people. That hotel was repaired and rebuilt and is now called Bally's Las Vegas, while the current MGM Grand hotel, which was originally the Marina Hotel, is located at a different site. It opened in December 1993 and is the second-largest hotel in the world.
The first MGM Grand hotel was built on a site also occupied by the New Bonanza Hotel and Casino, which was located where Flamingo Road meets the Las Vegas Strip. The MGM was the largest in the world, with more than 2,000 guest rooms, when it opened in December 1973, overshadowing all other resorts and casinos. It was considered one of the first Vegas megaresorts ever built.
Owner Kirk Kerkorian loved movies and decorated the entire resort using the film world as a theme. It also featured shopping, restaurants and a casino, as well as two theaters that hosted many famous entertainers in its time.
The November 21, 1980, fire that devastated the MGM Grand remains the worst such tragedy in Nevada's history, occurring as a result of an electrical short in hotel-restaurant wall. Most of the 87 who died were residents of the upper floors who had the misfortune of inhaling the toxic smoke. The tragedy underscored the fact that more people die from smoke inhalation during a fire than by burns.
In addition to the deaths, 650 people were injured, including firefighters, guests and employees. Less than eight months later the rebuilt hotel opened its doors, but just three years after the fire the resort was sold to Bally Entertainment group.
In 1989, Kerkorian bought the Marina Hotel and the adjacent Tropicana Country Club. The property, at 3805 Las Vegas Boulevard, was to be the site of the new MGM Grand---one that would eclipse all other resorts in Las Vegas. Groundbreaking was October 7, 1991. The Marina hotel building became the western end of the new MGM Grand hotel building.
On February 23, 1993, MGM put a panel of emerald-green glass on the top of one of the hotel towers, which reach 30 stories, as the finishing touch on the elaborate new building. The 5,005-room hotel celebrated by releasing 5,005 green balloons into the air, each containing a gift certificate good for a free night's stay. Very few of the gift certificates were ever used, though, because the Wizard of Oz-themed resort did not actually open its doors until almost 10 months later, on December 18, 1993.
During the 1990s, several changes were made to the hotel. Guests originally entered through the mouth of a giant lion, MGM's mascot, but Asian visitors were reluctant to enter because of the ancient belief that going through the mouth of a lion is bad luck. Accordingly, the lion was replaced with a more traditional entrance.
In 1995, a monorail was built connecting the MGM to Bally's, and in 2000 a family-oriented theme park was shut down due to poor performance. Also in 2000, the Emerald City theme was replaced with a more adult, upscale art-deco design.
Today, the hotel is still the second largest in the world and one of Vegas' most popular resorts.
