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MGM Grand Las Vegas, a local’s guide
The emerald building on the Tropicana corner with the bronze lion out front. Biggest hotel in Las Vegas, just out the other side of a $300 million remodel, and most of what you will read about it online is five years stale.
Southeast corner of the Strip and Tropicana
Not next to the Bellagio, whatever the old listings say. That is a mile north.
I’ve lived in Las Vegas since I was five, and I remember when the entrance to this place was a giant lion’s head you walked through the mouth of. They took it out, partly because plenty of guests considered walking into a lion’s mouth bad luck, and put Leo up on a pedestal instead.
That is a decent summary of MGM Grand generally. It is enormous, it changes constantly, and most of what you have read about it belongs to a version that no longer exists.
Where MGM Grand actually sits
This is the single most-repeated error about this hotel, so let us start here.
MGM Grand takes the southeast corner, at 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard. That is the south end of the Strip, not the middle. Bellagio is about a mile north at Flamingo, so if a listing puts MGM Grand next door to Bellagio, that listing is old.
New York-New York is straight across the boulevard with a pedestrian bridge between them. Excalibur is diagonal. Across Tropicana is the old Tropicana site, imploded in October 2024, where the Athletics ballpark is now under construction. Four elevated bridges connect all four corners.
There is a Las Vegas Monorail station on the property, which is the easiest way north toward the convention center. T-Mobile Arena and The Park are a walk northwest across the New York-New York bridge. Self-parking has its own rideshare level on the first floor.
Everything that changed while you were away
If your last visit was before the pandemic, this is the catch-up.
Where the old version of this page stopped
Everything below happened after that, which is why half of what you will read about this hotel online describes a resort that no longer exists.
CSI: The Experience closes
Shuttered during the COVID closure and never reopened. CBS Television City, the free TV-pilot preview room, has also quietly disappeared from the resort’s own materials.
Luchini opens where FiAMMA used to be
FiAMMA became Ambra in 2019, Ambra closed in June 2023, and Tao Group’s Luchini took the room. It is now one of three restaurants MGM leads with on its own dining page.
Wet Republic becomes Palm Tree Beach Club
Tao Group rebuilt the dayclub with Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew: 60,000 square feet, heavy planting, and a DJ booth deliberately lowered to guest level. Thursday through Sunday, 11am to 7pm.
The FRIENDS Experience opens in The District
The West Coast flagship after New York and London. Monica and Rachel’s apartment, Central Perk with the orange couch, the PIVOT staircase, and a Vegas-only chapel inside it where you can actually get married.
Jabbawockeez relaunch with FREQNCY
The crew went dark for five weeks and came back with their fifth Vegas production, made with Timbaland. Ceiling-to-stage lasers, a 1970s disco section, and seats wired to vibrate. Morimoto closed the same month for a full redesign.
The $300 million room remodel finishes
All 3,969 rooms and suites in the main tower, done. About 350 standard rooms on the top three floors became 111 new suites. The look is deliberately disco-era: bold pattern, walnut, glass walk-in showers, charging stations on both sides of the bed.
David Copperfield’s residency ends
Twenty-five years, finished on April 30. The theater was renamed the MGM Grand Theater. Bonus Round, a 21-and-over retro arcade bar with free play, opened the same month.
The Grand Buffet closes after 33 years
Part of the Strip-wide collapse from around 35 buffets in 2000 to roughly six or seven today. Nellie’s Southern Kitchen closed the same month.
Between headliners, with two dates on the calendar
Crush American Grill closes September 12, 2026. Now You See Me Live premieres in the MGM Grand Theater on October 15, 2026, booked through early January.
KÀ Theatre · CirqueLori’s PickKÀ by Cirque du Soleil
Twenty years in its own purpose-built theater, on a stage deck that rotates and tilts vertical. The most ambitious staging in Las Vegas, and it is right here.
Jabbawockeez: FREQNCY
The masked crew relaunched with a brand-new show in October 2025, built with Timbaland. Lasers, a disco stretch, and seats that vibrate with the bass.
Now You See Me Live
The stage version of the film franchise takes over Copperfield’s old theater. US premiere October 15, 2026, currently booked through January 5, 2027.
Tape Face
Silent, strange and genuinely funny, in the small room most people never find. If you like comedy without a single spoken word, this is it.
Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club
A rotating headliner every week at 8pm. Ratings swing hard depending on who is booked, so look up that week’s name before you commit.
KÀ Royal VIP Experience
Premium seats plus the extras, if you want KÀ done properly for a milestone. Newer listing, so there is not much traveler feedback yet.
Ticket links are affiliate links; we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Four things that shape the stay more than the room photos
The property is genuinely enormous
Nearly 4,800 rooms across three towers, and the walk from a far room to the Strip entrance can run ten minutes indoors before you have gone anywhere. Ask at check-in how far your room is from the lobby, not just what floor it is on.
The Signature is a different hotel
Three all-suite towers on Harmon Avenue with their own address, no casino floor, and a smoke-free policy, connected by a moving walkway. If you want MGM Grand without the casino and the smoke, book The Signature on purpose rather than by accident.
Budget for the resort fee and parking
The daily resort fee went to $50 in December 2024, self-parking runs $20 to $25 depending on the night, and valet is $40. MGM Rewards Pearl and above self-park free, and Nevada locals and active military park free with ID. These rates move, so confirm before you go.
Your room is not the room you remember
The main tower remodel finished in November 2025 and covered nearly 4,000 rooms and suites, so reviews written before that describe a hotel that has been gutted and rebuilt. Weight recent reviews heavily and ignore anything older than late 2025.
The dining room board
Half the restaurants on older MGM Grand pages do not exist anymore. Here is the current state, open and closed together.
Also on property and worth knowing: Grand Wok, Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill, TAP Sports Bar, Greek Sneek, and a food court with Nathan’s Famous, Johnny Rockets, Pieology and Krispy Kreme.
A $300 million rebuild you can actually see
3,969 rooms and suites
Every room in the main tower was redone, and about 350 standard rooms across the top three floors were converted into 111 new suites running 675 to 1,784 square feet.
The design language is deliberately disco-era: bold pattern and vibrant artwork, walnut finishes and colored carpet in the King rooms, soft gray stone and vertical sconces in the Two Queens. Practically, you get a glass walk-in shower, a lit built-in closet, blackout curtains that actually work, and charging stations with multiple outlet types on both sides of the bed.
Which is the real reason to ignore old reviews of this hotel. Anything written before late 2025 is describing rooms that no longer exist.
Main tower, or The Signature?
These are effectively two different hotels sharing a name, and people book the wrong one constantly.
The main towers
- CasinoYes, and you walk through it constantly
- SmokingPermitted on the floor
- RoomsAll 3,969 redone, finished November 2025
- Best forFirst stays, anyone who wants everything downstairs
- WatchThe walk from a far room can be ten minutes
The Signature
- CasinoNone of its own
- SmokingSmoke-free
- Rooms1,728 suites, 576 per tower
- Best forLonger stays, families, anyone who wants quiet
- WatchOwn address and own booking site. Do not confuse them
Above both: SKYLOFTS, 51 two-story lofts on the top two floors, Forbes Five-Star seventeen years running. Above that: The Mansion, invitation-only villas that are not publicly bookable, so do not plan around them.
Where the property spends its money
The dayclub changed hands, the arcade bar is brand new, and the pool complex is still one of the biggest on the Strip.
It is enormous, it changes constantly, and most of what you have read about it belongs to a version that no longer exists.
Lori Ballen · lifelong Las VeganBefore you book MGM Grand
Where exactly is MGM Grand on the Strip?
Southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, at 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard, on the south end of the Strip. New York-New York is directly across the boulevard, Excalibur is diagonal, and the Athletics ballpark is going up across Tropicana on the old Tropicana site. It is not next to Bellagio, which sits about a mile north at Flamingo.
How many rooms does MGM Grand have?
4,760 rooms including 753 suites, which makes it the largest hotel in Las Vegas. You will still see 5,005 and 6,852 quoted around the internet. The first is the 1993 opening count and the second folds in The Signature towers, which book separately.
Is David Copperfield still at MGM Grand?
No. His 25-year residency ended with a final performance on April 30, 2026 and the venue was renamed the MGM Grand Theater. Now You See Me Live opens there on October 15, 2026. Here is what happened and where to see magic in the meantime.
What happened to Wet Republic?
It closed after a run that started in 2008 and was replaced by Palm Tree Beach Club, which opened in May 2025. Tao Group runs it with Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew, it covers 60,000 square feet, and it is open Thursday through Sunday from 11am to 7pm.
Does MGM Grand still have a buffet?
No. The MGM Grand Buffet closed permanently on May 31, 2026 after 33 years. The Strip is down to roughly six or seven buffets now, from around 35 in 2000, so if buffet dining is the point of your trip you need to plan around specific properties.
Is MGM Grand smoke-free?
The casino floor is not. If that matters, The Signature at MGM Grand is the smoke-free option on the property: three all-suite towers with no casino of their own, connected by a walkway. Park MGM is the fully smoke-free casino on the Strip if you want that instead.
Which shows are worth seeing here?
KÀ is the one I send people to, and Jabbawockeez if you want something shorter and louder. Now You See Me Live is the wild card once it opens in October. My full best shows in Las Vegas guide covers the rest of the Strip, including what has closed.
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Lori Ballen
REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas, leading The Ballen Group. A lifelong Las Vegan sharing the best of the valley.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this site are affiliate links. Portions of this content are generated by AI.
