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| - MGM Grand is now the second largest hotel/resort complex in the world now behind the Venetian/Palazzo (Which is considered one resort). They consider the three buildings of The Signature at MGM Grand and The Mansion at MGM Grand to be apart of the resort as well.....but I am only reviewing the main hotel.
Now, I booked MGM Grand for four days in September of 2009 and I believe I can give a solid un-biased review.
The Room: I was booked into room 18-124. Which is room 124 on the 18th floor. Our room was facing the pool and towards Boulder Highway. The first thing I noticed is that the room was quite nice considering the negative reviews I've read on Yelp and TripAdvisor. The queen bed I had was VERY comfortable and each day I woke up I didn't want to get out of the bed. The bed was far superior to the one at Mandalay Bay where I stayed in June.....and that was hard to beat.
The room had a nice flat screen LCD TV......but it was in what I refer to as a TV coffin. Armoires are tacky in my opinion and especially when you jam a very nice flat screen in it. It would have been better served mounted on the wall. No biggie, it was nice considering the basic rooms at the Bellagio still contain the older CRT Tube Televisions.
The bathroom was smaller than I had anticipated but that was no issue really. The sink had a crack in it, but did not effect the use of it. I kept in mind this resort was built in 1993 and even after remodeling things are bound to have some flaws. I personally feel that the room was worth what I paid. ($55 per night)
The Food: Now the offer I got with my room included 3 free buffets per day, per person. I will review the buffet separately, but lets just say the buffet is average. On the final day I had booked a separate promo which gave me a $50 resort credit. Since I wasn't interested in seeing any shows or going to the Spa or retail stores, I used this at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant. I feel that Wolfgang Puck's was delicious, albeit the servings were VERY small. I had the Maine Crab cakes which are no longer served on their menu. The price was $20 for 4 silver dollar sized crab cakes. Not a good value, but very delicious. I would come here again even with the prices I don't like because it meal was delightful.
Gambling: Here is where MGM Grand and I differ in our views. I am a low roller. I have plenty of cash, but when I gamble or play in a casino I don't like to throw all my money on the table. I am in Vegas for the food, the sights and the shows. The gambling part is another factor. MGM Grand has average limits at most times, but if you want good odds the price goes up on the minimums.
Not once did I see a $5 blackjack table..........and I can understand that because if you put out a $5 BJ Table that pays 3:2 with 6-deck shoe,H17, Late Surrender, and Resplitting Aces......the house edge of 0.46%. Which is a theoretical/expected loss of 46 cents per $100 played. Now, if they had $5 tables with such rules on the strip at MGM Grand........it would not be very profitable for them. That's why the limits jingle from $10-25 at the Pit Boss's digression. So, no blackjack here for Brian.
I was able to find a $5 craps table which maintains a house edge of 1.41% and offered the strip usual x3-4-5 odds. Not too bad, but after 6pm the minimum went up to $10-15. Understandable. The dealers were lukewarm and decent I suppose. I didn't make any money playing here and had an average time. I have more fun playing craps at the Excalibur and Tropicana though......which may shock some people. The dealers are more energetic and funny to be around and talk to. (See my Tropicana Review).
I suppose if you have a decent bankroll the MGM Grand could be a nice place to play.........but it's a large casino floor and there are so many people here that you're just another number to the employees of the casino. The size of the casino causes the feeling that there is a lack of personal touch or personality.
Design: This place is huge. They did an walking survey that from the main entrance on the strip all the way to your hotel room on the middle of the tower is about one mile long. The hallways of the hotel where the rooms are located bring that feeling from the movie Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock. It seems like the end never comes no matter how far you walk. It takes a long time to go from the front end to the monorail entrance or from the rooms to the buffet.
Conclusion: The MGM Grand is great if you get promotion codes online.....like from Slickdeals.net or FatWallet. MGM Grand is a nice hotel/casino. It's size and popularity is a positive thing in my opinion. The overall vibe of this place is positive and in a good location in my view. I am returning for one night in February for $55 with a $100 fine dining credit at Aria in CityCenter. SCORE!
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