Dorothy may find that there’s no longer “no place like home” after seeing the $1 billion Wizard of Oz-themed MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park, which opened a week before Christmas.
The place simply is, well-grand.
And worthy of all the preopening hype and ballyhoo. There’s nothing like it in Las Vegas, or anywhere else, for that matter. But then there’s nothing like Vegas.
“We hope to be one of the must-sees in Las Vegas, hopefully must-see,” says Larry Woolf, chief operating officer of MGM Grand Hotel Inc. “It is amazing what $1 billion will do.”
He notes it’s nice to have the place open and money coming back in after doling out an average of $1 million a day for almost three years to develop the complex.
“The objective,” Woolf says of MGM and each of the other new mega-resorts here, “is to get more people to visit Las Vegas from farther away, with more money, and stay longer. Get as many people as we can to walk past a whole bunch of slot machines. Some of it (the money) stays.”
It is true that MGM and the others hope to attract more families and children. That’s why MGM has opened Las Vegas’ first full-fledged theme park. Don’t go expecting Disneyland though. It’s nowhere as big and has fewer attractions. However, the theme park is fun and another option to gambling-or something for the kids to do while you’re laying wagers.
It’s the world’s largest casino-171,500 square feet, all on one level, the size almost of four football fields and divided into four themed areas, each with different carpeting and decor.
The casino is so huge-wear your walking shoes and take the map thrust at you to find your way around-that it generally handles very well the 40,000 or so people a day meandering through or stopping to try to win the lion’s share.
And you do have to walk through the casino to get virtually anywhere. But there are a few bottlenecks that impede pedestrian traffic among the 3,500 gaming machines (with bets from 5 cents to $500) and 165 table games. Perhaps that was planned.
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Visitors entering the casino through the front-door paws of a stunning, golden, 88-foot, emerald-eyed MGM lion are greeted with lifelike replicas of Wizard of Oz actors.
Arm in arm are Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Woodman), Judy Garland (Dorothy), Toto (her dog) and Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion). An electronic voice calls out softly: “Dreams come true in the city of Oz. Welcome.”
The Emerald City, with its glistening green crystal spires, stands under a seven-story dome, whose ceiling changes from day to night and from sun to storms. A witch on her broomstick periodically flies across the moonlit sky.
A yellow brick road winds past another set of Oz characters to the entrance of the Emerald City, where, for $5, you can discover “The Wizard’s Secret,” a 15-minute magic show with hydraulic moving floor. (It was on the blink opening day.)
The Oz theme continues in the Emerald City Casino, largest of the four gaming areas, with a 66-color, handpainted rainbow that extends the length of the casino ceiling. The Flying Monkey Bar offers entertainment, and an audio animatronic Glinda, Good Witch of the North, offers encouragement: “How are you doing? I hope you’re winning.” (The Wicked Witch is propped near the emergency exit.)
The Hollywood Casino has-of course-a Hollywood theme. The silver screen comes to life with footlights, marquees and rotating statues of Hollywood stars. Marvelous handpainted murals from movie classics, such as “Gone With the Wind,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and “North by Northwest,” decorate the 750-seat Studio Cafe, a 24-hour coffee shop. And you can catch up on all the latest scoop at the Betty Boop Bar.
For high rollers there’s the Monte Carlo Casino with its solid marble columns imported from Italy and a private fine-dining room hidden discreetly behind the baccarat room.
Sports fans can go for the gold and bet on their favorite teams (all except University of Nevada at Las Vegas basketball) at the Sports Casino, which also includes a race and sports book.
Once you’ve gone through the casinos, you’re on your way to the MGM Grand Adventures theme park. It’s about a mile hike from the lion’s entrance.
But first you’ll pass an elaborate food hall (it’s more than a food court) with seven dining spots ranging from casual to more elegant, including Mark Miller’s Coyote Cafe, named after his original restaurant in Santa Fe. (Not to be outdone, restaurant impresario Wolfgang Puck has a cafe in the casino.)
After you’ve fueled up with food, try some of the 150 plus video games in the Oz Arcade or the 30 games in the 30,000-square-foot Oz Midway (such as Boyd da Bird Bowl, Huckleberry’s Fishing Hole, Popeye’s Boat Ride, Betty Boop’s Hot Rod and the Haunted Forest: Spray water and hit the target and the flying monkey will go up in the air.
The games area is conveniently next to King Looey’s Youth Activity Center, where you can drop off the little ones if you’re staying at the hotel. Open from 8 a.m. to midnight, the center charges $5 an hour for the first munchkin and $3 an hour for each additional one. (Escorted excursions to the theme park cost more.)
The center will provide a pager so you can be located in the casino if necessary. (Can a bad round of blackjack be saved by the beeper?)
Then there’s a walkway to the MGM Grand Garden-any name similarity with Madison Square Garden is purely intentional. The 15,200-seat arena will be used for boxing matches, basketball, hockey and shows by superstars. Barbra Streisand initiated the Garden New Year’s Eve, while apparently not-as-grand superstar Frank Sinatra was relegated to the 1,700-seat Grand Theatre and even less-grand star Kenny Loggins performed in the 630-seat Hollywood Theatre.
Another walkway and bridge lead to the theme park (admission $25 for adults and teenagers and $20 for children 4-12), which showcases eight theme streets, five theaters for live and animated shows, nine food establishments, 12 retail shops and seven rides.
The best part about the park is that attendance will be limited to about 9,000 at any one time to help curb waiting in lines, which nonetheless average 25-30 minutes. Guests staying at the hotel have first crack at the tickets. Visitors turned away will be told to come back the next day.
The hotel encourages “one-stop shopping”-for hotel reservations, show reservations, dinner reservations, car reservations, theme park reservations. Call 800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777.