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MGM Grand opened in 1993 and is now the largest hotel in America with just over 5,000 rooms. MGM Grand was originally opened using the Marina Hotel structure that has been renovated to become the “West Wing.” This is just one of the many hotel towers at MGM Grand.

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Other hotel options at MGM Grand include the Signature Tower and the Mansion. This casino-resort has one of the largest footprints in Las Vegas. It can take upwards of 20 minutes to walk from the Vegas Strip entrance of MGM Grand all the way to the Signature Tower.

MGM Grand occupies over a mile of real estate and includes everything you could imagine in a Las Vegas casino. The gaming floor is one of the largest in Las Vegas. The floor is over 150,000 square feet and includes over 2,500 slot machines, multiple table game areas a poker room and a sports book. There is a breadth of restaurants ranging from a 5-Star Forbes chefs to a food court and everything in between.

If partying is your thing then MGM Grand has you covered. Hakkasan is one of the largest nightclubs in the world. Wet Republic is one of the most popular dayclubs in Las Vegas. You can party all day and night. The entertainment at MGM Grand continues with multiple shows and the MGM Grand Garden Arena which is home to concerts and major sports events.

There are many fabulous casinos in Las Vegas. However, few come close to matching what you can find under one roof at MGM Grand. The massive property towards the south end of the Vegas Strip is a must-see, even if you’re only stopping by for a visit.

Hotel rooms

MGM Grand has undergone many expansions and renovations over the years. The 5,000 hotel rooms are spread out over multiple hotel towers. Rooms come in a variety of styles including traditional hotel rooms, high-end suites, and exclusive villas.

While there are a large variety of rooms at MGM Grands, none are subpar. All of the rooms look and feel new since they were renovated between 2011 and 2012. In fact, much of the casino and resort were renovated from 2011 through 2012. You’ll find that MGM Grand falls into the high end of mid-range casinos in Las Vegas.

Main Tower

The bulk of the rooms at MGM Grand are in the Main Tower. You’ll find traditional hotel rooms here with different decor, suites, and Stay Well rooms. The Stay Well rooms are a unique hotel room in Las Vegas that was designed with wellness in mind. Vitamin C showers, special lighting, and videos from Deepak Chopra highlight the amenities.

West Wing

The West Wing is located near Hakkasan and is a renovation of the original Marina Hotel rooms. The rooms are only 350 square feet and the smallest you’ll find at MGM Grand. However, the renovations make up for the lack of size. These are an excellent option if you need a place to crash after a night of partying at the club(s).

Skylofts

The Skylofts offer a unique boutique hotel atmosphere inside MGM Grand. These lofts occupy up to two floors and have up to three bedrooms. The largest of these Forbes 5-Star and AAA 5-Diamond-rated lofts make for a great home base for any large group like a bachelor or bachelorette party.

The Signature at MGM Grand

The Signature at MGM Grand is made up of 3 towers to the east of the main MGM Grand casino. This was originally designed to be a condo/hotel and it feels like that. There’s a separate entrance, separate parking, and all of the rooms at The Signature are premium suites. While the hotel is beautiful it’s about a 10-15 minute hike to the main casino floor at MGM Grand. This can be a huge selling point or huge bummer but it’s important to know before booking a room.

The Mansion

The Mansion at MGM Grand is actually more than just a large house. It’s comprised of 29 private villas. Twenty-one of those villas surround a courtyard and atrium. The architecture at The Mansion was inspired by 18th-century villas in the countryside of Tuscany. Villas range in size from 2,400 to 12,000 square feet with 1-4 bedrooms. These are exclusive and only available to certain qualified guests.

Pools at the MGM Grand

The Grand Pool Complex is fit for a hotel that has over 5,000 rooms. The 6.5-acre pool complex has four swimming pools, three whirlpools, and cascading waterfalls. There’s something for everyone at this massive pool area. You can take a dip in a pool, but that’s something that isn’t unique to Las Vegas.

The family might prefer grabbing a few tubes and heading down the lazy river. This experience can be as relaxing or not relaxing as you want and something you won’t find at every hotel around the country.

If just being outside is what you’re looking for you can rent a cabana and simply relax. The cabanas are set up to provide any food and bottle service you’d like while you hang out in the shade overlooking the pool complex.

Wet Republic isn’t part of the pool complex but offers one of the best outside parties in Las Vegas. The dayclub is located near The Signature. Enjoy all the fun of a nightclub outside by this pool.

Topgolf

This is the flagship location of the golf and entertainment complex. Topgolf combines the competition of golf games and your favorite local all-ages hangout. Topgolf might be the best place to open in Las Vegas for sports fans in the past five years.

That said, the combination of golf games, bars, dining, bar games (shuffleboard, corn hole, etc.), gambling, and performance stages make Topgolf something everyone can enjoy. In a city of unique entertainment, Topgolf is one of the best and something you won’t find anywhere else in Las Vegas.

Dining

MGM Grand is so big that there’s room for every kind of restaurant that you can think of. You’ll find everything from a food court for a quick meal to a Three Michelin Star restaurant that will provide one of the best meals of your life. The dining options are so vast that you never need to leave the property no matter what you’re craving.

Restaurants

• Joel Robuchon – Fine French dining at a restaurant Three Michelin Star chef of the same name
• Craftsteak – Tom Colicchio’s first steakhouse in Las Vegas
• Pub 1842 – Michael Mina’s gastropub is a twist on classic pub fare
• Tap Sports Bar – Craft beer and high quality traditional bar food
• Crush – New American social dining and craft cocktails
• FiAMMA – Fine Italian dining
• Morimoto – New Japanese restaurant from Chef Masaharu Morimoto
• Hecho – Sonoran-style Mexican Grill and Cantina
• The Grand Wok – Variety of Asian cuisines
• Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House – Comfort food with a modern twist from Emeril Lagasse
• Hakkasan – Cantonese dishes prepared with a contemporary twist
• Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill – Casual comfort food from Wolfgang Puck
• MGM Grand Buffet – One of the largest buffets in Las Vegas
• Avenue Cafe – Traditional casino cafe
• Cabana Grill – Poolside dining
• Stage Deli – New York style deli
• Project Pie – Quick serve pizzeria
• Blizz – Frozen Yogurt
• Food Court – Johnny Rockets, Pan Asian Express, Bonanno’s Pizza, Nathan’s, Haagan Daz, Original Chicken Tender and Tacos n ‘Ritas
• Corner Cakes – Cupcakes and desserts

Casino

MGM Grand has one of the largest casino floors in Las Vegas. The 171,500 square feet of gaming space includes a sports book, poker room and multiple table game areas. Like the rest of the property, the casino at MGM Grand is large and not so easy to navigate. The sheer size and configuration can make it difficult to find people or specific games.

Having said that, if there’s a casino game in Las Vegas you’ll probably find it somewhere on the casino floor at MGM Grand. You’ll even find one of the two remaining Sigma Derby games in Las Vegas here. Unfortunately, due to the age of this game, it’s sometimes closed for repair.

Since the casino has so much floor space you can often find the newest slot machines and electronic table games here. The contrast in the age of the games available in today’s casinos makes the floor look like a hodgepodge of ideas and concepts between the newest games and traditional casino games.

Shows and Nightlife

MGM Grand has an impressive variety of shows and nightlife. Again, MGM Grand offers something for everyone looking for entertainment. Ka by Cirque Du Soleil provides the large spectacle of a show that you’ve come to expect in Las Vegas over the past 20 years. At the same time, Hakkasan brings current artists entertainment to one of the best nightclubs in the world.

Entertainment

• Ka by Cirque Du Soleil
• David Copperfield
• Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club
• Jabbawockeez
• Mike Tyson’s “Undisputed Truth”
• MGM Grand Garden Arena events

Nightlife

• Hakkasan Nightclub
• Wet Republic
• Whiskey Down
• Centrifuge
• Lobby Bar

Must-sees

1. Snap a Picture With the Grand Lion – The lion is the mascot of MGM Grand. The hotel once had an actual lion habitat but it was removed a couple of years ago. There’s still a gold lion resides in the lobby who resides in different locations and decorations. This makes for a great photo opp.
2. Have the best meal of your life – Joël Robuchon has been rated 3 stars by the Michelin Guide and 5-stars by Forbes Travel Guide. There aren’t many chefs like him in the world, let alone Las Vegas.
3. Choose a Stay Well room – These rooms were built with wellness in mind. Vitamin C showers, special lighting, and programming provided from Deepak Chopra highlight these rooms.
4. Play Sigma Derby – There are only two of these coin-operated mechanical horse racing machines still operating in Las Vegas. The game won’t be around forever, play while you can.
5. Visit Topgolf – The combination of driving range, bar, restaurant and music venue is unique in Las Vegas. Topgolf is located at the far end of the property so a free shuttle is provided if you don’t want to walk.

MGM Grand Loyalty Club

MGM Resorts International owns and operates MGM Grand. Their loyalty club, M Life Rewards, is one of the largest casino loyalty clubs in Las Vegas. M Life Rewards is also accepted at MGM Grand Detroit, Beau Rivage (MS), Gold Strike (MS) and MGM National Harbor (MD). The club will expand to Borgata (NJ) soon and MGM Springfield (MA) when it opens.

These casinos outside of Las Vegas make M Life Rewards one of the biggest casino loyalty clubs in the country. You can earn points and credits at any M Life Rewards casino to use at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. M Life Rewards has an array of partnerships that allow you to both earn and use rewards outside of the casino.

M Life Rewards can be slightly confusing since you earn different types points at two different rates. Tier credits are earned and allow you to climb status to earn specific benefits. Points accumulate for Express Credits that can be redeemed for shopping, dining, etc., Free Play that can be used in slot machines and gift shopping points.

Tier Levels

Here’s a look at the different Tier levels and how many credits you’ll need to achieve the coinciding benefits for Las Vegas:

• Sapphire – Entry Level, everyone starts here
• Pearl – Earn 25,000 Tier Credits
• Gold – Earn 75,000 Tier Credits
• Platinum – Earn 200,000 Tier Credits
• Noir – Invitation only

In addition to gaming, you can earn Tier credits, express comps, free play, and holiday gift shop points from spending money on gaming, dining, entertainment, hotel rooms, shopping, spa treatments and golf at any MGM Resorts property. Tier credits are awared in the following ways:

• Slot Machines – 1 point and 10 Tier Credits for every $3 you play (You also earn 1 cent in Express Comps and 1 cent in FreePlay.)
• Video Poker – 1 point and 10 Tier Credits for every $10 you play (You also earn 1 cent in Express Comps and 1 cent in FreePlay.)
• Table Games (blackjack, three card poker, etc.) – Varies on the type of table game you are playing, your average bet and how long you play
• Non-gaming – 25 Tier Credits for every $1 you spend

Different tier levels earn points at a different rate:

• Sapphire – No bonus
• Pearl – 10% bonus
• Gold – 20% bonus
• Platinum – 30% bonus
• Noir – 40% bonus

Tier Credits earned from October 1 to September 30 qualify you for your tier beginning each October 1. If you advance to a higher tier at any time, you’ll enjoy those benefits for at least one full year.

Benefits

Each tier you reach with M Life Rewards brings greater benefits. The benefits are only incrementally better since you have 5 tiers. M Life Rewards offers discounts and presale ticketing opportunities for all levels. Being a member has benefits even if you’re just visiting to see a concert and staying elsewhere.

MGM Resorts is the first casino operator to charge for parking on the Las Vegas Strip. Those fees are waived for self-park if you’re a Pearl member or greater with M Life Rewards. Valet fees are waived for Gold members and above. These daily parking fees range anywhere from $8 to $18 per day depending on the property and type of parking. The parking discount is one of the best benefits, along with Tier bonuses and increasing retail discounts. Here’s a look at the benefits for each Tier:

Sapphire

• Dedicated reservation line
• Access to M Life Moments
• Personalized offers at MLife.com
• Earn Express Comps
• Special offers from partners
• Earn points and convert to free play or Express Comps
• 5% discount at participating retail shops
• Earn holiday gift shoppe points
• Pre-sale ticket aAccess to select events, concerts, and fights
• M Life flat rate pricing for select MGM Resorts shows
• Avis rental car discount (at on-property rental counters)

Pearl

Same as Sapphire plus the following:

• Invitations to members-only events and tournaments
• Extended expiration for points and Express Comps
• 10% tier multiplier bonus on points earned at all M Life resorts
• 10% tier multiplier bonus on Express Comps earned at M Life resorts
• Exclusive room discounts or comps
• 10% discount at participating retail shops
• Buffet line pass
• Exclusive seating at arena events

Gold

Same as Pearl plus the following:

• 20% tier multiplier bonus on points earned at all M Life resorts
• 20% tier multiplier bonus on Express Comps earned at M Life resorts
• Room upgrades (view, corner or suite subject to availability)
• Priority hotel check-in line (this is especially important for MGM Grand)
• 10% discount at participating retail shops
• Cafe line pass
• Fine dining priority reservations
• VIP line access to nightclubs and pool day clubs for you and a guest

Platinum

Same as Gold plus the following:

• 30% tier multiplier bonus on points earned at all M Life resorts
• 30% tier multiplier bonus on Express Comps earned at M Life resorts
• Priority access to pool cabanas and bungalows
• Spa / salon priority reservations
• Platinum experience upon check-in
• 15% discount at participating retail shops
• Priority valet service
• Priority taxi service

Noir

Same as Platinum plus the following:

• VIP lounge check-in
• Guaranteed hotel reservations
• 15% discount at participating retail shops
• Guaranteed dining reservations
• Guaranteed show reservations
• Complimentary limousine service to / from airport

M Life Rewards partners

M Life Rewards offers members many benefits that extend beyond MGM Resorts hotels and casinos. There is a large group of preferred partners where you can earn or use rewards for both loyalty clubs.

Current partners include Hyatt, Southwest, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Avis, Pinnacle Entertainment (casinos), Cirque Du Soleil, Thunder Valley Casino, Reflection Bay, and Morgans Hotel Group. You can find more information at the bottom of this M Life Rewards overview.

The Hyatt-M Life Rewards partnership is one of the best non-casino partnerships in Las Vegas. You can you earn Tier Credits at over 600 hotels and resorts worldwide. Even better is that there is a Hyatt Gold Passport matched tier status available for M Life Rewards members. This is a great way to climb status without even being in Las Vegas.

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M Life Rewards connects 12 casinos around the country including these Las Vegas casinos:

• Excalibur
• Luxor
• Monte Carlo
• New York-New York

M Life Rewards online

They have recently rebuilt the M Life Rewards website to look and feel similar to the rest of the MGM Resorts’ websites. This is a welcome change from previous versions of the website frequently had bugs. The new website looks great and is easy to use.

The current version of the M Life app looks similar to the individual MGM Resorts casino websites but offers information for every property. The app is quick, smooth, easy to read and intuitive. You can sort information in the app by each casino or by the category of information you’re looking for (shows, restaurants, etc.).

This app doesn’t assume the user is an M Life Rewards member and offers all the information you could want. In addition, the app links to all related apps such as MyVegas, PlayMGM and easyPLAY. This is probably the best looking and most functional Las Vegas casino app around.

M Life Rewards best bets

• Sign up – You receive discounts on hotel rooms and pre-sale ticket purchasing opportunities just for signing up.
• Go Pearl or Gold and skip parking fees – The $8 to $18 self-park and valet fees add up every stay. This is one of the benefits you can put a dollar figure on.
• Get Bonus Points – Each Tier level you climb offers greater point multipliers. The rich get richer with M Life Rewards so you might as well enjoy it.
• Priority Check-In – MGM Resorts casino are among the busiest in Las Vegas. Since the majority of customers are entry level tier status the check-in lines can be massive. Skip the huge lines when you’re Gold or better.

NOTE: This entry was originally posted on a different site on March 13, 2017 and has been slightly edited prior to re-posting here.

I hate being a hater, but MGM National Harbor’s poker comps system hates me back.

Last week I played poker nearly every day at this new poker room. Overall, it is excellent – spacious, comfortable, lots of action, competent staff and worthy of an overall highly favorable review. I’ll definitely go there again.

At a comp rate of $2/hour, I earned some decent meal money. Every so often, I get hungry. When I get hungry, I want to eat. The casino has an excellent variety of food options, all at resort prices. To offset MGM’s resort prices, I want to use the comp dollars as much as possible.

Seems simple, right?

If you order food at the table, to eat while still playing poker, it goes like this… Realizing you are hungry, you ask a server for a food menu. The server explains that there are separate food servers, and the beverage servers do not handle food. Look for a server with a purple shirt and black vest. Not seeing any, you ask the dealer if they can help locate a server. No problem says the dealer, and he pressed a button on his control panel beneath the letter F (representing a special 4-letter “F-word,” of course I’m talking about Food) and a light goes on. That should do it. About 20 or 30 minutes later, a food server appears, looking sharp in a purple shirt and black vest. The food menu is limited to a few options from each of the places in a food court, which includes a seafood vendor, fried chicken and donuts vendor, pizza, mexican, sushi, deli, Asian, ice cream shop, and Shake Shack. Except not the Shake Shack or the ice cream shop. And not everything at the other places, just 3 or 4 options from each.

I decide to go with the spring rolls from the Asian place. I give the food server my mLife card (MGM’s customer rewards program is called mLife) and show my ID, and all is good. 40 minutes later, the server returns and asks me if I ordered spring rolls. “Why yes I most certainly did, and I’m really looking forward to them.” “Sorry, they’re out of them. Would you like to see the menu again?” Hungry turns into Hangry. I go for the chicken tenders. Another 40 minutes later it is now nearly 2 full hours after the first hunger pains, my chicken tenders and fries arrive and I don’t really care how they taste. My comps paid for it, and the server returns my mLife card.

For dining at the table, start the process at least an hour before you will be hungry.

But maybe you don’t want to eat at the table. Maybe you want something that isn’t on the limited table service menu, or want to dine at one of the fancier restaurants and not the food court or you really like the Shake Shack.

In that case, you have to go to the poker check-in desk and ask the staff to transfer a portion of your comps balance, which is tracked on your mLife card, to a different category or bin or account which is also tracked on the same mLife card, in order to be able to use it at the food court or any of the fancy restaurants. With a line of people growing behind you, the conversation goes like this:

Poker staff: Where you are going to eat?

Me: I’m not sure… I’m going to walk down to the food court and see what looks good.

Poker staff: OK, that’s called The District. I can do that, as long as you aren’t going to the Shake Shack. If you plan to eat at the Shake Shack, I have to do it one way, because Shake Shack isn’t owned by the casino. For the rest of The District, I have to do it another way.

Me: Are you shitting me?

Poker staff: No. That’s really how we have to do it.

Me: Out of curiosity, what if I wanted to eat at one of the fancy restaurants, like Jose Andres’ place?

Poker staff: Then I have to specify which restaurant, just let me know and I can handle it.

Me: I hear the Shake Shack is really good, but I haven’t been there yet and haven’t even looked at their menu. I guess I’ll pass on that for today and eat somewhere else in the food court.

Poker staff: How many dollars do you want transferred?

Me: I don’t know… I’m still not sure what I’m going to get. Does it matter? If you transfer extra, the unused balance will be available to use later, right?

Poker staff: Wrong. Let’s say I transfer $20. This is only good for one transaction. If you only use $15, the $5 unused portion of your comps is forfeited.

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Me: Are you shitting me?

Poker staff: No. If you know what you are going to get and how much it will cost, you can transfer the exact amount. Or you can guess and probably want to guess on the low side so you don’t forfeit any of your comps.

Me: [glance over my shoulder, line is getting longer] Uh… I guess transfer ten bucks and I’ll figure it out. The food court is a couple hundred yards away, and I don’t want to walk down there just to plan my meal so I can walk back over here and wait in line to do this again so I can walk back over there to eat.

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Poker staff: You got it, my man. Give me just a few seconds. [He swipes my mLife card through a card reader, enters about the same number of keystrokes as a rental car clerk setting up a new reservation, then swipes my mLife card through a different card reader, a few more keystrokes, a fake smile and off I go.]

It’s clear that the poker room management didn’t design this system themselves. I feel sorry for them. Not every customer is as delightful to deal with as me. The line moves slowly, including mostly players who just want to sign up to get on a waiting list.

The next day, while walking to a restroom, I pass by a glass door with a sign that says Casino Host & Credit. On the way back, I decide to go inside and see if that would be the proper place to provide a little customer feedback. There is a management looking guy standing by the door, wearing a suit and MGM nametag. He looks very official. For purposes of this blog entry, I’ll refer to him as “Vlad.”

I ask Vlad if the casino is interested in hearing feedback from customers about their experience there. Yes, he says. I ask where I should go to provide some, and Vlad says “you can talk to me.” We are not inside the office, but outside the office near slot machines and other gaming. With head-thumping music blaring. Vlad does not invite me into a quieter place to talk.

Trying to explain that I feel sorry for the poker room staff who have to deal with this cumbersome system and resulting hangry customers, and that we’re all frustrated by the lack of integration of the poker comps system with the rest of the casino, I lay out my case. I probably look highly agitated. Partly because there is a very high base noise level and I practically have to shout just to be heard. Partly because I am highly agitated.

When I reach a pause, Vlad responds. First he explains that he has no involvement in running the poker room. He knows their comp system is separate, but doesn’t know how it works, the rate at which comps are earned or any other details whatsoever. But it’s that way because the poker room isn’t profitable and doesn’t make any money for the casino. Then he explains that if it were up to him – and Vlad wants me to know that he’s worked in the casino industry in Atlantic City for over 25 years – there would be no poker room at all. In Vlad’s opinion, poker is a waste of valuable casino space that could make a lot of money if it was used differently.

Translation: Dear customer, if it was up to me, you would not be our customer! So it is OK with me that the part of our business that you patronize is systematically pissing you off.

We actually chat for about 20 more minutes. Vlad isn’t unpleasant; he just knows where he stands and isn’t shy about it.

My points goes like this:

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• If it was up to Vlad, there would be no poker room, right? [Vlad: right.]
• But there is a poker room, so that means somebody other than you decided there should be one, right? [Vlad: right.]
• And that makes the poker players in that poker room a subset of all of the customers of this glorious MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino, right? [Vlad: right.]
• The poker room provides comp credits to its players, right? Whatever the formula is, it is a non-zero amount. [Vlad: right.]
• So if you are going to have a poker room and give the players comp dollars, why – when spending $1.2 billion dollars to build this place – would you design a comps system that systematically frustrates the poker room staff as it also systematically pisses off that subset of your customers? [Vlad: uh…]

Vlad gives me a long explanation of comps, how some comp dollars are automatically generated as a by-product of each game based on the amount of time and stakes played, and other comps are awarded at management discretion so he can give some extra meal money to some poor schmuck who loses his entire wad really fast. All of which applies only to the non-poker parts of the casino.

As for the poker room, Vlad maintains that he doesn’t have anything to do with it, doesn’t know how it operates, but a different system is justified based on the bad economics of poker rooms for casinos.

The same approach to using poker room comps is used at all MGM properties. At the Aria or Bellagio, however, you have to go to a different desk and not the player check-in desk, and get a paper voucher for the amount of comp dollars you want to use (or lose). And poker comps earned at one MGM property can only be used at that property – you cannot use Aria poker comps to buy food at Bellagio or MGM Grand and vice versa. It is equally maddening for the players, although not quite as bad as forcing the check-in desk to handle the comps too.

Given MGM’s otherwise strong commitment to poker, with large and active poker rooms in many of their properties (Bellagio and Aria are among the top poker rooms in Las Vegas; MGM National Harbor is now one of the largest poker rooms on the east coast), it is beyond my comprehension that they don’t integrate the poker comps with the rest of the gaming areas. Maryland Live! does. Caesar’s/Harrah’s/Horseshoe does. Other casinos do.

Reader comments welcome below…

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