MGM Grand Las Vegas named world’s largest hotel building

(MGM Grand) has 6,852 rooms and includes five outdoor pools, rivers, and waterfalls that cover 6.6 acres (2.7 ha), a 380,000 square feet (35,000 m2) convention center, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the Grand Spa; it also houses numerous shops, night clubs, restaurants and the largest casino in Clark County, which occupies 171,500 square feet  (15,930 m2),” notes the Academy.

By number of rooms, MGM Grand is not the largest hotel in the world. That distinction belongs to the First World Hotel in Malaysia, which has 7,351 rooms.

MGM Grand History

MGM Grand opened on the Strip in December 1993 and cost an estimated $1.1 billion to build.

In January 2020, MGM announced the sale of Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand to a joint venture controlled by MGM Growth Properties (MGP) and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT). At that time, the breakdown was a 50.1% stake to MGP, with BREIT owning the remainder.

That 50.1% was inherited by VICI Properties when it closed its $17.2 billion acquisition of MGM Growth in April 2022 — a transaction that created the largest gaming REIT in the US, as well as the largest landlord on the Strip.

Last December, VICI announced it would acquire the remaining 49.9% of Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand for $4.27 billion as BREIT faced a liquidity crunch. That figure includes a cash consideration of $1.27 billion and the assumption of $3 billion in BREIT debt.

Translation: VICI Properties owns the real estate of MGM Grand, while MGM Resorts remains the operator of the integrated resort. Another point worth noting: MGM Grand is the largest single hotel complex in the US. Overall, the biggest is the combined Venetian and Palazzo — also on the Strip and owned by VICI.

Other Las Vegas Accolades

In addition to the MGM Grand’s accolades, some others from the World Record Academy pertain to Las Vegas and Nevada.

The Academy says the Bonanza Gift Shop, located on the Las Vegas Strip between the Sahara Las Vegas and the Strat, is the world’s largest store of its kind. The world’s largest fireworks structure is found in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. The 28-foot tall “M-800” firecracker covers a water tank.

As for the world’s largest hotels ranked by the number of rooms, eleven of the top 20, including MGM Grand, and all US-based venues are located in Las Vegas. That group also includes the Venetian,  Wynn and Encore, Caesars Palace and MGM’s Aria, among others. Las Vegas Sands’ Londoner Macau ranks by the number of rooms.