Tom Wiesner, a Clark County Commissioner, co-founded Southwest Securities Development Company in 1972, and later founded Wiesner Investment Company. The property was originally the site of the Tropicana Country Club and the Golf Club Motel, both opened in the 1960s. Longtime shows at the resort have included Kà and magician David Copperfield. The resort has several entertainment venues, including the MGM Grand Garden Arena. From 1997 to 2012, it also included Studio 54, a nightclub featuring memorabilia from the original Studio 54 in New York. The MGM has featured restaurants from several prominent chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, Michael Mina, and Joël Robuchon. MGM Grand Adventures closed in 2000, with the property replaced by The Signature at MGM Grand, a condo hotel and a Topgolf attraction. The total cost for the MGM Grand and its theme park was $1 billion. The MGM originally opened with a theme park, MGM Grand Adventures, which operated on 33 acres (13 ha) northeast of the resort. The resort's dominant theme was the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, although such theming would be removed during a two-year renovation that began in 1996. The MGM Grand includes a 171,500 sq ft (15,930 m 2) casino, the world's largest at the time of opening. Much of the hotel is 30 stories, excluding a 14-story section, which originally opened as the Marina Hotel in 1975. With more than 5,000 rooms, it was the largest hotel in the world at the time of its opening. Planning began in 1989 for the new MGM Grand.

Kerkorian had previously developed another MGM Grand, opened on the Strip in 1973 and renamed Bally's in 1986.

The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand, Inc. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.

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