Though long since outclassed by its mighty neighbors, the casino now known as Bally's was twenty years ago the most famous, and infamous, hotel in the world. This is the original MGM Grand , which opened in 1973. Setting out to prove that there was far more money to be made in the casino business than in producing movies, entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian had sold off almost the entire assets of MGM Studios in order to build the biggest hotel that had ever existed. Named after the 1932 movie Grand Hotel , the MGM Grand did indeed generate vast profits. However, it was devastated in November 1980 by the worst hotel fire in history, when faulty wiring in the deli caused a blaze that killed 84 people and injured over seven hundred more. The MGM Grand reopened in identical shape within eight months, but four years later Kerkorian sold it to Bally's, the pinball and slot-machine manufacturers, who had just had a tremendous cash windfall from the worldwide success of their Pac-Man machines. That company later ran into difficulties, and sold the hotel to the Hilton corporation in 1996, which chose to keep on calling it Bally's . It's now run in conjunction with Paris next door by Park Place, who took over Hilton's casinos early in 1999 and also own Caesars Palace . Kerkorian, meanwhile, had retained the MGM Grand name for his own future use.
The fact that Bally's is actually one of the Strip's dullest buildings, consisting of little more than two monolithic rectangular towers, has been disguised by turning the whole thing into a giant neon sign. Not only the towers, but also the tubular walkway that carries pedestrians into the casino, shift constantly through a spectrum of four garish colors. The walkway moves so slowly, however, above a shallow pool, that you'll probably have tired of the light show long before you reach the end.
There's little to detain you inside the hotel, which is used more by conventioneers and business people than vacationers. Non-guests tend to head straight for either the good-value Big Kitchen Buffet , up on the second floor of the South Tower; the large, high-tech Race & Sports Book, hidden away in the basement of the North Tower; or the monorail, right at the back of the property, which connects Bally's and the current version of the MGM Grand . At least the pedestrian walkway runs in both directions, so it's not too hard to find your way out again.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
Copyright © 2006 United States.biz
