The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is a megaresort hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel, with a height of 360Â ft (110Â m), has 32 floors, featuring a 102,000-square-foot (9,500Â m2) casino floor with 1,400 slot machines, 60 table games, and 15 poker tables. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. The hotel offers 2,992 guest rooms, including 259 luxury suites. It is being converted from late 2016 to 2018 into the Park MGM, with the upper floors converted into a boutique hotel, NoMad Las Vegas.
The hotel, named to invoke the Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, features chandelier domes, marble floors, neoclassical arches, ornate fountains, and gas-lit promenades. As of 2010, Monte Carlo has a AAA-Four-Diamond rating.
Facilities and attractions
Construction workers on Strip say they haven't been paid in weeks - Workers at the Monte Carlo say a New York-based subcontractor hasn't been paying them for three weeks, so they turned to 13 Action News for help.
The resort includes 22,000 sq ft (2,000 m2) of retail stores, plus convention facilities, a spa, fitness center, a hair salon, a 2,000-square-foot (190 m2) exercise room, a pool area, which includes a wave pool lazy river, and the Street of Dreams shopping area collection of retail stores which includes Optica, Marshall Rousso, Misura, Harley Davidson of Las Vegas and Art of Music. A 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m2) pool area includes a wave pool with constantly changing wave patterns, and a "Lazy River" feature. The CityCenter Tram offers access to the Bellagio and Crystals retail district in the CityCenter complex, with service every 5 minutes.
On October 7, 2010, the JabbaWockeeZ - described as a "modern dance/hip-hop crew" - began performance of their permanent headline show at Monte Carlo, entitled "MÃœS.I.C". This show was originally performed five nights per week at the 1,224-seat Monte Carlo Theater, which under its previous name (Lance Burton Theatre) hosted magician Lance Burton, who performed there between June 21, 1996 and September 4, 2010. In 2012, the JabbaWockeeZ show moved to the 800-seat Monte Carlo Pavilion.
On October 11, 2015, Blue Man Group discontinued their show at the Monte Carlo and moved back to the Luxor to open a new show, which opened on November 18, 2015.
Advertising
The hotel seeks to provide an "unpretentiously luxurious" experience. As of 2009, the Monte Carlo print advertising campaign features humorously misspelled French words ("tray sheek") coupled with glamorous images. The campaign's tagline is "Unpretentiously luxurious".
History
Construction and opening
In 1994, Gold Strike Resorts announced a partnership with Mirage Resorts to build a $250-million casino targeted at budget-conscious visitors, on part of the site of the demolished Dunes golf course on the Las Vegas Strip.
Ground was broken for the hotel in March 1995. It was originally known as the "Grand Victoria". The palatial style was a reminiscent of the Belle Epoque, which is how the French refer to the architecture of the Victorian era in England. After much criticism by MGM Grand officials, it was shortened to "Victoria" and then changed to "Monte Carlo", named after the Monte Carlo Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Monte Carlo was built as a joint venture between Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus Enterprises (who acquired Gold Strike Resorts in 1995), and cost US$344 million to build. The resort sits on 44 acres (18Â ha), occupied by the Dunes Hotel golf course until its demolition in October 1993.
The Monte Carlo opened to the public on June 21, 1996, at 12:01Â a.m., following invitation-only VIP pre-opening celebration the prior day, including a fireworks show.
2008 fire
On January 25, 2008, at 10:57 AM, a three-alarm fire was reported on the exterior of the top six floors and roof of the casino. Portions of the hotel facade's Exterior Insulation Finishing System burned with some debris falling off and starting smaller secondary fires on ledges three floors below. The fire was fully contained an hour after it began. It was an exterior fire, although there was water damage to parts of several floors. The Hotel & Casino reopened to guests on February 15, 2008. MGM Mirage officials put the total losses due to fire damage and loss of business at just under $100 million.
Rebranding
The 5,200-seat Park Theater at the Monte Carlo was built and due to open on December 17, 2016.
In June 2016, MGM announced a joint venture with Sydell Group that the Monte Carlo would be renovated and rebranded as the Park MGM, named after the adjacent dining and entertainment district, The Park, that opened in April 2016, and the NoMad Hotel would occupy the top floors. It will feature the new Eataly restaurant. Both hotels will begin construction at the end of 2016 and will open in 2018.
Hotel32
Hotel32 is an ultra-luxury, boutique hotel located on Monte Carlo's top floor. The new extension opened on August 10, 2009. The hotel has 50 lofts ranging in size from 850-square-foot (79Â m2) studios to 2,000-square-foot (190Â m2) penthouses and can only be accessed via a private elevator. All Hotel32 guests have access to a dedicated Suite Assistant, who provides personal butler and concierge services and numerous high-tech touches, including a TV integrated into the bathroom mirror. Guests have access to Lounge32, which overlooks the Las Vegas skyline. Hotel32 offers its guests a branded iPhone at check-in to promote the use of hotel amenities. The system, running Hotel Evolution software, enables the hotel to make changes to services easily, because updates are made automatically.
In June 2016, MGM announced a joint venture with the Sydell Group that the Hotel 32 would be renovated and rebranded as the NoMad Hotel.
In popular culture
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino has figured in several feature films and television series. Major release films partially filmed at Monte Carlo include the 2000 film Get Carter and 2008's What Happens in Vegas. In the 2004 film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, the Average Joes stay at Monte Carlo during the dodgeball championships in Las Vegas. In the Amazing Race 15, teams had to count out $1,000,000 worth of poker chips here in the season finale, to receive their next clue. It was also featured in the season six episode "Three of a Kind" of The X-Files.
Gallery
References
External links
- Official website