On my last trip to Las Vegas, I visited several casinos and enjoyed some evenings out. And I’m glad I did! 

Vegas has no shortage of excellent casino action on the Strip. In this match-up, New York-New York and MGM Grand will face off to see who will emerge the victor. Before we dive into the competition, let’s take a closer 
look at our two contenders…

New York-New York is part of MGM Resorts and is owned by Vici Properties. Construction on the property began in March 1995. 

Sig Rogich and Mark Advent opted to go with an outdoor aesthetic reminiscent of New York City skyline, with replicas as several city staples, including the Statue of Liberty. Designers Neal Gaskin and Ilia Bezansky developed the look and feel of the resort’s exterior. 

The casino resort debuted on January 3, 1997. Prior to 2005, New York-New York held the title of the tallest building in the state of Nevada. Following the September 11 attacks, the casino resort opened an official 9/11 memorial on the grounds, which opened to the public in 2003. However, the memorial was later removed when renovations and remodeling began at the property in 2013.

MGM Grand has provided entertainment and gaming for its patrons for more than three decades. Yet, before the current destination existed, the site was the home for the Marina Hotel, which opened in 1975. Prior to the Marina Hotel, the property was home to the Tropicana County Club and the Golf Club Hotel. Both opened to the public in the 1960s. 

MGM Grand opened under its current name on December 18, 1993. Planning for the resort began nearly four years earlier, under the direction of Kirk Kerkorian, who had developed another hotel on the Strip in 1973. 

At the time of its opening, MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world and offered more than 5,000 rooms. The destination was also the largest casino at the time of its opening.

MGM Grand had an attached theme park when it first opened, called MGM Grand Adventures. The park occupied 33 acres northeast of the resort. 

Three years after its grand opening, MGM Grand launched a renovation project, which involved four phases during a 30-month period. The Wizard of Oz theme, which was part of the resort when it opened in 1993, was changed during this renovation.

As I have in past competitions, I’ll be scoring this match-up based on several categories, including look and layout, dining, cleanliness, variety of games and guest services.

Let the games begin!

Here's looking at you, kid

While New York-New York’s exterior has many eye-catching elements, I found what the casino has inside its doors just as appealing. Its setup reminded me more of an open concept, with the bulk of the slot cabinets clustered together in the center. This is a nice layout because visitors don’t have to look far for the action. 

The space at MGM Grand is organized well, and I especially appreciated how easy it was to find dining, guest services, games and other entertainment options in this space. This venue also has an open concept and wide walkways once patrons enter the main resort area, which 
made walking through the venue easy.

Although I loved the layout for both casinos, the first point goes to New York-New York because of its centralized gaming floor set up.

Dining

Guests at New York New York also won’t have a shortage of food and beverage options while visiting this casino. The destination is home to 18 dining options.

While visiting New York-New York, I spent some time at Tom’s Watch Bar and enjoyed the fun and engaging atmosphere. This place had plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, as well as several flat-screen TVs for people to catch their sporting event of choice. I tried some of the finger foods and side dishes at Tom’s and enjoyed the variety of comfort foods the place offered. Tom’s serves a couple varieties of slider sandwiches, along with vegetarian options like humus, as well as chips, salsa and guacamole. Everything you could ask for in a sports bar!

MGM Grand offers several restaurants that serve a variety of cuisine options, including American, Asian, French, Italian. Steakhouse dining is also available in this casino. 

I appreciated the resort providing dining with several price ranges. Spending less on food means it can add that expense to my bankroll for additional play, which is always a win in my book. But there can only be one winner for this category, and the point goes to New York-New York.

The score is now 2-0.

Let's keep it clean, folks!

Both casinos did well with keeping their gaming floors hygienic and tidy. I didn’t see any messy areas, and restrooms in both places were well kept and spotless. 

Picking a winner in this category was difficult. That said, MGM Grand earns a point for cleanliness because of its brighter décor and lighter color scheme.

After two categories, the score is now 2-1.

Game on!

New York-New York has close to 84,000 square feet of gaming space and offers players access to 50 table games, 900 slots and a BetMGM sportsbook, along with its other non-gaming amenities. 

And the slot game selection available here included well-known titles like Wheel of Fortune, Megabucks, Blazing 7’s, Top Dollar, Monopoly, Goldfish and Wizard of Oz. Players can choose from slot denominations ranging from a penny to $100.

New York-New York is also home to “The Big Apple Coaster,” a fascinating and thrilling addition to the property. Launched in 1997 and built by Japanese manufacturer TOGO, this roller coaster was known by a couple of other names, including “Manhattan Express” and “The Roller Coaster.”

To date, this ride is the remaining TOGO rollercoaster operating in the US. Its trains are cars that resemble New York City cabs. I didn’t ride this rollercoaster while visiting the casino, although now I wish I did! I have always enjoyed attractions like this and often visited theme parks when I was younger.

On the bright side, this gives me a reason to pay New York-New York another visit the next time I come back to Las Vegas.

Today, MGM Grand has nearly 170,000 square feet of gaming floor space, plenty for its more than 2,500 slots, table games options, poker room and BetMGM sportsbook. MGM Grand’s high limit room offers guests slot play in $5, $10, $25 and $100 denominations. The casino is also known for having a slot machine other destinations on the strip do not – Cherries Jubilee. 

Avid players, social media slot influencers and novice slot fans can only find this game in Vegas at MGM Grand.

While visiting this casino, I made sure I stopped and played Cherries Jubilee for this reason. It was on my list of things to do while visiting Sin City while covering last year’s G2E.

Cherries Jubilee is known among players as a game that often pays out well. Landing three of the game’s namesake symbols awards the grand jackpot. And depending on the denomination, this can mean walking away with at least $1000.

Did it ring true for me as well? Not this time. But not landing the grand jackpot gives me at least one reason to run to this casino. But even without this game, MGM Grand is worth the visit. However, the fact that MGM Grand has this slot game earns it the point for this category. 

Our score is now tied at 2-2.

Serving guests with a smile

Staff at Tom’s Watch Bar were kind and accommodating, and despite how busy it was when I visited this restaurant, no one had to wait more than about five minutes to grab a drink at the bar. Tom’s is a great edition to New York-New York, and the friendly and helpful staff is a huge reason why.

Staff at MGM Grand were wonderful as well. As I was checking out my favorite games and walking around the gaming floor, staff members greeted me with warm smiles and checked on me often to see if I needed a drink. 

MGM Grand wins the final point for this category, ending the face-off with a score of 3-2.

Final thoughts

If I could sum up MGM Grand in one word: fun. The space has a lighthearted and playful vibe that puts it near the topic of my Vegas casino list. MGM Grand had everything I wanted to do while visiting a casino resort all contained in one space. And as someone who prefers a “one-stop” experience, this was grand.