Las Vegas myth debunked: Guests once entered MGM Grand through the mouth of a golden lion
Editor's Note: Vegas Mythbusters releases new entries every Monday, with a bonus Friday flashback edition. Today’s entry in our ongoing series originally appeared on October 7, 2022.
According to popular Las Vegas mythology, the mouth of the old MGM Grand Lion was the entrance to the casino hotel. Even the Pulitzer Prize-winning Las Vegas Sun magazine described the original entrance to the MGM Grand in March 2001 as "a giant lion's head, its mouth opened like a fan" Door." As you can see in the photo below, that's certainly true. Not that.
The Goldfish myth is easier to explain than most of the debunked myths in this series.That’s because it was actually spread by hotel business owners and then repeated over the next few decades by uncaring reporters who struggled to fact-check. MGM Grand CEO Terry Lanni took over the casino-hotel in 1995, two years after it opened. He often points to the Snapdragon entrance as a prime example of a company failing to adequately consider cultural sensitivities.
It's been widely reported that many Chinese gamers believe that traveling through depictions of Goldfish will bring bad luck - perhaps not as much bad luck as traveling through the real Goldfish. But enough is enough.
It's not 'literally' true that they come in from the lion's mouth," said Alan Feldman, a former MGM Mirage executive. "But many customers think it is. It will give off the same negative vibes, so refuse to use that entrance. "
In 2014, Scott Roeben's Scott Roeben published a "Vital Vegas" blog in which he listed Las Vegas casinos trying to cater to Chinese high rollers And features Eight Fascinating Chinese Gambling Superstitions. This superstition explains, for example, why the Rio and Encore casino-hotels completely lack floors 40 to 49. The number 4 is considered an unlucky number because it sounds like the word "death" in Chinese and Japanese.
The lion is watching
In 1998, Lanny replaced the lion with the current one. It was created by Snellen Maurice Johnson, a convicted fraudster who turned his life around by becoming an artist. Johnson's gold-bronze polished lion is reportedly the second-largest bronze statue in the world, behind Hong Kong's 90-foot-tall Giant Buddha. It stands 45 feet tall, weighs 50 tons, and sits on a 25-foot-high plinth.
Oh, and his name isn't Leo. Leo was the name of the original MGM Grand Lion, named after the lion that roars at the beginning of all MGM films. (There are actually 11 different Leos in the movie, with the original Leo being called Slats, but let's stick with busting the myths one at a time.)
Today's MGM Grand Lion is simply known as Grand Lion.
In addition to replacing the lions, Lanni also abandoned the MGM Grand's original "Wizard of Oz" theme area and amusement park, replaced several restaurants, and built the Mansion, a group of 29 individually designed Mediterranean buildings style residential building.
Incidentally, Feldman gave another reason why the original MGM Golden Lion had to go—one based on more indisputable facts.
"It's also ugly," he said.
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Source: www.casino.org
