Mandalay Bay

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Address	3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Opening date	March 2, 1999
Theme	Beach Resort
No. of rooms	3,309
Total gaming space	135,000 sq ft (12,500 m2)
Signature attractions	Shark Reef
Casino type	Land-Based
Owner	MGM Mirage
Previous names	Hacienda (imploded to make way for Mandalay Bay)
Renovated in	2002, 2007
Website	www.mandalaybay.com

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a 39-story luxury hotel casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by MGM Mirage. The top five floors (floors 35–39) of the main hotel building are used by the four-star Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas. It is connected by the free Mandalay Bay Tram to its sister properties, Excalibur and Luxor.

Mandalay Bay has 3,309 hotel rooms and a casino of 135,000 sq ft (12,500 m²). The adjacent Mandalay Bay Convention Center has almost 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m²) of space. In addition, the Mandalay Bay Events Center hosts events including boxing, the UFC's MMA pay-per-views and concerts.

History

On December 31, 1996, the Hacienda was imploded to make way for Mandalay Bay.

The working title for the $950 million resort and casino was "Project Paradise", officially replaced with Mandalay Bay in 1998.

During construction engineers discovered vertical movements and particularly differential movements ('dishing') between the tower core and the wings. The tower core was sinking at a rate of 1/2 to 3/4 inches per week and the wings were sinking at a slower rate causing differential distortion between the column bays. If these movements were not stopped structural damage would occur. Construction was halted while a solution was developed and implemented. The solution proved to be the installation of micro-piles (formerly marketed as 'Pin Piles') filled with grout 200 feet deep below the structure each capped with a hydraulic jack to stabilize the structure at the desired vertical height to carry the weight. Since then, there have not been any reports of this problem recurring.

The gold coloring of the hotel is a result of gold leaf used on the windows.

The resort opened on March 2, 1999, with actors Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, and John Goodman headlining a parade of Harley-Davidson motorcycles through Mandalay Bay's front doors to celebrate the grand opening.

The convention center was added in January 2003. When it opened, it was ranked as the fifth largest in the United States. It also offered the largest unobstructed ballroom in the country, at 100,000 ft² (9,000 m²).

In 2004 a new 43-story tower was opened with 1,120 suites, called THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. The hotel contains 1,117 one-bedroom suites, each at least 750 square feet (70 m²).

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that a condo-hotel called THEplace is planned on land across from the hotel belonging to the Luxor.

Film and television history

• Play It to the Bone 1999
• Las Vegas 2003–2005
• Fear Factor 2003
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 2006–2008—From opening credits as a symbol of Las Vegas.
• Ocean's Thirteen 2007
• The Hangover 2009—various background shots

Attractions

Mamma Mia! was the long-term stage production at Mandalay Bay which closed in early January 2009. In its place, a brand new, permanent production of Disney's The Lion King (musical) opened on 15 May 2009. Mandalay Bay features the 11 acres (4.5 ha) Mandalay Beach with three heated pools, a wave pool with connecting pool for small children, a European-style pool and a lazy river that features a small waterfall. The wave pool features 1.6 million gallons of water and waves in 90-second intervals with heights ranging anywhere from two to four feet. Because of this, it has a strict 48" height requirement. The European-style pool called Moorea, features its own private bar as well as the allowance of female guests to bathe topless. Because of this, Moorea is separated from the rest of the pool by smoked glass windows and has an over-21 requirement. There are also two restaurants at the Beach. The pool area is considered among the best in Greater Las Vegas, winning the 2006 Las Vegas Review Journal's Reader's "Best Pool of Las Vegas" award for the 7th year in a row. One pool remains open throughout the winter months.

In keeping with the resort's tropical theme, it features a saltwater aquarium, the Shark Reef Aquarium, which contains the third largest tank in North America. Shark Reef Aquarium contains numerous other exhibits, including two tunnel-shaped, walk-through aquarium. Another popular attraction is the House of Blues, a venue for live music and a restaurant, with a capacity of approximately 1,800. On the top floor of the hotel is the House of Blues Foundation Room, featuring a dining room, private dining rooms, and a balcony looking down the Las Vegas Strip.

There are 24 restaurants and cafés at the resort. Michael Mina, Alain Ducasse, Charlie Palmer, Hubert Keller, Wolfgang Puck and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are all associated with restaurants on the property.

See also

• Red Square

External links

• Mandalay Bay website (plays music)
• Satellite view of the site