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The
site was first occupied by the Bonanza Hotel and Casino which
opened in July 1963. It was later renamed to the New Bonanza
Hotel and Casino shortly before construction on the MGM Grand
began.
The
site covers 43 acres (17 ha) and opened in 1973 as the MGM
Grand Hotel and Casino with 2,084 rooms, the largest hotel
in the world at that time. Kirk Kerkorian was the owner. The
hotel had a Los Angeles movie theme when it opened.
It
suffered a fire in the casino that traveled up into the hotel,
killing 87 guests and employees on November 21, 1980. The
facility was rebuilt in only eight months. The fire was, and
still remains, the largest disaster in Nevada history in terms
of loss of life. The fire resulted in a major reform in fire
safety codes for the city's casino resorts, which are now
among the strictest in the United States.
The
hotel was later sold in 1985 to Bally Entertainment Corporation,
and the property's name was changed to Bally's. The MGM Grand
name was transferred to the former Marina Hotel, now known
as the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
At
the end of June 2005, Harrah's Entertainment announced that
the company would consolidate all its properties under a few
brand names: Harrah's, Rio, Caesars, and Horseshoe. This implies
that Bally's will be re-branded, most likely as a Horseshoe
casino.
In 1993, the hotel was featured in the film Honeymoon in Vegas,
starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.
It
was also featured prominently in the 1995 film Leaving Las
Vegas, also starring Cage and Elizabeth Shue.
The
resort was used by Spike TV for their 2006 poker tournament
series King of Vegas.
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