Mandalay Bay

* Current
* Original

The Mandalay Bay is a 43-story, 3,209-room tropical-themed resort and casino located on 3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard at the beginning of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is currently owned and operated by MGM Resorts International and opened back in 1999. This resort is known for it's wave pool, beach club, and shark aquarium, the Shark Reef. It also includes the Four Seasons Hotel, Delano (Originally THEHotel), and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

The Mandalay Bay is also known for being involved in one of the deadliest mass shootings in Las Vegas history.

## History

### **Concept and Construction**

After the Hacienda Hotel and Casino was imploded on December 31st, 1996, Circus Circus Enterprises announced that a project for a new tropical-themed resort and casino would be taking place there. With an estimated budget of from $800 million to over $1 billion, It was named "Project Paradise."

On February of 1998, Project Paradise was renamed to the "Mandalay Bay" named after Mandalay, a romance poem made by Rudyard Kipling in 1892. It was also named after it's tropical theme resembling a small bay.

#### **Sinking**

In 1998, engineers who worked with Nicholson Construction noticed that part of the hotel tower was sinking into the ground at an unacceptable pace, causing construction of Project Paradise to be halted. It was later researched that the hotel was sinking 1/2 to 1/4 inches a week. To fix these issues, Mandalay Resort Group hired Nicholson Construction Co, multiple subcontractors, and geological and construction experts to reinforce the building. 356 micropiles that cost between $10 million and $8 million were erected at the very bottom of the hotel to stabilize the tower. When construction of the Mandalay Bay resumed, the total cost of the repairs were $950 million.

### **Opening**

Mandalay Bay, At a final cost of over $950 million and originally owned by Circus Circus Enterprises, officially opened at 11:00 PM on March 2, 1999. A parade was held, featuring a parade of 200 motorcycles with Dan Akroyd, John Goodman, and Jim Belushi of the Blues Brothers being the grand marshals.

### **Early Years (1999 - 2005)**

   Only a few months later after the opening of the Mandalay Bay on June of 1999, Circus Circus Enterprises was renamed to Mandalay Resort Group, with the hotel being it's flagship property.

On February 25, 2000, Mandalay Resort Group sued three of it's construction insurers to force them to pay for the damage of the of sinking problem that occurred during construction. According to Las Vegas Sun, the resort accused Allendale Mutual of breaching the it's three-year contract with construction, which stated that the extended policy coverage was to include damages caused by any man-made or natural movements.

Groundbreaking for the Mandalay Bay Convention Center began on June of 2001, and opened in January of 2003. The sheer size of the convention center, with 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m2) of space, made it the largest in the United States alone. As of April 2018, it is currently the tenth largest convention center in the U.S.

On May 23, 2002, Mandalay Resort Group announced that a new 1,118 room, $200 million hotel tower named would be built adjacent to the Mandalay Bay. It was revealed on October 15, 2003 that it would be called "THEHotel." The new tower opened on December 17, 2003.

### **MGM Mirage Purchase (2005 - 2017)**

On February of 2005, the Mandalay Bay was sold to MGM Mirage (Now MGM Resorts International) for a over $8 billion, with the acquisition ending on April 25, 2005. In 2009, the LION KING company bought it's famous Disney-based the Lion King broadway show to the resort and casino.

In honor of the 1,000th performance of the broadway musical, the Lion King on November 3, 2011, a total of 1,000 students and teachers from the Walter V. Long Elementary School in Las Vegas were invited to experience the show. Only one month later on December 30, 2011, the Lion King played it's final show inside the Mandalay Bay.

On February 21, 2013, Cirque du Soleil announced to the public that in honor of Michael Jackson's legacy, the Mandalay Bay would begin hosting "Michael Jackson: ONE." The show premiered on July 29, 2013.