Grand Sierra Resort

Casino infobox
casino=Grand Sierra Resort
address="'2500 East Second Street
Reno, Nevada 89595"'


rooms=1,995 [http://www.grandsierraresort.com/about_us/ About Grand Sierra Resort and Casino ] ]
theme=Luxury Lifestyle
date_opened= May 3, 1978
space_gaming=80,000 ft² [http://www.grandsierraresort.com/casino/ Grand Sierra Resort - [phone] | Casino ] ]
shows=
attractions=
restaurants="Dolce Enoteca"
"Charlie Palmer Steak"
"Charlie Palmer Fish"
"The Lodge Buffet"
"Cafe Sierra"
"2nd Street Express"
"Starbucks"
"Johnny Rockets"
"Round Table Pizza"
"Port Of Subs"
owner=PLANTworldwide
renovations= "1981, 1000 room addition total 2001 rooms"
names_pre= "MGM Grand Reno"
"Bally's Reno"
"Reno Hilton"
website=http://www.grandsierraresort.com

The Grand Sierra Resort is a resort hotel located approximately two miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,995 guest rooms and suites, 10 restaurants, and a casino with convert|80000|sqft|m2 of space. The hotel also has a shopping center, wedding chapel, pool, convention center, 50-lane bowling alley [ [http://www.grandsierraresort.com/activities/recreation/bowling/ Grand Sierra Resort - [phone] | Recreation - Bowling ] ] , golfing and an RV park.

History

The property first opened in 1978 as the MGM Grand [ [http://www.renotripping.com/reno/grandsierraresort Grand Sierra Resort Reno Hotel & Casino - Hotel Rooms, Restaurants, History, Tips and Photos - RenoTripping.com ] ] — the world's largest hotel casino at the time, with a 26 stories, 1,015 rooms on a convert|145|acre|km2|sing=on sitecite web|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Jul-05-Sat-2003/business/21656177.html|title=Reno Casino Boom|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|accessdate=26 November|date=5 July 2003|accessyear=2006] . The construction cost 130 million dollars. On June 3, 1978 Donn Arden's "Hello Hollywood Hello" debuted.cite web|url=http://www.knpb.org/productions/hollywood/mgm.asp|title=Hello Hollywood Hello|work=KNPB|accessdate=26 November|accessyear=2006] An expansion in 1981 increased the rooms to 2,001. In 1986 the property along with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas were sold to Bally Gaming Corp. Both resorts were re-branded as Bally's.In early 1992, Harveys Lake Tahoe entered a bidding war with Hilton Hotels Corporation over the right to buy the resort. Harveys announced an agreement on a $70 million deal, only to see Hilton up the ante to $73 million and assumption of Bally's debt. Several weeks later, after considering even higher bids, a federal bankruptcy court settled the matter by approving Hilton’s final $83 million offer. The hotel was later acquired by Harrah's Entertainment (which also owns Harveys), in the 2005 acquisition of Caesars Entertainment.

In the early stages of the MGM Grand in Reno, a stage was erected where handlers would chain a lion down for pictures with visitors and guests to the Hotel. "Metro" was not only chained, but was also heavily sedated at all appearances so there would be no danger to the guests. Later, the guest was protected by plexiglass that was set up between them and the lion. At no time were guests allowed within the lion's striking distance.

On May 11, 2005 Caesars Entertainment announced an agreement to sell the Reno Hilton to PLANTworldwide DBA Grand Sierra Resort Corp . for 150 million dollarscite web|url=http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_2nd/May05_RenoHilton.html|title=Caesars Entertainment, Inc. Selling the Reno Hilton to PLANTworldwide DBA Grand Sierra Resort Corp. for Approximately $150 million|work=Hotel Online|date=11 May 2005|accessdate=26 November|accessyear=2006] . On June 23, 2005 the sale was completed and the name of the property was changed to The Grand Sierra Resort.

Planned Expansion

The hotel tower is currently undergoing conversion of the top 11 floors into 825 hotel-condominium units [ [http://www.condohotelcenter.com/condo-hotels/featured-properties/summit-grand-sierra.htm condohotelcenter.com] ] . In addition, construction of an approximately convert|150000|sqft|m2|sing=on indoor waterpark is planned to commence in June 2009 [http://www.grandsierraresort.com/activities/waterpark/] . The plan is estimated to cost 1.8 billion dollars and is expected to take five to seven years to complete. The property is planning eight new condo-towers, a Bellagio style water feature at a newly landscaped lake an outdoor amphitheater and a new mall. Former Chairman of the MGM Grand Las Vegas, now head of the Navegante Group is planned to lease and operate the casino, however details on unclear on if PLANTworldwide will allow the lease. The planned waterpark is years behind scheduleas of September 2008.

On January 31, 2007 Grand Sierra announced plans to join with Nikki Beach to convert the top four floors, pool area, and former Garage Nightclub into a destination. The Nikki Beach Pool area has been open as of July 1, 2007.

References

External links

* [http://www.grandsierraresort.com Official website]
* [http://www.downtownmakeover.com/downtown_reno/Grand_sierra_resort.asp Downtown Makeover - Updates on the Grand Sierra Resort]