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The Grand Lion is a bronze lion outside the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip. Casino.org, which credits it to the sculptor Snellen Maurice Johnson, reports it was installed in 1998 to replace the resort's original lion and stands 45 feet tall on a 25-foot pedestal.
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MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Lion
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Site-level location · 36.1028° N, 115.1694° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
The lion outside MGM Grand is a replacement. Casino.org reported that the resort's original lion, in place from 1993 to 1998, had a mouth at least 30 feet above the ground, and that guests did not walk through it despite a persistent story that they did. A former MGM Mirage spokesperson told Casino.org that many customers nonetheless believed the entrance carried the same bad luck. Casino.org says the resort's chief executive then replaced it with the current bronze in 1998, which it credits to the sculptor Snellen Maurice Johnson. The site gives it as 45 feet tall and about 50 tons, on a 25-foot pedestal. Casino.org's 2022 piece, republished in 2025, says the current lion is called Grand Lion and that Leo was the original's name; a 2021 Casino.org post called the current lion Leo. Casino.org reported that the statue was polished in April 2021.
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WHAT TO EXPECT
The lion stands outdoors at the MGM Grand resort on the Las Vegas Strip. In April 2021 Casino.org's Vital Vegas called it a must-see Vegas photo op, and reported it was being polished.
ACCESS
Outdoors at the MGM Grand resort on the Las Vegas Strip, a private casino property.
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