Look back: The lion habitat at MGM Grand would’ve turned 25 today
Monday marks 25 years since the opening of the old lion habitat at the MGM Grand.
The live animal exhibit opened in 1999 and lasted for just over 12 years, only to be — in true Vegas fashion — replaced by a new restaurant and nightclub.
The 9,000-square-foot, three-story habitat included waterfalls, a pond, acacia trees and a skylight to improve viewing for guests, the Review-Journal reported in 1999. Lions in the exhibit split their time between the exhibit and the Lion Habitat Ranch, formerly known as The Cat House, located near the M Resort in Henderson.
Less than a decade after opening, the $9 million exhibit made headlines after two lion attacks, both witnessed by casino guests.
In December 2008, a handler at the exhibit was bitten on the leg by one of the lions during a feeding. The handler had to get stitches.
Just two years later, in September 2010, a video surfaced showing a lion appearing to lunge at a trainer.
MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher told CNN after the incident that the exhibit’s big cat handlers “uphold the highest safety standards at all times” and that “incidents where animal handlers are bitten are very rare.”
When the casino-resort’s higher ups decided to scrap the exhibit along with the Studio 54 nightclub in late 2011, the lions’ caretaker, Keith Evans, told the Review-Journal that he “didn’t blame them,” since the exhibit didn’t make the casino any money.
The animals rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals applauded the resort’s decision to shut down the attraction, but criticized Evans for wanting to put the lions on exhibit at the ranch and for the lion attack incidents.
After the attraction shut down in January 2012, Evans moved the cats to the 7.5-acre ranch full time.
The exhibit site is now home to the Hakkasan nightclub and restaurant, which opened in March 2013 as part of the casino’s massive remodeling project that included a $160 million room renovation. Hakkasan was one of the most expensive nightclub projects on the Strip at the time, costing $100 million to build.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.
