MGM
NATIONAL HARBOR
By Jayne Clark
MGM National Harbor
Photo credit: Stephen Wilkes
The Washington region’ s newest resort hotel is unlike any other. For one thing, it has more slot machines( 1,300) than guest rooms( 308). It sports a 3,000-seat theater where big-name acts like Cher and Bruno Mars are on the bill. And it boasts seven restaurants, including three helmed by celebrity chefs.
It is towering( 24 stories) and sleek( one side ends in a sharp point) and shiny( all glass and metal). And perched outside to greet visitors is the giant, gold, trademark lion— leaving no question as to who is running this show.
Yes, there’ s gaming. Yes, there’ s glitz. But MGM National Harbor, which opened in December, isn’ t exactly replicating a piece of the Las Vegas Strip on the shores of the Potomac River.
Unlike the majority of Vegas casino hotels, you don’ t have to weave your way through the cacophony of the gaming area on the way to the front desk, shops or restaurants. Indeed, those amenities are separated from the casino, where security is poised to make sure no one under 21
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