As a lifelong casino gambler (and current Maryland resident) I decided to visit the new MGM resort on April 29 to see how it compares with other Maryland casinos such as Maryland Live and the Baltimore Horseshoe.
They chose a good location for this place. It's literally 60 seconds off the Capitol Beltway 495 after crossing the Wilson bridge from Va. into Md. Take exit 2A after crossing the bridge and one minute later you're entering the parking garage. It takes longer on a Saturday night as the night crowds start to pour in, however.
I snapped some pictures of the place....
This is the "MGM Box" with the lion logo. It has large video displays facing the building and one facing the highway to catch your attention.
A closer view of the box. It has a walk-thru tunnel which you can see here.
The main lobby with the casino entrance. Not too busy on a Saturday morning but it was real crowded as the afternoon hours went by.
The casino seemed a little cramped to me and it wasn't that crowded in the earlier hours. The floor layout could have been designed a little better. Most of the Blackjack tables pay 6-5 instead of the more common 3-2. In other words, 6-5 pays 1.2X your bet whereas 3-2 pays 1.5X your bet. A significant difference.
There is a mini-mall called The District if you're in a mood to shop. High dollar shoes and sunglasses and things like that. I was surprised there was no MGM themed gift shop. I wanted to buy some boxes of chocolate for my co-workers. Couldn't do it. No gift shop!
At the end of the mall is a small food court with 6-8 eateries to choose from. A Shake-Shack for burgers and fries and other places to get crab cakes or sushi. Take your pick.
I can't comment on the hotel because I didn't stay overnight. If I was going to spend a whole weekend here I could take a 45 minute drive home and sleep there and save the 400-500 dollars they charge for a night's stay.
Even though I won a few hundred dollars I probably won't return because I don't like the 6-5 blackjack tables. And don't get me started on getting out of the garage. It was a bit of a nightmare. Very badly designed lanes exiting the garage. They need to fix that!
Even if you don't gamble I can recommend visiting the place because parking is free and you can spend a half-day just looking around taking in the sights. Have fun!
You can see the Washington Monument from the visitor area...
I was there for the first time a few months ago for an afternoon visit. I ate at the Chinese restaurant at the left of the Casino entrance in your third photo--$40 for fried rice and a shrimp dish. Good to know that parking is still free, as I've heard rumors that they plan on installing a paid system in the future. The parking garages at National Harbor proper next door charge $12 for a 2-hour stay.
The cheapest slot machines at MGM say that they are 5-cent machines, but what they mean by that is that the minimum wager is about 40 cents, which can thereafter be added to in 5-cent increments. Most machines start at $1 per pull (or button-push, these days), with 25-cent or larger increments. Some of those slots are so complicated, you need a masters degree to figure out exactly how many lines you are playing at once, what the winning combinations are, etc. I'm sure most people just shove in the money and let the machine tell them whether they've won. It's not hard to drop $5-$10 per push of the button if you load up on the wager.
