Marina Hotel and Casino

Opened 1975

Closed November 1990

Marina Hotel and Casino opened on the South Strip in 1975, years before the green MGM Grand towers rose around part of its site. It occupied the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard near Tropicana Avenue and was also known during its final period as MGM Marina. San Remo, later Hooters and OYO, was a separate hotel on East Tropicana; it was not another name for Marina.

Start with its history

Editorial illustration of Marina Hotel and Casino, interpreted from a user-supplied historic photograph.

The history of Marina Hotel and Casino.

A brief history of Marina Hotel and Casino

View south from Marina’s grounds on June 28, 1987. The large hotel across Tropicana Avenue is the Tropicana, not Marina.

Hotel and casino operations

The Marina development was associated with Tom Wiesner and Southwest Securities. Fred Harvey operated the hotel, while Argent operated the casino initially. That division of hotel and gambling operations is part of its identity: Marina was a hotel-casino with its own business history before it became land and retained building space for a larger project.

The surviving records

UNLV’s architectural archive catalogs Airport Marina record drawings dated June 1974 and March 1975, under JMA Architecture Studios. Its collections also preserve Marina show programs, brochures and news clippings. The date range of that publicity folder runs beyond the casino’s operating life; a collection’s latest document date is not proof that the hotel was still open.

MGM Marina and closure

Kerkorian acquired the property for his next MGM project around 1990. Marina briefly carried the MGM Marina name before closing in November that year. A March 1991 news report already described Marina and the adjoining Tropicana Country Club as closed, with a hotel and theme park planned for their sites. The three-year gap before the new MGM Grand opened should not be counted as continued Marina operation.

Part of the building continues

The transition was more complicated than a complete demolition or a simple sign change. At the October 1991 groundbreaking, the existing hotel was slated for renovation into the new complex. A later published hotel guide confirms that part of the Marina structure became accommodation inside MGM Grand. Marina’s independent operation ended, while part of its building continued in a different resort.

A view from the grounds

The photograph gives a period view from Marina’s grounds on June 28, 1987. The lawn and loungers are in the foreground, with the separate Tropicana hotel across the avenue. It shows Marina’s setting rather than the face of its tower. The approximate map marker identifies the former hotel area within the western part of today’s MGM Grand; it does not outline every earlier parcel or identify an entrance.

Read the full history

Sources and context

Marina’s development and the distinct San Remo site

Historian’s source-referenced Strip register, MGM GRAND and OFF THE STRIP–Tropicana sections: Tom Wiesner/Southwest Securities, Fred Harvey hotel and Argent casino, Marina 3805 South Las Vegas Boulevard, MGM Marina phase and partial reuse. San Remo is separately at 115 East Tropicana. May 30, 1975 opening differs from May 1/2 leads; year only selected. Newspaper references listed by the historian were not independently read.
The Airport Marina architectural records

UNLV JMA Architecture Studio Records MS-00783, printed page 10, roll 19: Airport Marina record drawings June 12, 1974 and March 17, 1975, 63 sheets; catalog site address 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard. Finding-aid entry read, not all drawings; differing 3805 historical address is preserved as period context.
Marina’s surviving publicity records

UNLV MS-01136, Box 01, two files of Marina show programs, brochures and news clippings dated 1975–1999. Catalog description read; documents not individually inspected. Date range is not the operating period.
Closure before the new project

UPI, March 5, 1991: Marina Hotel and Tropicana Country Club had both closed the preceding November. Indexed article body read; direct reader unavailable. Supports November 1990, not a closure in 1993; future completion forecasts are not treated as actual opening dates.
The 1991 groundbreaking and retained Marina building

UPI, October 7, 1991: contemporaneous groundbreaking report and plan to renovate the existing 14-story Marina into the new complex. Indexed article body read; direct reader returned 403. Its incidental date of the original MGM fire is incorrect and is not adopted. Planned works are corroborated as actual reuse by the Wiley account.
The earlier hotel incorporated into MGM Grand

Published Wiley Las Vegas hotel guide excerpt, PDF page 75 / printed page 106: part of the old MGM Marina structure incorporated into the new MGM Grand, with renovated rooms. Historical account, not a current assessment of rooms or attractions.
The operating MGM Grand in 2026

Operator fact sheet, page 1: December 18, 1993 opening, 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South, MGM Resorts operation, casino and bronze lion. Later pages list Grand Garden Arena and KÀ. Checked October 20, 2026; performer schedules, prices and comparative superlatives are not adopted as current promises.
The approximate western hotel area

Rounded center 36.10244,-115.17111 interpreted from western hotel building part 115095161, API geometry read October 20, 2026; compare resort plan and retained-building accounts. Approximate location, not surveyed historical footprint. OSM level tags are not adopted as historical tower-height evidence.
The later resort’s Studio Tower area

Published MGM property plan in TMS2025 guide, PDF page 10 / printed page 8, visually inspected: Studio Tower area toward the Strip, distinct from Grand Tower and arena. Supports later site orientation, not 1975 boundaries, current access or a verified route.
A view from Marina’s grounds in 1987

Creator’s own-work Commons photograph, exact original, capture date and CC BY-SA 4.0 checked October 20, 2026. View from Marina toward Tropicana, not a photograph of Marina’s tower.

The 1975 opening year is supported, but exact opening-day references conflict; no exact day is selected.

Closure is stated at November 1990 precision. The 1993 date belongs to the new MGM Grand opening.

MGM Marina was a later name of Marina. San Remo/Hooters/OYO was a separate property.

Only part of the hotel was incorporated into MGM Grand. The map is approximate and does not establish the full former footprint.

The prominent hotel in the 1987 photograph is Tropicana across the avenue; the photograph looks out from Marina’s grounds.

This site through time

Replaced by MGM Grand Las Vegas

1993

Marina, briefly called MGM Marina, closed in November 1990. The MGM Grand development replaced its independent resort operation and also used the neighboring Tropicana Country Club grounds, opening in December 1993. Part of Marina’s hotel structure was renovated and incorporated into the new complex. This was a larger successor resort with partial building reuse, rather than a simple rename or complete demolition of every earlier building.

Historical source — Wiley Las Vegas hotel guide excerpt, PDF page 75 / printed page 106, confirms that part of MGM Marina was incorporated into MGM Grand. UPI’s March 5, 1991 report places closure in November 1990; its October 7, 1991 groundbreaking report describes the planned renovation of the retained hotel. MGM’s 2026 fact sheet gives December 18, 1993 as the new resort’s opening. Both property histories list the source links and limits of the available evidence.

The new development occupied a larger site than Marina alone. Partial retention is not the same as a complete demolition or a rename of the entire resort.
The relationship is dated to the successor’s 1993 opening year; closure and construction occurred earlier.
Marina is separate from San Remo/Hooters/OYO, and this MGM Grand is separate from the original 1973 MGM, now Horseshoe.

Find the place.

Marina Hotel and Casino

The map marks an approximate site. It does not identify an entrance or a walking route.

View the site on a map

Follow the evidence.

Sources, image credits and the limits of what we know.

Historical sources10 documents and records

Marina’s development and the distinct San Remo site

Historian’s source-referenced Strip register, MGM GRAND and OFF THE STRIP–Tropicana sections: Tom Wiesner/Southwest Securities, Fred Harvey hotel and Argent casino, Marina 3805 South Las Vegas Boulevard, MGM Marina phase and partial reuse. San Remo is separately at 115 East Tropicana. May 30, 1975 opening differs from May 1/2 leads; year only selected. Newspaper references listed by the historian were not independently read.
The Airport Marina architectural records

UNLV JMA Architecture Studio Records MS-00783, printed page 10, roll 19: Airport Marina record drawings June 12, 1974 and March 17, 1975, 63 sheets; catalog site address 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard. Finding-aid entry read, not all drawings; differing 3805 historical address is preserved as period context.
Marina’s surviving publicity records

UNLV MS-01136, Box 01, two files of Marina show programs, brochures and news clippings dated 1975–1999. Catalog description read; documents not individually inspected. Date range is not the operating period.
Closure before the new project

UPI, March 5, 1991: Marina Hotel and Tropicana Country Club had both closed the preceding November. Indexed article body read; direct reader unavailable. Supports November 1990, not a closure in 1993; future completion forecasts are not treated as actual opening dates.
The 1991 groundbreaking and retained Marina building

UPI, October 7, 1991: contemporaneous groundbreaking report and plan to renovate the existing 14-story Marina into the new complex. Indexed article body read; direct reader returned 403. Its incidental date of the original MGM fire is incorrect and is not adopted. Planned works are corroborated as actual reuse by the Wiley account.
The earlier hotel incorporated into MGM Grand

Published Wiley Las Vegas hotel guide excerpt, PDF page 75 / printed page 106: part of the old MGM Marina structure incorporated into the new MGM Grand, with renovated rooms. Historical account, not a current assessment of rooms or attractions.
The operating MGM Grand in 2026

Operator fact sheet, page 1: December 18, 1993 opening, 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South, MGM Resorts operation, casino and bronze lion. Later pages list Grand Garden Arena and KÀ. Checked October 20, 2026; performer schedules, prices and comparative superlatives are not adopted as current promises.
The approximate western hotel area

Rounded center 36.10244,-115.17111 interpreted from western hotel building part 115095161, API geometry read October 20, 2026; compare resort plan and retained-building accounts. Approximate location, not surveyed historical footprint. OSM level tags are not adopted as historical tower-height evidence.
The later resort’s Studio Tower area

Published MGM property plan in TMS2025 guide, PDF page 10 / printed page 8, visually inspected: Studio Tower area toward the Strip, distinct from Grand Tower and arena. Supports later site orientation, not 1975 boundaries, current access or a verified route.
A view from Marina’s grounds in 1987

Creator’s own-work Commons photograph, exact original, capture date and CC BY-SA 4.0 checked October 20, 2026. View from Marina toward Tropicana, not a photograph of Marina’s tower.

What remains uncertain5 notes on context and interpretation

The 1975 opening year is supported, but exact opening-day references conflict; no exact day is selected.
Closure is stated at November 1990 precision. The 1993 date belongs to the new MGM Grand opening.
MGM Marina was a later name of Marina. San Remo/Hooters/OYO was a separate property.
Only part of the hotel was incorporated into MGM Grand. The map is approximate and does not establish the full former footprint.
The prominent hotel in the 1987 photograph is Tropicana across the avenue; the photograph looks out from Marina’s grounds.

Image credits2 images with source information

Editorial illustration of Marina Hotel and Casino, interpreted from a user-supplied historic photograph.

AI-generated illustration / Vegas Retold; reference photographer unknown

Source reference: Intended-use page locator. Exact user-supplied 216×134 historic reference preserved in marina-main-2026-10-20/source.png; original source, photographer and capture date unknown.

AI-generated editorial illustration from the supplied low-resolution photograph; architectural details are simplified interpretations.

User-requested generated editorial illustration; reference photographer, date and copyright unknown. No copyright clearance or public-domain claim; source-limited interpretation, not documentary evidence.

Image source ↗

View south from Marina’s grounds on June 28, 1987. The large hotel across Tropicana Avenue is the Tropicana, not Marina.

Downtowngal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Source reference: Creator’s own-work Commons photograph, exact original, capture date and CC BY-SA 4.0 checked October 20, 2026. View from Marina toward Tropicana, not a photograph of Marina’s tower.

Depicted date: 1987-06-28

License

Original source photograph retained without editorial alteration. Responsive displays may resize and crop the presentation.

Retain creator, source, license link and changes notice. Adaptations require the same or compatible license; descriptive editorial use, no endorsement implied.

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