New York-New York Hotel and Casino opened on January 3, 1997, turning a compact Manhattan-style skyline into a South Strip resort. Its hotel towers imitate New York skyscrapers, while a Statue of Liberty replica, a shortened Brooklyn Bridge and a roller coaster bring familiar city images together at the northwest corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.
Opening a city on the Strip
MGM Grand and Primadonna Resorts developed the property as equal partners. MGM’s annual report distinguishes the December 1996 completion of development from the January 1997 start of operations. A contemporary opening account describes a Thursday-night preview followed by the public entering before dawn on Friday. The opening celebration and the first ordinary visitors were separate stages of the same debut.
The partners become one company
The partnership changed in 1999. MGM completed its acquisition of Primadonna on March 1, taking full ownership of the New York-New York venture. That corporate transaction did not rename the resort or turn it into the MGM Grand across the street; the two hotels kept separate identities.
A place of tribute
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the imitation New York setting acquired another meaning. Visitors left shirts and other tributes along the fence near the Statue of Liberty replica. UNLV’s account describes how the hotel worked with the university to preserve the growing collection. A later glass-and-granite display presented rotating selections. The memorial remained outside until the resort’s 2013 promenade renovation; the university now documents the preserved materials in its Heroes Tribute Collection.
Changing the street frontage
Changes to the street frontage continued. In January 2014, the operator announced the removal and donation of the original entrance marquee to the Neon Museum as part of a new facade and retail project. The redevelopment altered the resort’s relationship to the sidewalk while leaving the skyline theme recognizable. The old sign’s museum destination is separate from the operating casino.
The continuing skyline
Today MGM Resorts operates New York-New York at 3790 South Las Vegas Boulevard. Its current fact sheet still identifies the Big Apple Coaster and the themed buildings, alongside the later Mad Apple production. The April 2018 photograph shows a dated view of the skyline, coaster and Statue of Liberty in a hockey jersey. Advertising and the jersey belong to that moment; they do not establish current shows, decoration or visitor access.