MGM Grand Detroit online gambling partnerships

MGM Resorts International announced a joint venture with UK-based online gambling company GVC Holdings in July 2018. The deal created the BetMGM online gambling platform in the US, including sports betting, online poker, and online casino mobile apps and websites.

This is essentially a software deal, and BetMGM launched in 2019 powered by GVC Holdings software.

At the same time, MGM also inked a separate deal with regional casino operator Boyd Gaming, allowing each other market access for online and mobile sports betting and online wagering products in the 15 states where the companies operate.

Ultimately, the deal gives BetMGM additional market access through Boyd in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and possibly other states in the future.

MGM also has a deal in place with Yahoo! Sports, allowing it to connect the BetMGM sports betting online platform to the Yahoo Sports website.

Plus, MGM has deals with the NBA, NHL and MLB, making it an official gaming partner for all three major sports leagues.

Online and mobile sportsbook

MGM Resorts International launched its playMGM brand online and mobile sports betting product in New Jersey in 2017.

It immediately became part of the first integrated gaming site in the country, allowing players to enjoy online poker, online casino games, and online sports betting with a single account.

The entire operation was rebranded as BetMGM in September 2019, and MGM has since brought the product to multiple states that have legalized online sports betting, including Michigan.

The casino at MGM Grand Detroit

The 100,000-square-foot casino at MGM Grand Detroit is open 24 hours.

It features close to 3,500 slots and video poker games, 150 table games, and Detroit’s premier live poker room. That means everything from classic favorites to multi-line video slots, video poker machines, and the largest selection of table games in Michigan.

On Dec. 28, the MGM Grand Detroit brought back indoor smoking with two sections. They are labeled Smoking Slots East and Smoking Slots West. These were formerly Clear and Clear II. The casino playing floors remain smoke free.

The casino at MGM Grand Detroit runs a variety of promotions, including:

• Ring in the Dough: Win up to $50,000 in a cash drawing.
• Snow Day FREEPLAY: Earn 100 points with your M life Rewards card on Wednesday and swipe at a kiosk to win up to $1,000 in FREEPLAY.
• Splash Pot: Play in the poker room with your M life Rewards card for a chance at a $50 splash pot every half hour.
• On the Quarters: Play in the poker room with your M life Rewards for a chance at a $50 chip prize every 30 minutes “on the quarters.”
• Free Blind: M life Rewards members who have 10 hours of rated poker play are entitled to a $10 free blind offer.

Slots

MGM Grand Detroit is home to nearly 3,500 slots and video poker machines. There’s everything from classic favorites to multi-line video slots and multi-hand video poker, ranging from 1 cent to $100.

The latest themed slots are there, like Fu Dai Lian Lian 5 Panda, Fu Dai Lian Lian 5 Dragon, James Bond Goldfinger and James Bond Casino Royale.

Plus, MGM Grand Detroit is committed to adding the best new slots. Sure to be instant classics like 7 Fire Blazes, Buffalo Ignite and High Stakes Lightning Cash Link are said to be coming soon.

Table games

If rolling dice, spinning a wheel or catching cards in classic casino games are more your thing, MGM Grand Detroit has you covered with almost 150 table games.

Here’s a full list of the table games available on the property:

• Big Six
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Criss Cross Poker
• Dragon Bonus Baccarat
• Four-Card Poker
• Free Bet Blackjack
• High Card Flush
• High Tie Blackjack
• Let it Ride Poker
• Mississippi Stud Poker
• Perfect Pairs Blackjack
• Progressive Pai Gow Poker
• Roulette
• Single Zero Roulette
• Spanish 21
• Super 4 Progressive Blackjack
• Three-Card Poker
• Tri-Lux Blackjack
• Two-Way Monte
• Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em*

MGM Grand Detroit also offers access to Premier Pits, including a Party Pit with $1 blackjack tables and the AXIS Pit featuring live entertainment from AXIS Lounge. Plus, there are monthly blackjack tournaments.

M life Rewards program

M life Rewards is MGM Resorts International’s loyalty program, and it is available at MGM Grand Detroit.

The program rewards members for just about every dollar they spend at any of the 20 MGM Resorts around the world, including MGM Grand Detroit.

It also offers access to MGM experiences, personalized offers and exclusive benefits that include:

• Special room rates
• Pre-sale entertainment tickets
• Priority reservations

M life Rewards can also earn and redeem rewards with preferred MGM partners, including:

• Hyatt
• Southwest Airlines
• Royal Caribbean International
• Celebrity Cruises
• Avis

M life Rewards membership is free to anyone 21 and up.

Members earn tier credits for everything from gambling and entertainment, to hotel stays, dining and retail shopping. Tier credits allow members to move up the ladder to different M life statuses, offering increased benefits and rewards. M life members also earn base points by gambling and can convert these base points into free play and express comps.

MGM rewards players with tier credits and base points according to the following schedule:

• 25 tier credits for every $1 spent on hotel, dining, entertainment and spa services
• 1 base point and 10 tier credits for every $3 on slots
• 1 base point and 10 tier credits for every $10 on video poker
• Earning on table games is determined by average wager and time played

MGM also gives members $0.01 in free play and express comps for every base point earned.

MGM Grand Detroit sportsbook

MGM Grand Detroit opened the new Moneyline Sports Lounge in October 2019 with a plan to convert it into a sportsbook if and when Michigan legalized retail sports betting.

That happened in December 2019, and MGM Grand Detroit renamed the Moneyline Sports Lounge to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The sports bar features 60 wall-to-wall TVs for game viewing, capacity for 280 people, and three sections filled with VIP seating. It is located beside the front entrance to the casino near the hotel lobby.

MGM Grand Detroit says BetMGM Sportsbook is unlike other sports bars in Detroit in that it provides guests with a unique and exciting atmosphere to watch games. In early 2020, the betting windows and self-service betting kiosks went live.

A wraparound digital marquee in the space, which once noted a schedule of games, was converted to an odds board. VIP seating features couches and high-top tables offering personalized game sound.

MGM Grand Detroit poker room

MGM Grand Detroit is home to an eight-table poker room in a lavish setting with comfortable seating and large-screen TVs around the room. It is located on the main casino floor near the Casino valet. It spreads No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em and Pot-Limit Omaha cash games and tournaments.

Local and national sporting events are always on one of the 11 large screen TVs in the room.

Poker room promotions include $50 splash pots, $50 On the Quarters prizes, a $10 free blind offer, and Texas Hold ‘Em bad beat and Omaha bad beat jackpots.

The regular tournament schedule includes Bounty Hold ‘Em poker tournaments Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

You can find out what’s happening at the MGM Grand Detroit poker room through the Bravo Poker Live App for Apple and Android mobile devices.

MGM Grand Detroit amenities

The hotel at MGM Grand Detroit

MGM Grand Detroit is home to the only hotel in the city to receive four stars from the Forbes Travel Guide and AAA’s Four Diamond award.

The property features 400 guest rooms and suites, including:

• 335 oversized guest rooms at 510 square feet each.
• 65 luxury suites including 56 1,000-square-foot corner suites with city or skyline views.
• Nine rooftop VIP suites including 1,000-square-foot executive suites, 1,520-square-foot penthouse suites and 2,020- to 2,220-square-foot grand penthouse suites.

Guests of the hotel can enjoy use of a separate hotel entrance, a private lobby living room, and the adult only full-service resort-style spa, indoor salt-water pool and fitness center.

The hotel also features 30,000 square feet of flexible event space for up to 1,200 guests. Plus, the 14,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom that divides into four ballroom salons.

Dining and entertainment

MGM Grand Detroit offers a wide selection of dining and entertainment options, including two signature restaurants, three casual dining options and more:

• TAP at MGM Grand Detroit: A sports-themed pub.
• Wolfgang Puck STEAK: A contemporary steakhouse concept developed by Master Chef Wolfgang Puck. The only Forbes Four-Star restaurant in Michigan.
• Palette Dining Studio: All-you-can-eat gallery.
• Breeze Dining Court: Quick-serve dining area including National Coney Island, Olga’s Kitchen and Detroit Wing Co. outlets.
• The Roasted Bean Detroit: Café with fresh pastries, sandwiches, ice cream and coffee.
• AXIS Lounge: Pairs signature cocktails and soulful sounds. Live, local bands performing seven days a week.
• Topgolf Swing Suite: Golf simulators, lounge seating, shareable plates and crafted cocktails inside MGM Grand Detroit.
• 32 Degrees: Frozen daiquiris, margaritas and craft brews with sports on TV and video poker.

MGM Grand Detroit history

Michigan voters approved a proposal to establish three commercial casinos in Detroit in 1996. Within a year Michigan lawmakers passed the Michigan Gaming Control & Revenue Act, making it all legal

The $235 million temporary MGM Grand Detroit casino officially opened on July 29, 1999.

The temporary home was inside a renovated Internal Revenue Service building in downtown Detroit, not far from Joe Louis Arena. It featured two floors of gaming with 2,300 slot machines and video poker games and 80 table games.

Permanent hotel and casino

The Michigan Gaming Control Board approved MGM’s plan to build an $800 million, 100,000-square-foot permanent casino, 400-room hotel and eight-story self-parking garage just blocks away at John C. Lodge Freeway and Bagley Street in 2005.

The owners, then known as MGM Mirage, were almost forced to sell the property in 2005.

MGM Mirage acquired Mandalay Resort Group, owners of the MotorCity Casino in Detroit. Michigan gaming law prohibits the ownership of more than one commercial casino, so MGM Mirage was forced to sell one. It ultimately gave up its interest in MotorCity Casino, selling to Little Caesars Pizza billionaire Marian Ilitch for $525 million.

What is still the MGM Grand Detroit to this day opened on Oct. 2, 2007, becoming the first and only Detroit hotel and casino built from the ground up as a new venue.

At the time, MGM Grand Detroit President and COO George Boyer said it signaled a new era for Detroit with amenities and accommodations the likes of which the city had never seen before.

It remains Detroit’s highest grossing casino property, posting $623.5 million in revenue in 2019. That’s 43% of the record $1.454 billion in revenue Detroit casinos posted in 2019.

In 2010, MGM did sell the original temporary MGM Grand Detroit casino. The city bought it for $6.32 million and renovated it, turning the building into the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters.