MGM Macau

MGM Macau at a glance

MGM Macau opened on December 18, 2007, originally under the name MGM Grand Macau, and was later renamed simply MGM Macau³. It is the older of MGM's two Macau properties: its sister resort, MGM Cotai, opened on February 13, 2018 on the Cotai Strip³.

The property is a single 35-storey tower with 579 luxury suites, broken down as follows⁵:

The casino floor covers about 23,283 square meters and carries 961 slot machines and 340 gaming tables as of the end of 2024, alongside multiple VIP and private gaming areas³. Earlier filings put the count higher, at 1,174 slot machines and 427 gaming tables, so the exact mix shifts as the operator rebalances the floor between tables, machines and private rooms⁵.

The resort offers eight restaurants and bars of different styles, a pool and spa described by the operator as world-class, and about 1,600 square meters of convertible meeting space⁵. For guests who want the full range of MGM's Macau offering, the company also runs premium gaming lounges and villa products such as the MGM Macau Alpha Villa, aimed at ultra-high-end customers⁶.

Location and how to get there

MGM Macau stands on Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen in the NAPE district, on the southern waterfront of the Macau peninsula¹. Its biggest location advantage is proximity to the sights: the resort is only a few steps from the Macau Historic Centre, within walking distance of the Ruins of St. Paul's and other UNESCO landmarks⁷. That makes it one of the easiest of the big resorts to combine with a day of sightseeing, something the peninsula properties share with Wynn Macau but the Cotai resorts do not.

Getting there is straightforward:

• From Macau International Airport, Taipa Ferry Terminal or the Border Gate, the drive takes about 15 minutes⁴.
• From the Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal or the heliport, it is only about 5 minutes by car⁴.
• MGM runs a free shuttle bus between the Border Gate and MGM Macau, useful if you are arriving on foot from Zhuhai⁷.

If you are coming from Hong Kong, the ferry or helicopter from the Outer Harbour puts you essentially next door. If you are flying in or crossing at the Border Gate, budget a quarter hour by taxi or shuttle. Our page on getting to and around Macau's casinos has the full transport picture, including the shuttle networks that link the major resorts.

Casino floor: tables, slots and VIP areas

The gaming floor at MGM Macau is one of the larger single-floor casinos on the peninsula. As of the end of 2024 it measured about 23,283 square meters, with 961 slot machines, 340 gaming tables and multiple VIP and private gaming areas³. The operator's own description of the property gives a higher figure of 1,174 slot machines and 427 gaming tables, a reminder that the count moves with renovations and the shifting balance between mass-market and premium play⁵.

For comparison, at the end of 2019 the floor was about 28,551 square meters with 1,085 slot machines and 290 gaming tables⁸. The trend since then has been a somewhat smaller floor with more tables and fewer machines, reflecting the industry-wide move toward premium mass play after the VIP junket era ended. You can read more about that shift on our page about junkets and VIP rooms in Macau.

The floor is arranged in the usual Macau way: a large open mass-market pit in the middle, higher-limit tables around the edges, and private salons and villas for premium customers. The MGM Macau Alpha Villa is the property's top-end product, part of the company's push to attract ultra-high-end guests⁶. Stadium-style electronic table game terminals, where several players bet on one live or electronic dealer from their own screens, are part of the modern mix across MGM's Macau floors⁶.

If you want the full spread of games before you sit down, our page on casino games in Macau explains how each one works.

Table games you will find

Macau's table mix is dominated by baccarat, and MGM Macau is no exception. Expect the majority of the 340-odd tables to be baccarat, in both mass-market and higher-limit formats, with the rest spread across the other staples of a Macau floor:

• Blackjack
• Sic bo
• Roulette
• Fan tan, pai gow and other traditional Chinese games

The traditional games matter more in Macau than in Las Vegas: fan tan and pai gow draw steady local crowds and are worth watching even if you do not play. Poker has a smaller footprint than in American casinos; if that is your game, see our pages on poker in Macau and poker tournaments.

Minimum bets vary by table and by time of day, with higher minimums on the premium tables and at peak evening hours. Tables are HKD-denominated in practice, and our page on money and payments at Macau casinos explains how chips, cage exchanges and currency work.

Smoking ban on the gaming floor

Since October 2014, smoking has been prohibited on all mass-market gaming floors in Macau, including at MGM⁹. The ban applies to the open casino floor where most visitors play. The change was a significant one for Macau's casino culture, where smoking at the tables had long been normal, and it is enforced across all six operators.

The practical effect is simple: if you smoke, you need to leave the mass floor, and the same rule applies at every casino in the city. VIP areas historically had separate smoking lounges, but the mass floor itself is smoke-free everywhere.

Golden Lion Club loyalty program

MGM Macau's gaming loyalty program is the Golden Lion Club, a tiered program that rewards play at the tables and machines⁹. It is the gaming-focused counterpart to M life, MGM's program for non-gaming customers, which covers hotel, dining and entertainment spending across the company's properties⁶. Both the Golden Lion Club and M life are offered at MGM Macau and MGM Cotai¹⁰.

Membership works the way tiered casino programs generally do: your play earns points and status, and higher tiers bring better rates and access. Enrollment is free at the casino's membership desk, and the operator's membership portal is at mlife.mo¹¹. If you play at both MGM properties in Macau, your activity counts in the same ecosystem, which applies if you plan to split your time between the peninsula and Cotai.

One thing to keep in mind: Macau's tax and payout environment differs from Las Vegas, and the rewards calculus differs too. Our page on tax on gambling winnings in Macau explains what, if anything, you owe on a big night.

Rooms and suites

The hotel is a 35-storey tower with 579 luxury suites: 468 standard rooms, 99 deluxe suites and 12 private luxury villas⁵. That makes it a mid-sized hotel by Macau resort standards, much smaller than the Cotai giants like The Venetian Macao, but the room count reflects its positioning as a premium peninsula property rather than a mass-market megaresort.

Older filings listed the property at 582 rooms, and a 2022 press release described it as approximately 600 guest rooms and suites; the current official figure is 579¹². The 12 private villas sit at the top of the range and are aimed at the ultra-high-end segment the operator cultivates with products like the Alpha Villa⁶.

If you are choosing between MGM's two Macau hotels, the trade-off is location versus scale: MGM Macau puts you walking distance from the Historic Centre, while MGM Cotai is the newer, larger property with about 1,500 rooms on the Cotai Strip⁵.

Dining, pool, spa and meetings

MGM Macau has eight restaurants and bars of different styles, world-class pool and spa facilities, and approximately 1,600 square meters of convertible meeting space⁵. The dining count has shifted slightly over the years: the property opened with nine restaurants, and the current official figure is eight restaurants and bars¹². Macau's casinos generally are well set up for eating, with restaurants serving international cuisine across the resorts¹⁴.

The pool and spa are the main non-gaming draws for hotel guests, and the meeting space makes the property a genuine option for business events rather than only leisure. For context on how the resort fits into the city's wider dining and entertainment scene, see our overview of gambling in Macau.

One cultural note: the property is also home to the Poly MGM Museum, a museum space inside the resort. Its hours follow the operator's standard opening-hours schedule, with extended hours to 19:00 when a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday¹⁵. It is a reminder that MGM Macau positions itself as an arts and culture destination as much as a casino, part of the industry-wide push to broaden Macau's appeal beyond gaming.

Refurbishment and renovation works

MGM Macau is nearly two decades old, and the property has been continuously adjusted rather than left alone. The clearest evidence is in the numbers: the gaming floor measured about 28,551 square meters at the end of 2019 but about 23,283 square meters at the end of 2024, with the table count rising from 290 to 340 over the same period⁸. That kind of shift does not happen by accident; it reflects deliberate reconfiguration of the floor, trading raw space for a denser, more premium layout.

The bigger structural change in MGM's Macau story was the opening of MGM Cotai on February 13, 2018, which shifted the company's growth focus to the Cotai Strip³. MGM Cotai was built on an approximately 18-acre site there, with capacity for up to 500 gaming tables and up to 1,500 slot machines¹⁶. The Cotai project was originally expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2017, and the land concession contract required MGM to open it by January 2018; it opened in February 2018, essentially on that deadline¹⁶.

For visitors, the practical takeaway is that MGM Macau today is a refreshed, mature property rather than a dated one, and the operator continues to invest in both of its Macau resorts. If your trip is focused on the newest hardware in the city, the Cotai properties are where most of the recent construction has happened; if you want the peninsula location, MGM Macau remains one of the strongest options there alongside Wynn Macau and Grand Lisboa.