[T-Rob123]

A while back I heard that MGM was going to close down their Lion Habitat.

Q1-A. Is this true?
Q1-B. If so, has this already happened?

I read something about the farm that took care of the Lions when they weren't at the Casino were going to open up a section to the public to come through and be able to see them.

Q2-A. Is THIS true?
Q2-B. If so have they already opened?
Q2-C. Any information available online?

[LVPoker1]

The Lion Habitat is gone for sure from MGM. I don't know where the lions went or if they can still be publicly viewed somewhere else.

[ElleTea]

Here's an article that talks about the closing and possible plans to open a place for the public to see them.

MGM Grand's lion habitat to close Jan. 31 - Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 | 11:45 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

[cb at sea]

That's too bad...they were cute! And, I understand that they were really taken care of well!

[NU2LV]

It's to bad that it is gone it was a had stop place for us every trip with our child there were always huge crowds around watching them sleep. I hope they end up somewhere that we can go to see them free or not.

[Robustus]

Wow, that seems really really stupid of MGM. The lion habitat was often one of the places we'd take out of town guests (usually with kids), with the inevitable result that some of us would hit the poker or blackjack tables while there, or maybe make a reservation at Craft Steak, etc... Not sure I see a reason to go to MGM at all now, given the abundance of nicer properties. Might as well not even go South of City Center, for that matter.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by cb at sea

That's too bad...they were cute! And, I understand that they were really taken care of well!

I agree. It was a "must see" for me and one of my favorite things I saw in Vegas.

MGM without lions. Brilliant.

[BUGBULLY]

We were there last night meeting some family that was in town. My husband and I were talking about why they did not have the lions. He looked the video of the attack up on Youtube. I have to say that after watching it, I would think they would have just gotten different lions. But it was not something that I would want my young children to see. You can watch it here
LION ATTACK at MGM in Las Vegas - YouTube.

[orca17]

Wow, that seems really really stupid of MGM. The lion habitat was often one of the places we'd take out of town guests (usually with kids), with the inevitable result that some of us would hit the poker or blackjack tables while there, or maybe make a reservation at Craft Steak, etc...

Actually it isn't stupid. I'm sure that you are in the minority as far as stopping and playing. The Lion Habitat was a place many people stopped by with children - who aren't legally allowed on the casino floor. Playing at the MGM for most people would have meant taking the kids back to the room (or another hotel), returning and then playing. It also occupied a lot of space and generated very little revenue (I doubt that the Lion Habitat gift shop was a major cash cow for the hotel). It encouraged people to loiter with their kids before moving on, and not much else. I liked it, but that's the cold, hard reality.

What was incredibly stupid was the LV Hilton kicking out the Star Trek Experience. That catered to paying customers and generated convention business.

[Robustus]

Originally Posted by orca17

It also occupied a lot of space and generated very little revenue (I doubt that the Lion Habitat gift shop was a major cash cow for the hotel). It encouraged people to loiter with their kids before moving on, and not much else. I liked it, but that's the cold, hard reality.

This seems like very compartmentalized thinking that makes sense in limited scope only and is a detriment to the property as a whole. Not everything should be a profit center in and of itself if it helps other departments earn sufficiently more. If MGM had really good data confirming that they made no money on the traffic and 2nd order effects, fine. I highly doubt they have it tracked well; more likely they just made a decision based on level-1 thinking similar to your note above.