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Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort features a medieval castle theme and is named after King Arthur's mythical Excalibur sword. Property features include a 92,389 sq ft (8,583.2 m2) casino, a 28-story hotel with 3,981 rooms, and various restaurants. The $290 million property was developed by Circus Circus Enterprises. The castle theme was conceived by company founder William Bennett, and the resort was designed by Veldon Simpson. Bennett and the design team traveled to castles throughout Europe for inspiration. Construction began in October 1988, and the resort opened on June 19, 1990. It was the largest hotel in the world until the opening of the nearby MGM Grand in 1993. The Excalibur has hosted numerous shows, including Thunder from Down Under, which opened in 2002 and is the longest-running male revue in Las Vegas. Tournament of Kings, a medieval-themed show featuring sword fights and jousting, is the longest-running dinner show on the Strip. History The Excalibur occupies approximately 50 acres (20 ha), located along the Las Vegas Strip at the southwest corner of the Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection. The property was once the proposed site of the Xanadu, a 1,730-room resort announced in 1975. The Xanadu was never built, as its developers could not secure a deal with the county on the sewer infrastructure such a large project would have required. Circus Circus Enterprises purchased the vacant site in May 1988, and announced plans a month later to build a castle-themed resort on the land. The company held an international contest to determine the name of the new resort. More than 180,000 entries were made, and the winning name, "Excalibur", was selected from more than 33,000 names. It is named after King Arthur's mythical Excalibur sword. Groundbreaking for the Excalibur took place on October 7, 1988. Marnell Corrao Associates served as the general contractor. The $290 million resort opened on June 19, 1990, receiving 30,000 visitors on its first day. The Excalibur was among new entertainment-oriented megaresorts to open on the Strip, continuing a trend started by the Mirage in 1989. On March 21, 2003, Josh Ford of Los Angeles hit the largest Megabucks Jackpot to date of US$39.7 million at Excalibur. Circus Circus Enterprises became Mandalay Resort Group in 1999, and ownership of the Excalibur was passed to MGM Mirage in 2005, after it acquired the company. The resort's new owner was subsequently renamed MGM Resorts International in 2010. Ownership of the Excalibur, along with many other MGM properties, was transferred to MGM Growth Properties in 2016. Vici Properties acquired MGM Growth and its properties in 2022, while MGM Resorts continues to operate them under a lease agreement. Design The medieval castle theme was conceived by Circus Circus founder William Bennett, and the resort was designed by Veldon Simpson. Bennett studied old castle renderings, and he and Simpson visited castle sites in England and Germany for design inspiration. Simpson's Excalibur design was inspired particularly by Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Trademark experts were hired to avoid replicating the castle designs at Disneyland and Disney World. The Excalibur's medieval architecture includes stone turrets, and a moat and drawbridge. Yates-Silverman handled the interior design. The firm conducted library research into castles and also visited such buildings in Europe, in addition to film studios. According to Michael Erickson, design director at Yates-Silverman: "We were basically looking for the same level of design that you would find in film. If you designed rooms as they literally looked during the traditional period, they would be dark, dingy and dirty. You have to romanticize it a little bit and take more of a theatrical approach." Features The Excalibur has 3,981 rooms, spread across four 28-story towers built out in a square footprint. The resort originally opened with 4,032 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the world. This record was surpassed by the 1993 opening of the MGM Grand, located diagonally across from the Excalibur. A hotel remodeling project began in 2006, and was scheduled to conclude four years later. In accordance with guest feedback, the multi-phase project removed castle-themed elements from the rooms in favor of an understated design. The Excalibur's casino measures 92,389 sq ft (8,583.2 m2). It opened with 2,630 slot machines, and more than 100 table games. In 2008, the Excalibur removed its live poker dealers and replaced them with automated tables manufactured by Pokertek, through a deal that lasted 10 months. The new tables appealed primarily to a lower-paying clientele and beginners, prompting the resort to bring back live poker, which was preferred by experienced players and those willing to spend more. Upon its opening, Bennett described the Excalibur as an upgrade from the Circus Circus resort in Las Vegas, while still targeting the same family demographic. Family friendly attractions included an arcade, an indoor medieval-themed midway, and motion simulator rides taking place in two theaters, each seating 48 people. South of the Excalibur are two other MGM properties, the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. The three resorts are connected via the Mandalay Bay Tram. Of the three, Excalibur is considered the low-budget property. Restaurants The Excalibur included 17 restaurants upon opening. In 1997, the resort added the Steakhouse at Camelot, which would go on to become a Zagat award winner. At that time, it also included the second-largest buffet in Las Vegas, seating more than 1,300. In 1998, the Excalibur announced a partnership with World Championship Wrestling to open a wrestling-themed restaurant at the resort. The $2 million WCW Nitro Grill opened in May 1999, and operated for 16 months, featuring regular appearances from professional wrestlers during that time. In 2007, Dick's Last Resort opened an 11,000 sq ft (1,000 m2) location at the Excalibur. The band Lynyrd Skynyrd would also license its name to a new restaurant at the resort. Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer opened in December 2011, along with American Burger Works, both managed by the same company. The two restaurants operated for nine months, eventually closing due to financial problems. Buca di Beppo opened at the Excalibur in 2011. A year later, the resort debuted its Castle Walk food court, which introduced several eateries not already on the Strip. At 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2), it was among the largest food courts on the Strip. Because the Excalibur had an exclusive deal with Pepsi, the food court housed one of the few McDonald's in the world to vend the soft drink rather than its competitor, Coca-Cola. The McDonald's eventually closed in 2016. Johnny Rockets opened in 2014, taking the space formerly occupied by Ame.... Discover the Richard Veldon popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Richard Veldon books.