Excalibur Hotel & Casino
Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a medievally themed casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. Opened in 1990 and named after King Arthur’s mythical sword, the property is instantly recognisable for its white castle towers and colourful turrets rising at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. With 3,981 hotel rooms spread across a 28-story tower and over 92,000 square feet of casino floor, Excalibur remains one of the largest hotel-casinos in the world.
At a glance
- Type
- Casino hotel resort
- Period
- Opened June 19, 1990
- Style
- Medieval castle theme; designed by Veldon Simpson
- Location
- Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada, United States
- Coordinates
- 36.0988° N, 115.1756° W
- Owner / Operator
- Vici Properties / MGM Resorts International
- Casino floor
- 92,389 sq ft (8,583 m²)
- Rooms
- 3,981 hotel rooms across a 28-story tower
Overview
Excalibur Hotel and Casino stands at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, its white castle battlements and multicoloured towers making it one of the most visually distinctive properties on the boulevard. The resort was conceived during the late-1980s boom in themed mega-resorts, when developers competed to create total entertainment environments appealing to families and gamblers alike. It opened as the world’s largest hotel in 1990, a record that held only briefly as rival projects on the same corridor quickly surpassed its capacity.
History
The resort was developed by Circus Circus Enterprises and designed by architect Veldon Simpson, who drew on Arthurian legend to create a fantasy castle aesthetic unlike anything else on the Strip at the time. Construction began in 1988 and the property opened on June 19, 1990, at a reported cost of $290 million. Circus Circus Enterprises was later acquired by Mandalay Resort Group, which merged with MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International), giving Excalibur its current operator. Vici Properties became the real-estate owner through a later corporate restructuring that separated the physical assets from casino operations.
What you see
The exterior is styled as a medieval European castle, with white and red-striped towers, crenellated battlements, and a drawbridge entrance. Inside, the casino floor is laid out beneath a barrel-vaulted ceiling decorated in heraldic colours, surrounded by restaurants, retail outlets, and a lower level formerly home to a dinner theatre. The hotel tower offers standard to suite-level rooms with views of the Strip or the surrounding valley. A covered pedestrian bridge connects Excalibur to its sister properties Luxor and Mandalay Bay to the south.
Cultural significance
Excalibur is a period landmark of the themed-resort era that reshaped Las Vegas in the early 1990s, alongside contemporaries such as the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Luxor. It represents the moment the city consciously pivoted toward family-friendly spectacle, a strategy later partially reversed as the industry returned to a luxury-adult focus in the 2000s. The castle silhouette has become part of the standard visual shorthand for Las Vegas in international media and popular culture.
Practical information
- Address
- 3850 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109, United States
- Hours
- Open 24 hours
- Website
- Check official website for current rates and offers
Getting there
Excalibur is on the Las Vegas Strip at the corner of Tropicana Avenue. The Las Vegas Monorail’s nearest stop is MGM Grand, a short walk north. The Deuce bus (RTC) runs the full length of the Strip and stops directly outside. Harry Reid International Airport is approximately 2 miles (3 km) to the south-east, reachable in around 10 minutes by taxi or rideshare.