MGM Grand Happy Hour Guide: Every Bar & Restaurant Deal Worth Your Time

The MGM Grand is a sprawling beast, 171,000 square feet of casino floor, five pools, and enough restaurants to make your head spin. Most tourists wander aimlessly and end up paying $18 for a vodka soda at the sportsbook. Don't be them. This guide walks you through every legitimate happy hour on property, the exact route to hit them efficiently, and which ones are complete ripoffs.

The MGM Grand Happy Hour Map: Start to Finish

The Smart Route: Start at Cabo Wabo on the Strip entrance side (easiest access), work your way through the casino floor to Whiskey Down and Centrifuge, then end at TAP Sports Bar or the Studio Café Bar if you want food. Skip everything in the casino center, those bars don't do deals.

Time Window: Most MGM happy hours run 3pm-6pm weekdays. A few extend to 7pm. Weekends are hit-or-miss, always call ahead Saturday/Sunday.

Pro Tip: MGM Grand has three different "levels" of bars. Strip-side tourist traps (skip), casino floor regulars spots (decent), and tucked-away locals secrets (gold). I'll mark each.

Cabo Wabo Cantina, The Strip Entry Gambit

Location: Right off the Strip entrance, impossible to miss (you'll hear the bad cover bands)
Happy Hour: Monday-Friday 3pm-6pm
Type: Tourist Trap with One Redeeming Quality

The Deal:

• $5 house margaritas (rocks or frozen)
• $4 domestic bottles
• $6 select appetizers (nachos, quesadillas, wings)

Real Talk: Cabo Wabo is loud, crowded, and filled with sunburned tourists who think Sammy Hagar is still relevant. BUT, the $5 margaritas are actually solid for a Strip-side location, and they don't skimp on the pour. If you're meeting someone who's staying on the Strip and doesn't want to "go deep" into the casino, this works.

Skip: Everything else. The food is aggressively mediocre and the $6 appetizers are tiny. One marg and bail.

Walking Time to Next Stop: 3 minutes through the casino to Whiskey Down

Whiskey Down, The Hidden Heavy Hitter

Location: Casino floor, near the poker room (look for the dark wood and Edison bulbs)
Happy Hour: Daily 4pm-7pm
Type: Locals Secret ($$)

The Deal:

• $7 craft cocktails (rotating menu, usually 4-5 options)
• $6 draft beers (good selection: Ballast Point, Stone, local craft)
• $8 premium well drinks
• $8-12 food specials (sliders, flatbreads, truffle fries)

Real Talk: This is the best happy hour at MGM Grand, full stop. Whiskey Down is dark, moody, and actually cares about their cocktails. The bartenders know what they're doing. The crowd is 70% locals, 20% poker players taking a break, 10% smart tourists who found this guide.

Must Order: The Old Fashioned variations (they do a smoked cherry one that's killer) or the truffle parmesan fries ($9, massive portion, enough for two).

Warning: Seating is limited. Gets packed 5-6pm on weekdays with the after-work crowd. Arrive by 4:30pm or be ready to stand.

Walking Time to Next Stop: 2 minutes across the casino floor to Centrifuge

Centrifuge, The Craft Beer Option

Location: Near the MGM Grand Garden Arena entrance
Happy Hour: Monday-Friday 3pm-6pm
Type: Beer Nerd Haven ($$)

The Deal:

• $5 select drafts (rotates weekly, usually 8-10 options)
• $6 wine by the glass
• $7 well cocktails
• $6-10 bar bites (pretzels, wings, sliders)

Real Talk: If you like beer, this is your spot. Centrifuge has 50+ taps and they actually rotate interesting stuff, not just the usual Shock Top garbage. The happy hour draft selection changes weekly but always includes at least 2-3 solid IPAs, a stout, and some local options.

Must Order: Ask what's on the HH draft list that day. The beer-battered pretzel with three dipping sauces ($8) is stupid good.

Skip If: You don't care about craft beer. The cocktails are fine but nothing special, and the vibe is very "bros watching basketball."

Walking Time to Next Stop: 5 minutes to TAP Sports Bar (or 6 minutes to Studio Café Bar)

TAP Sports Bar, The Food Play

Location: Far west side of casino, near the monorail entrance
Happy Hour: Daily 3pm-6pm
Type: Reliable Chain ($$)

The Deal:

• $5 domestic drafts
• $6 craft/import drafts
• $7 house wine
• $5-8 appetizers (wings, sliders, nachos, flatbreads)
• $6 burgers during HH

Real Talk: TAP is a sports bar chain (same company owns them at multiple casinos), so the deals are standardized and reliable. Not exciting, but solid if you actually want to EAT during happy hour. The wings are legit, and the $6 burger is a genuine deal, comes with fries and it's not a slider situation.

Best For: Groups. Big tables, tons of TVs, easy to split apps. If you're with 4+ people and everyone's hungry, this is your move.

Warning: Service can be slow during big games. Warriors/Lakers on? Good luck getting a refill.

Walking Time to Next Stop: This is pretty far from everything else, so it's usually an endpoint.

Studio Café Bar, The 24/7 Backup

Location: Inside Studio Café (24hr restaurant), center casino
Happy Hour: Daily 2pm-5pm (also has a late-night 11pm-2am!)
Type: Under-the-Radar Solid ($-$$)

The Deal:

• $5 well drinks
• $4 domestic bottles
• $5 house wine
• $6-9 appetizers (calamari, spinach dip, quesadilla)

Real Talk: Nobody thinks "happy hour" when they see Studio Café, which is exactly why this works. It's a 24-hour coffee shop/diner vibe, but the bar area has its own separate happy hour. Chill, never crowded, and the late-night 11pm-2am option is clutch if you're up late and don't want to pay club prices.

Best For: The 11pm-2am window. Seriously, where else on the Strip can you get $5 wells at midnight on a Saturday?

Must Order: Stick to simple. Well drinks, domestic beers, maybe the spinach dip. This isn't a cocktail bar.

The Bars to SKIP at MGM Grand

Let me save you time and money:

Lobby Bar (Center Casino): No happy hour. $16 cocktails. Absolutely nothing special about them. Pure tourist trap.

Any Pool Bar in Summer: $20 frozen drinks, no discounts ever. You're paying for the "pool club" vibe.

Hakkasan/Wet Republic Bars: If you have to ask about happy hour here, you can't afford regular prices. Move along.

Grand Wok/Asian Fusion spots: Most don't have bar seating or HH deals. Just eat the dumplings and bounce.

The MGM Grand Happy Hour Crawl: Optimized Routes

Route 1: The Quick Hitter (1.5 hours)

For: Solo or couple, want 2-3 drinks and out

• 4:00pm: Start at Whiskey Down, get a craft cocktail + truffle fries
• 5:15pm: Walk to Centrifuge, grab one good draft beer
• 6:00pm: Out before the dinner rush

Budget: $25-30 per person with tip

Route 2: The Food-Focused Crawl (2.5 hours)

For: Actually hungry, want to make a meal of it

• 3:30pm: Start at TAP Sports Bar, order burger + draft beer
• 5:00pm: Walk to Whiskey Down, get a craft cocktail + sliders
• 6:15pm: Quick stop at Studio Café Bar for a nightcap well drink

Budget: $35-45 per person with tip

Route 3: The Party Starter (2 hours)

For: Groups getting loose before a night out

• 3:30pm: Cabo Wabo, everyone gets a $5 marg (cheap start)
• 4:30pm: Move to Centrifuge, try some craft beers, get the pretzel
• 5:45pm: End at Whiskey Down for actual good cocktails before dinner/clubs

Budget: $30-40 per person with tip

Insider Intel: MGM Grand Happy Hour Hacks

Best Day: Tuesday or Wednesday. Weekends are unpredictable (some spots cancel HH, others don't), and Monday is weirdly busy with industry people.

Worst Time: 5:00-5:30pm any weekday. That's peak after-work rush. Arrive by 4:30pm or wait until 5:45pm.

Parking: If you're driving, MGM self-parking is free for M life members (free to join). Otherwise it's $15-18. Park once, hit multiple spots.

Pool Access: Having a drink at a casino bar does NOT get you free pool access at MGM. Don't try it. Security will bounce you.

Comps: If you're playing at MGM tables or slots, ask your pit boss or slot attendant about comp drinks. They're often more generous than happy hour prices, and you might score free apps.

The Real Winner at MGM Grand

If I'm being honest? Whiskey Down is the only MGM Grand happy hour that would make my "best of Vegas" list. Everything else is either decent-but-unremarkable (TAP, Centrifuge) or tourist-trap-with-one-redeeming-deal (Cabo Wabo).

MGM Grand isn't a happy hour destination, it's a "I'm staying here anyway" or "I'm seeing a show here tonight" situation. If you're specifically chasing great happy hours, walk north to Aria or Cosmopolitan. Better deals, better drinks, better vibes.

But if you ARE at MGM? Now you know where to go and what to skip. Start at Whiskey Down, branch out if you want variety, and don't waste time at the lobby bar.

Quick Reference: MGM Grand Happy Hours at a Glance

Spot	Days	Hours	Best Deal	Vibe
Whiskey Down	Daily	4-7pm	$7 craft cocktails	Locals/moody
Centrifuge	Mon-Fri	3-6pm	$5 select drafts	Beer nerds
TAP Sports Bar	Daily	3-6pm	$6 burger + fries	Sports crowd
Cabo Wabo	Mon-Fri	3-6pm	$5 margaritas	Tourist central
Studio Café Bar	Daily	2-5pm & 11pm-2am	Late-night $5 wells	Quiet/chill

The Bottom Line: MGM Grand happy hours are fine. Not amazing, not terrible, just... fine. Go to Whiskey Down, maybe hit one other spot, then move on to better properties. You're welcome.