WASHINGTON —The MGM National Harbor casino and resort is officially an MGM property now, with the casino operator’s signature MGM Lion in place.

The lion arrived in three pieces on a flatbed truck after a 35-hour, cross-country ride from Las Vegas, where it was manufactured by Raymond Co., a Vegas-based theming contractor.

It sits on the south side of the casino, along Harborview Avenue, adjacent to the casino’s entrance.

It took about 2,400 man hours to construct the lion. It stands 18 feet tall, with a 5-foot mane and a 15-foot long tail and weighs two tons.

The lion is a steel-framed structure covered in fireproof, fiber-reinforced plastic panels, and was installed on a cast-in-place concrete pedestal.

The lion’s arrival comes just four weeks before the big grand opening of the $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor casino and resort.

The lion has a long history, dating back to its first use as the signature opening logo for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion pictures. On screen, there have been several different versions of the roaring open over the decades.