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Giant Vegas Project May File for Bankruptcy
Kerkorian-Dubai megaconstruction will miss debt payment
By Jason Farago
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Posted Mar 27, 09 7:33 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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City Center, the sprawling $8.6 billion Las Vegas development and the largest private construction project in history, will likely fail to make a $220 million debt payment today and may file for bankruptcy. The project is a collaboration between Kirk Kerkorian's MGM Mirage and Dubai World, a conglomerate owed by the emirate's government. The project's collapse would eliminate thousands of jobs and could have major consequences across Las Vegas, reports the Wall Street Journal.
City Center was to comprise two condo towers, a 4,000-room resort casino, multiple hotels, and even its own fire station. Dubai World is suing its partner for cost overruns and has said it won't pay up today—which could lead MGM Mirage to default on its debts by mid-May. With tourism revenue plummeting and unemployment already near 10%, a City Center bust "would be devastating to the southern Nevada economy," said one construction worker representative.