Cash-Poor MGM Mirage May Sell Casinos

Casino company abandoning costly project

(NEWSER) - Hotel implosions aren’t exactly unheard of in Las Vegas, but it’s not every day the condemned is a brand-new, never-opened luxury tower. MGM on Monday submitted a request to the county office to implode Harmon Tower, a luxury hotel that was supposed to be the crown jewel in the Strip’s $9 billion CityCenter project, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s been derailed because of multiple construction problems; engineers say it couldn’t withstand an earthquake. More»

Hotel-casino-condo-shopping behemoth brings 12K jobs, optimism to battered state

(NEWSER) - A gigantic addition to the Las Vegas Strip is a one-stop stimulus package for a city and state walloped by the recession and an $8.5 billion bet that happy days are near again. With 12,000 jobs, the CityCenter project—a kaleidoscope of condominiums, boutique hotels, shopping, and, of course, gambling—is the “single biggest hiring opportunity in the history of the US,” a rep tells Time, and with Nevada’s 13.2% unemployment, its December opening can’t come soon enough. More»

(NEWSER) - Casinos are making big bank off the tiniest—and oft-most derided—denomination, USA Today reports. Gambling outfits have added penny slots at an amazing rate—in the last 2 years, Nevada has removed 12,000 more costly machines to make room for 7,000 penny slots—and the move has paid off. In Missouri, for example, penny bets make up 42% of the total and a whopping 63% of casino profits. More»

Kerkorian-Dubai megaconstruction will miss debt payment

(NEWSER) - 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. More»

Mogul riding high while rivals, Vegas struggle

(NEWSER) - Recession has dimmed the glittering lights of Las Vegas, but it hasn’t stopped hotel and casino mogul Steve Wynn, AFP reports. Wynn is preparing to open the lavish $2.3 billion resort Encore on Monday as Sin City weathers its worst economic meltdown in decades. “I don't owe a dime personally and the company's solid as a rock,” said Wynn, 66. More»