MGM Mirage Casino
After casino revenue in Macau, China, increased by 70% in July when compared with 2009’s results, MGM Resorts International has made clear its intentions to improve its presence in Asia. While the Las Vegas casino industry has been dealt huge financial blows over the past two years, the casino industry in Macau – the only province in China where it’s legal to gamble, has boomed. Now, MGM Resorts International’s CEO, Jim Murren, told Bloomberg that they are “starting to assert ourselves” in Macau, and aim to “have more properties in Asia over time”.
While MGM Resorts International is looking to increase its market share in Macau, the company has also announced a significant turning point for its properties in Las Vegas. For the first time since October 2007, revenue from the casino operator’s rooms in Las Vegas increased, which has led Murren to suggest the company is “starting to see a recovery” in Nevada. The CityCenter resort complex, a joint venture between both MGM and Dubai World recorded operating losses of $128 million; however analysts are confident that finances for the Las Vegas resort will improve during the second half of the year.
