Last Thursday, Nevada gaming regulators approved a license for the centerpiece casino of the $8.5 billion CityCenter development. This approval will grant the 4,004 room Aria Resort hotel and casino to open as planned on December 16, 2009. Aria will have the only casino resort inside the CityCenter, which also includes a 500,000-square foot retail, dining and entertainment district, boutique hotels and high-rise residential units.
John Moran Jr., a member of the committee, said a project such as this could not have come at a better time for the community. A large portion of the hearing , which ran more than two hours, focused on the 67-acre CityCenter and the positive affect it would have on the Vegas Strip, an area where gaming revenues have dropped over 12% this year because of the nation’s ailing economy.
Jim Murren, MGM Mirage CEO and Chairman, spent more than 40 minutes going over the project’s qualities while explaining the measures the company took in 2009 to deal with its financial problems. He also stated that the project will help the market for not only the MGM Mirage resorts on the strip, but the competition as well.
The CityCenter project is a 50/50 joint venture agreement owned by MGM Mirage and Dubai World. Pete Bernhard, Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, asked Murren and Dubai World CEO Christopher O-Donnell how the two companies where able to resolve their differences on the brink of a near split early this year. This past March, Dubai World surprised MGM Mirage with a lawsuit, claiming that the construction of the CityCenter had been mismanaged. This lawsuit almost sent the entire project spiraling into bankruptcy, an unfortunate fate that would stopped its development completely.
Murren said the two were able to come to terms after finally sitting down and discussing the matter, stating that the partnership between MGM Mirage and Dubai World is now just as strong as the company’s other joint partnership agreements. O’Donnell followed this up by saying that despite the bumpy road, the two were able to work through all of their issues.
click here to see most Popular PagesAccording to Murren, Aria is the most world’s most luxurious and technically advanced casino hotel and resort, stating that it will set the bar for others in Las Vegas.
Murren also noted that MGM officials will consider plans for the CityCenter’s Harmon Hotel in 2010. Due to construction issues, work on the Harmon was stopped until further notice. Planned to include 47 stories, development of the building was halted at 26 stories and the condominium component of the project was canceled. Murren remarked that the building has been sealed off and will cost at least $170 million to finish.
Dr. Tony Alamo Jr., the Gaming Commissioner, told Murren that he believes the CityCenter would be a success. Formerly a member of the Nevada Athletic Commission, Alamo referenced a boxing analogy when describing the challenges MGM Mirage has dealt with in 2009, a year in which it sold Treasure Island, laid off 9,000 employees, and cut more than $800 million in annual expenses to avoid filing bankruptcy. Alamo stated that it is a 12-round bout and although MGM has taken a beating for the first six, it is round seven and they are now staging a comeback.
