Mirage, Circus Circus agree to withdraw lawsuits over Atlantic City

Friday, Oct. 16, 1998 | 12:35 p.m.

The Las Vegas-based gaming companies signed a confidential settlement Thursday ending a nine-month legal dispute that began when Mirage canceled partnership agreements that called for Circus Circus and Boyd Gaming Corp. to build their own casinos at the site along with Mirage.

The companies did not disclose other terms of the settlement, but a Mirage official confirmed that Circus Circus will not be part of the project.

"The matter was resolved exclusively by mutual release of claims an a mutual dismissal of all litigation," Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman told The Press of Atlantic City. "As to whether or not this means Circus will be building on the (site), the answer for now is no."

A Circus Circus spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday.

"Both sides are happy it's behind us," said Richard Bronson, a Mirage director and president of the company's New City Development subsidiary.

Mirage settled its dispute with Boyd in July, with the companies agreeing jointly to develop a $750 million, 1,200-room casino hotel that will be operated by Boyd.

The project, which will be built beginning next year, will be located on a 25-acre site adjacent to Le Jardin, a $2 billion, 4,000-room behemoth planned by Mirage.

Mirage had planned for more than two years to build a $750 million, 2,000-room mega-resort. As part of it, the company signed partnership agreements with Boyd and Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. under which the companies would build three companion casino resorts on the same site.

Boyd was to be built in partnership with - and connected to - Mirage's project. Circus Circus' was to be on the other side.

But Mirage, frustrated by rising costs for a $330 million highway tunnel planned near the site, said it tried to persuade its partners to ante up and divide the costs.

Unable to do so, it canceled the deals and doubled the size of its own project - to 4,000 rooms and nearly $2 billion.

That, in turn, led to breach-of-contract lawsuits by both Boyd and Circus Circus.

Mirage and Boyd will each own 50 percent of the joint project, which has yet to be named. The lawsuit, meanwhile, has been dropped.

Originally the Boyd-Mirage project was to consist of 1,000 rooms and cost $500 million. Construction will begin in mid-1999, with a 2002 opening forecast.