Gaming briefs for September 20, 2004

Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

Company denies reports on South Korea

MGM Mirage officials are denying news reports that the company is part of a team of U.S. investors that has signed or is about to sign a deal to build a "leisure complex" west of the South Korean capital.

The Reuters news agency this month said the Korea Economic Daily newspaper reported that a group including MGM Mirage, Marriott International Inc. and Donald Trump were set to sign a memorandum of understanding to develop the project.

The companies plan to build a complex at a "free economic zone" on Yeonjong Island, which is west of Seoul and connected by bridge to the mainland, Reuters said. The island is also about an hour by plane from major Chinese population centers such as Beijing and Shanghai, it said.

According to a second report in the Korea Herald, MGM Mirage is part of a separate investment mission that includes Universal Parks & Resorts, Busch Entertainment Corp. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts that plans to visit Korea next month to discuss proposed investments in other economic zones in Korea.

Those investments could total as much as $10 billion, the newspaper said.

"We're not involved in any deals or pending deals right now in Korea," MGM Mirage spokeswoman Yvette Monet said. "We're focused on Singapore and Macau right now."

Company in talks to build London casino

Caesars Entertainment Inc. is in talks with a U.K. developer to build a casino at the new Wembley Stadium in northwest London, the Telegraph newspaper in London reported Sunday.

Caesars is discussing a deal with Quintain Estates & Development Plc, the developer that owns 42 acres of land around the English national soccer stadium now under construction, the newspaper said. Quintain said in June it won planning permission for a 5.3 million-square-foot development including leisure facilities and a hotel, it said.

Caesars spokesman Robert Stewart wouldn't confirm or deny the information and said the company doesn't have any definitive deals for U.K. casinos. Unlike some of its U.S.-based competitors, Caesars hasn't announced any casino development deals with U.K. partners, saying the regulatory environment for the planned casinos is too uncertain. Competitors say their deals are contingent upon the passage of favorable regulations that will allow for the spread of large and mid-size casinos as well as more slot machines.

"At this stage of the game, we are having discussions with a number of different parties about a potential development in the U.K. but we're certainly not ready to discuss anything more specific than that," Stewart said.

State, Meskwaki tribe settle compact negotiations

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The state of Iowa and the Meskwaki tribe have agreed on a new gambling compact to replace one that expired last month.

Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Director Steve Young and Sac and Fox Chairman Homer Bear said Friday the revisions of the compact will remain confidential until the U.S. Department of the Interior reviews, approves, and publishes it in the Federal Register.

The compact covers all areas of the operations of the tribe's casino near Tama, ranging from the types of games permitted to accounting and surveillance procedures. The federal government requires a compact for a casino to operate, but it limits what a state can require of a tribe.

The state can ask to be reimbursed for oversight costs but cannot tax casino revenue. Iowa has not in the past collected oversight money from the Meskwakis.

Negotiations had been suspended for months but were revived in the days leading up to the deadline, David Werning, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, said last month.