Print
E-mail
Share
digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Stumble
Technorati
reddit
Fark
twitterMGM Mirage inks deal to manage Dubai resorts
dubaipearl.com
A rendering of a room at Dubai Pearl.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | 11:22 a.m.
MGM Mirage has signed an agreement with the developers of a $4 billion luxury resort in Dubai to manage MGM Mirage-branded hotels there.
In a press release Tuesday, Pearl Dubai FZ said it will own and finance a 250-room Bellagio hotel, 350-room MGM Grand hotel and a 30-suite Skylofts hotel. MGM Mirage would run the hotels.
Hospitality, a division launched in 2007 to export the company's luxury brands through hotel management deals worldwide, would run the hotels.
The properties would become part of the Dubai Pearl, billed as an "integrated city" with 5-star hotels, apartments, condominiums, retail and convention space.
No timetable was given for the hotels or Dubai Pearl, which would be located along the Persian Gulf coast and would tower over Palm Jumeirah Island, a Palm-shaped resort development built on reclaimed land in the Gulf.
The plans come at a challenging time for MGM Mirage and Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates. Las Vegas and Dubai grew on cheap credit and are now reeling from a global economic slump that has depressed real estate values and forced some developers to scuttle their projects.
MGM Mirage and business partner Dubai World last month negotiated a last-minute plan with banks to guarantee funding for CityCenter, the $8.5 billion Strip development that opens this year. MGM Mirage has raised $2.5 billion to pay down debt in an attempt to stay out of bankruptcy. The company still needs to refinance billions of dollars in debt accumulated before the recession as it struggles to boost earnings that have plummeted by more than a third.
After forming a partnership with Dubai World in 2007 to fund CityCenter, MGM Mirage had discussed long-range plans to build MGM Mirage-branded resorts in Dubai, potentially with Dubai World.
The Dubai hotels would be managed by MGM Mirage Hospitality, a division launched in 2007 to export the company's brands worldwide through management agreements. The division has signed deals to manage hotels in Abu Dhabi and mainland China. Hotel management, which is less risky than building and financing hotels, is expected to become a bigger source of MGM Mirage revenue in future years, analysts say.
Pearl Dubai, Dubai Pearl's developer, is a separate company from Dubai World, a conglomerate controlled by the Dubai government. Dubai Pearl's Web site says the project is foreign-owned.
"Our alliance with MGM Mirage reflects our commitment to forging world-class partnerships with premium brands that are renowned for their operational excellence," Pearl Dubai Chairman Abdul Majeed Ismail Al Fahim said in a statement.
Discussion: 8 comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.
Post a comment
Spotlight
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas to close in May
- Pricey land buy on Strip a bit of a surprise
- Engineering marvel taking shape near Hoover Dam
- Harry Reid’s co-writer unloads while discussing polls, Obama quote
- Grim numbers show Nevada leads nation in suicides over 60
- Police: Legal runner returned to home, shot husband and wife
- The 10 best steakhouses in Las Vegas
- UNLV back in the polls: No. 23 in AP, No. 25 in ESPN/USA Today
- MGM Mirage to leave N.J. in dispute over Macau partner
- GOP should blame itself for deficit, not Democrats
Blogs
Politics: Ralston's Flash
Miners sue to block mining tax initiative (1 Comment)
Shark Bytes
Willis reminds me of another great UNLV guard (5 Comments)
Elsewhere
With aggressive push, Internet gambling again in play
The Kats Report
A very quick list of which females could replace Steven Tyler in Aerosmith (16 Comments)
A 3.5-day sprint, highlighted superflously at Flamingo with Las Vegas newcomers
Politics: Ralston's Flash
Horsford: No taxes now, but tax reform later (14 Comments)
Gibbons: Cutting the budget can help me raise money (12 Comments)
Calendar »
- 9 Tue
- 10 Wed
- 11 Thu
- 12 Fri
- 13 Sat
-
Far East Movement at Blush
Blush Boutique Nightclub | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Benji Madden at Moon
Moon Nightclub | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Hugh Fink at the Riviera Comedy Club
The Riviera Comedy Club
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
In return the MGM will bring young; blue eyed, blonde, white girls.....to work in Dubai?
First you want to sue me, now you want to kiss me.
Blow.
I agree with the above posts. Will prostitutes be comped with Dubai Pearl rooms? It will be like the movie "Busting" on fancast.com. That Elliot Gould movie opens with a beautiful call girl paying a covert visit to a dentist's office. lol. After you watch the movie check out this 20/20 video about Dubai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUW9MWLIQ...
I have posted this link before, but it is interesting reading. It shows that MGM has gone to bed with the devil, and they did it only to save their sorry butts. Before you think of investing a dime in MGM stock, read the following link:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/com...
You sleep with the Devil, you die with the Devil. Dubai is running out of gas and oil, and pretty soon MGM and Dubai will be another sorry footnote in the history of the Strip in the 21st Century. Somehow, it feels good....
you hit it on the head "goingbust". It's called turn the other cheek....I think? Or is it called "what a slap in the face ?" MGM better watch closely....who their going to bed with.
This isn't as it appears.
This is MGM paying for something.
Paying with something other than cash (don't have any) or stock (who better knows NOT to want MGM stock than Dubai).
Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates. It is a Muslim country. Muslims can't lend money and collect interest. Muslims cannot drink alcoholic beverages. Muslims are not permitted to gamble.
Yet Dubai owns a big piece of CitiBank and of MGM.
They built the Burj Al Arab, the most opulent hotel in the world. Now they're opening casinos.
Can someone explain?
Anyway, it is a good partnership for both parties, they both can use some positive news at the moment.
Time will tell...
To StanG: MGM hotels in Dubai are not going to include casinos but will serve alcohol, alcohol is widely served in Dubai.