It’s almost a done deal. MGM Resorts International will monetize its two most iconic properties by selling MGM Grand and Bellagio to Blackstone Group. The latter would lease the two megaresorts 
back to MGM, which would probably roll the sale proceeds into an Osaka resort. The talks are said to be in an “advanced stage” but could yet fall apart. It makes you wonder if Blackstone really intends to sell The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas if it is about to fatten its casino portfolio with two more of the biggest casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
News of the prospective sale briefly goosed MGM stock, which jumped 5% before settling back into more rational growth. The price is speculated as being between $6.5 billion-$7 billion. I don’t have the figures handy to calculate how much of an EBITDA multiple that represents but I’m sure will find out if/when the sale is consummated. This story bears close watching.
* While I’m sure he’s not doing it to placate China, Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has found the soft underbelly of the nation’s Internet-gambling industry: taxes. Many in the sector aren’t paying The Man and Dominguez those who are scofflaws shut down. $420 million in withholding taxes are AWOL, prompting Dominguez to ask, ”Why don’t we start closing them down so they will answer these assessments?” Good question.
* Don’t know what to do with those excess coaxial cables and dot-matrix printers? SugarHouse Casino does. Kudos to the 
gaming house for hosting a recycling fair for used electronics—any electronics. Couldn’t find a home for those cathode-ray TVs? SugarHouse was the place to go. Failing that, call Philadelphia‘s 1-800-GOT-JUNK? “We want people to know we are more than just a casino,” said Sugar House Community Relations Manager Emily Dones. “We have a strong desire to give back to the community.” Mission accomplished.
