"No one has proven, by the way, that they can operate properties better than us, so …uh … and there's a mountain of information to show that we operate properties better than anybody. Everything that we've acquired is making more money under us than anyone else." — MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren. That's a mighty forceful statement when the operators you've superseded include ex-Mandalay Resort Group's Glenn Schaeffer and ex-Mirage Resorts' Steve Wynn. Murren goes on to say, "We have market leadership in every market in which we operate."
… but what about a little place by the name of Macao? The last anybody heard, MGM was sixth out of six operators over there (and, yes, it's lagging far behind a casino run by — you guessed it — Steve Wynn).
Almost as an aside, the Las Vegas Sun's Liz Benston reveals that one of the two chunks of Strip land that MGM used as collateral was not the "Project Z" site south of Mandalay Bay (as S&G erroneously deduced) but a smaller, less strategic site across the Boulevard from Luxor. So far, with the exception of MGM Grand Detroit, the company has been able to avoid pledging any of its flagship properties.
Though Murren is willing to peddle MGM's regional casinos, he balks at downsizing its already vast Strip presence. We'll see how that strategy pays off when the "CityCenter six pack" opens for business, starting in October.
