Rash or merely aggressive? That’s the question now that MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren has vowed to match Las Vegas Sands‘ Japanese investments dollar for dollar — as much as $10 billion. “We will overinvest early on to ensure, as we have done everywhere else, that we have properties that are built to last and that would stand additional competition,” Murren said. He was speaking at a conference sponsored by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, which estimates Japan to be a $40 billion/year casino treasure trove. As in Macao, Murren is more tractable to joint ventures than is Sheldon Adelson. The former sees MGM as owning 51% of its Japanese enterprise, much like MGM Grand Paradise in Macao. Caesars Entertainment has been downright promiscuous in its search for local partners, talking to 30 different companies. Be careful you don’t give away the store, Caesars (much as it did to get into Ohio and Maryland).
Wynn Resorts also put in an appearance, with President Matt Maddox striking a note of caution. “The opportunity is very good, but you have to be careful in throwing out billions and billions of dollars without really understanding what the goals are of the city,” he said. It’s noteworthy that, while all its rivals are focused on Tokyo and Osaka (right), Caesars has been improving its chances by courting the likes of Hokkaido and Yokohama. Aside from the prudence of not putting its eggs in one or two baskets, this echoes Caesars’ regionally based strategy stateside.
Stock analysts get almost glum at the thought of no new Macao megaresorts. However, The 
Motley Fool views this as a good thing. By not adding more competition, Big Gaming can focus on profit-taking. It can also pay more attention to such ancillary concerns as improving the infrastructure whereby gamblers get to the casino, and repositioning their business around mass-market play. According to Morgan Stanley, mass-market play is growing at double the rate of VIP gambling. This is what’s credited with Wynn Resorts’ 92% growth in fourth-quarter profits. Much the same is true of Adelson: “Adding shopping malls, theaters, and exhibition halls in the resorts and increasing the number of hotel rooms shows that Sands continues its commitment to appealing to more and more consumers instead of only the wealthiest.” Besides, you can’t build on Adelson-sized scale if you’re not focused on mass-market play.
There’s a new Vegas angle to the first Sonny Liston–Muhammad Ali fight and it’s not a pretty one.
