CityCenter Casinos See A Light At the End Part III
Author: Chris // Category: Online Casino NewsMGM Mirage general counsel Gary Jacobs had a difficult task in keeping organized as the casino and hotel company tried to manage a wide array of accountants, auditors, tax and financial experts.
The communication between all the different aspects of the projects caused the MGM Mirage hotel and casino to clear out some of the suites and turn them into makeshift offices for facilitators.
As the times got harder, the casinos in Las Vegas began to feel the pressure of the economy, and the stock market downfall. “It was kind of like going down a river, but you would hit one set of rapids, and then you hit another set of rapids, and another, and then another one. It was nonstop,” Jacobs said.
As the situation became worse, MGM casino resorts knew the importance of finishing construction and opening the CityCenter. “If CityCenter went bankrupt, it would not have only been a horrible situation for Las Vegas, but it would have complicated the corporate issues,” Jacobs said. “It was needed to be initially addressed.”
The situation once again took a turn for the worst when Dubai World chose to sue MGM Mirage and not pay a portion of the loan that they were contractually obligated to pay. “It’s not every day that you wake up on a Monday morning and your partner sues you in court,” D’Arrigo said. “But we did not feel it was in anyone’s best interest to get angry in public. We needed to get to the bottom of the matter and find a solution.”
In the corporate world of hotels and casinos, there are always politics involved. “The leaks were frustrating because it was like a sieve,” Jacobs said. “Everybody was trying to manipulate something for whatever purpose or their own purpose. That complicated matters.”
“A lot of the big banks brought senior people here so they could understand what CityCenter was and is,” D’Arrigo said. “Most of the people around the world thought there was nothing but tumbleweeds up and down the Strip. We needed them to understand there was still a vibrant community here.”
