It looks like the MGM/Mirage company is being forced to sell their 50% stake in the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Apparently, the NJ Gaming Commission is aghast (aghast I say!) that the MGM/Mirage is doing business with reported organized crime figure Stanley Ho. See, MGM owns 50% of a hotel/casino in the Chinese island of Macau with the Ho family owning the other half. Not sure what this has to do with Atlantic City but I gather they have a big law against people being in organized crime and owning casinos. I did not make that up.
So the MGM/Mirage was given a choice by New Jersey. Either sell their stake in the Macau Casino or sell their stake in Atlantic City. Now I haven't been to their place in Macau, but I couldve bet you which one they were gonna choose to sellin about 3 seconds. Atlantic City, for the most part, is a dump. Now the Borgata is a nice spot, thats true, but my conspiracy theory hat just went on. What if the MGM/Mirage saw that Atlantic City is/was a dump, will be for awhile, and it might not be so great to own the "best house on the block" in a cesspool neighborhood? But if they sold their 50% stake in the Borgata in today's market, they might take a big loss. They can now go to their shareholders and say, "Yeah we took this big hit but it was the REGULATORS fault, for not wanting any Ho's in Atlantic City. Sorry." Maybe they even spark a shareholders revolt against New Jersey.
Call me crazy, but last I checked the MGM/Mirage has some pretty solid operations in Las Vegas (Bellagio, Mirage, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, etc). If you were worried a lot about the economy in Atlantic City, which people are, wouldn't you want to keep guys like MGM around who know how to make things work? Now the one good place they have there, the Borgata, is going to be sold to some other party? I smell a rat. Isn't this going to cost more jobs when the new entity that buys it, takes on debt, and has to "cut costs"?
Where are my Ho's?!? Well the Ho family is denying any organized crime affiliation. Sounds like there is gonna be a big, bad dice roll in this situation.
Now enjoy the hoops games.
What a shame. The Borgata is the only hotel/casino worth going to in AC (IMO)
Posted by: Kevin_In_Philadelphia | March 23, 2010 at 08:33 AM
Jersy just shot themselves in the dick, or at the least they are aiming their gun at it.
Vegas BABAAAAAY!
Posted by: Big E in NYC | March 19, 2010 at 02:23 PM