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I think MILFe's turning Japanese - MGM CEO Jim Murran discusses the industry

Discussion in 'Casino Industry & Development' started by Viva Las Vegas, Jan 6, 2014.

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  1. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

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    Jim Murran says the Japanese market will eclipse Vegas once it is up and running. MGM is working on obtaining licenses / properties in Japan.

    Other musings:

    - Vegas revenue continues to grow, with non gambling revenue out-pacing gambling revenue.

    - Jim believes MGM will be able to hang on to their 50% baccarat share in Vegas, even if Asian based Genting gains approval to build on the Stardust site.

    - Cosmo should be sold within 2-3 years. MGM would be interested with the right price, but the current plan is to continue to divest and de-leverage (sounds like MGM would consider, but would likely sell off something else to not add additional debt).
     
  2. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Cosmo to MGM makes sense. It already feels like it is an integrated part of CityCenter. But at least for now, it doesn't seem like the Cosmo owners are looking to sell at a discount and I don't see MGM paying full price
     
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  3. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    This quote from the article is pretty interesting:

    Maybe I'm wrong but this sounds like "old guy" thinking about what younger people are looking for. They're finding that younger gamblers don't like slots, but they know younger people love their phones, so they figure they need to marry slots and smartphones!

    I doubt it. I think if they look into it they can find good reasons younger people prefer live action table games. I know in AC during party nights the tables are jam packed with a very young crowd gambling pretty decent amounts. They're not at the slots or VP and I really don't think adding the ability to check Facebook or your fantasy team is going to change anything. I know I couldn't care less for that and would frankly think its pointless.
     
  4. dannyocean

    dannyocean High-Roller

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    This is really interesting. Thanks for the post. Personally, I'd love to see Cosmo in the MGM fold. It's logical, a seamless CityCenter integration, as UKFanatic smartly points out. Wouldn't mind seeing something like Excalibur bounced :) Always have bad luck there!
     
  5. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    Completely agree. I'm 34, so i'm a little older then the demographic he's targeting but sounds exactly like the old guy thinking he knows what the kids want. Part of his agenda is probably to make sure there isn't a push back into dealer dealt games? So much cheaper to have us sitting at electronic games.
     
  6. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    I hope MGM doesn't buy Cosmo. We need more competition on the strip not less. MGM is the obvious one at the moment and it would fit nicely into their portfolio. Hopefully I win the lottery between now and then and can come in and save the day by buying it myself.
     
  7. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Personally, I think the sale of Cosmo to a gaming company is inevitable in the next five years. Ultimately, a bank doesn't know how to run a vegas resort and isn't interested, long term, in becoming a resort operator. At some point they will get the price they want at a certain point in time and then the place will sell. Whether its MGM or someone else remains to be seen
     
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  8. PopMegaphone

    PopMegaphone VIP Whale

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    For people who've grown up with interactive video games, slot machines offer a pretty poor experience. Younger people like table games because they are far more interesting experiences and are party oriented. That's why party pits are becoming much more popular. Basically, slots need to evolve big time.
     
  9. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    I think the bank would love to sell Cosmo this second but they are in a position to wait it out so they don't take a huge loss on the construction costs. But it would be better for the consumer for it to stay independent of MGM. Ideally the owner will be stronger at casino operations because it helps us all if we can have a players club is really competitive against the big guys.
     
  10. swuulumm

    swuulumm Low-Roller

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    i guess that Deutsche Bank could always split up the casino business into a seperate entity and do an IPO with it...

    But i guess Cosmo is not (and was never?!) profitable; therefore, unlikely...
     
  11. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

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    +1 I agree with this.
     
  12. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

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    I don't see Excalibur getting sold. From my understanding, Excalibur is a rather profitable property considering there's no debt on it.
     
  13. PopMegaphone

    PopMegaphone VIP Whale

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    They'd happily sell circus circus, but that wouldn't bring much cash. The mirage is a more likely possibility or casinos outside of Vegas.
     
  14. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

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    Circus Circus is a cash cow for MGM... No debt and a lot of profits.
     
  15. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    Mirage and MB are the two most likely on the block in Vegas. And I think most Midwest casinos are on the block for MRI and CET.
     
  16. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    I was going to say this. It's profitable for MGM even though you wouldn't think it was. I think this just goes to prove that there is still a market for affordable middle class resorts as everyone else tries to go high end.
     
  17. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I know we are just speculating here, but I would guess that between the two, MGM would be more willing to part with Mirage. MB has gone through some significant renovations and upgrades over the past two years. I can't see them unloading it after all that capital investment
     
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  18. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    I absolutely buy this. I wrote a research paper on pachinko a while back, and it's astounding how big it is over there. I recall reading, back when I looked at it, that the Japanese pachinko industry was on the same scale as the Japanese auto industry, which is crazy when you consider that gambling is technically illegal in Japan. If Western casino companies were permitted to set up shop over there, they'd make an absolute killing.
     
  19. jdvegas

    jdvegas VIP Whale

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    two sides to a MB sale:

    • MB is developing such deep ties to Morgan Hotel Group (which also owns light group), that a sale to Morgan would seem easy/logical
    • On the other hand, the deep relationship with Morgan makes it difficult to imagine selling MB to any other company, as the existing contracts would limit the new owners flexibility.
     
  20. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    On the other other hand, though, Morgans is primarily a hotel-only group; I don't think they have any properties with anything like the convention/event space that exists at Mandalay Bay, and I'm not sure a company like Morgans would want to take on an arena and a massive convention center (even assuming they'd outsource management). Whereas Mirage has convention space and theatres, but nothing on the scale of Mandalay Bay.
     
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