Las Vegas' Big Gamble Opens
MGM Mirage and Dubai roll the dice with the massive CityCenter casino project.
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 3, 2009 — -- Las Vegas is known for big gambles but its biggest gamble yet is opening in phases starting this week in the middle of Las Vegas Blvd.
CityCenter has been under construction for years. It's $1.2 billion over budget and has the world's attention since it's partially owned by the government of Dubai.
The behemoth project was started by MGM Mirage. But after the company ran into financial problems, putting CityCenter in jeopardy, the investing arm of the Dubai government, called Dubai World, came to the rescue and formed a joint venture. MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren admits that getting the $8.5 billion project finished was a feat in itself.
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"With everything that's happened in the United States, that's happened to our company, that's happened globally, to be able to deliver this product on time is remarkable," Murren said, talking to ABC News while sitting in a bar at one of CityCenter's new hotels, called Vdara.
But questions arose this week when Dubai World, a once unstoppable force in real estate and investing, announced it couldn't make debt payments. Executives at CityCenter claim Dubai World's problems have no impact on their Las Vegas property.
"The joint venture between MGM Mirage and Dubai World is fully funded. All of Dubai World's money is already in the joint venture," explained Murren.
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