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MGM Resorts International and other top Las Vegas casino company executives are keeping a close eye on Miami and how the community reacts to proposed casino legislation as they consider whether they should build a new Miami hotel.
MGM’s CEO Jim Murren is showing increasing interest in Miami as the city awaits a decision on Florida legislature allowing gambling and casinos. If the Florida legislature gets approved, MGM may make a play for one of the two licenses that may be allotted for Miami-Dade County. In fact, during Murren’s most recent visit to South Florida, he even indicated that he may go ahead and build a hotel here even if the gambling legislature doesn’t go through.
Murren doesn’t want to compete with the Vegas-style mega-resort like Genting is proposing, but rather his goal is to “create a hospitality project that complements what is already one of the best hospitality markets in the world.” Whether the casinos are approved or not, Murren wants to open an MGM hotel with between 300 and 500 rooms catering to a middle to high-end demographic.
Never getting ahead of himself, Murren said he and his team are completing a detailed market conditions review by talking to local community leaders, business leaders and so on. He knows that companies often get in trouble when they don’t tell a specific community what it should do – it’s more important to evaluate what the community wants.
According to the Miami Herald, MGM’s resorts usually generate at least 5,000 new jobs and average salaries before tips are around $35,000.
Murren told the paper that whatever happens, he believes that MGM would seek out a local partner in order to sufficiently get a grasp on what the community works and what it’s needs and wants are.
Image: Forbes
Source: The Real Deal
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