by Joe Weinert

ATLANTIC CITY – Dec. 17, 2001 –MGM Mirage has decided to make no finite decision for now on its proposed $1.5 billion casino hotel in Atlantic City.

The company had intended to announce the scope, design and specific cost of the project by year end, but that was before the legislature in neighboring New York approved up to six new Indian casinos in the state.

"There are no timetables. This process takes time to evaluate. That's just the approach we're going to take for now," said John Redmond, chief executive of the MGM Grand Resorts half of MGM Mirage.

"We were moving aggressively to get the project started in Atlantic City. When I say aggressive, that's underlined three times. We were moving very quickly to get it done, and we're still working on Atlantic City, but not working at the same speed."

Redmond said the company is analyzing the competitive landscape in the Northeast, where officials from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maryland have discussed various forms of gambling expansion. He would not comment on whether MGM was pursuing possible development opportunities in New York or other states in the region.

"We believe MGM Mirage is actively pursuing opportunities in New York and would explore options in Pennsylvania if casino gaming were permitted," Salomon Smith Barney analyst Michael Rietbrock told his clients three days after meeting with MGM President Jim Murren.

Although uncertain about developing a casino hotel of its own in Atlantic City, MGM Mirage is a joint-venture partner with Boyd Gaming in Borgata, the $1 billion casino hotel under construction in the city's Marina District. It's scheduled to open in summer 2003.

RGT