MGM missed the deadline for filing their financial reports yesterday. Today they say they are needing another billion and a half to finish City Center.

Local analysts say that even though their stock is about $2, they are in good shape to pay their debts through this year and next. Also the sale of TI will give them lots of cash. Those same analysts say that ALL MGM properties are being looked at by speculators looking to make a buck in this economy.


The more I hear about City Center, the more I think Boyd did the right thing by putting the brakes on Eschelon. We really don't need that many new upscale hotel rooms or upscale shopping, or condos, or convention space. At least not now. I wonder how City Center would operate if it were fully completed and opened today. Could they really sell enough condos, rent enough hotel rooms, and sell enough high end products in their malls to keep things afloat?

I drove around it this week. It is an amazing project.

JMT, I'm definitely not a "know it all" regarding new projects such as the City Center, but until recently most condominium sales in new projects such as this were pre-sold almost entirely.

I don't have the stats to prove this but I bet there is someone here who can present the fact regarding the sale of condo units before the project has even broken ground.

During the good times in Hawaii it was not uncommon for condo apartments to sell out entirely before the building was even started and go through a re-sale process up to roughly 11 times before the unit was finally build and closed in escrow.

When I first visited the City Center Sales Team in their Bellagio sales office most of us who had experienced successful condo project turnover in the past, actually thought it would happen again within the City Center .... and the sales staff seemed to believe that they had 'the bull by the horns' so to speak.

It would be very interesting to learn what percentage of those condo apartments were actually under contract at the peak and what that percentage is today and how many will actually close when the project is complete.

And did any buyer really purchase one of these apartments as an owner occupant with an honest intent to live there parmamently?

I tend to be somewhat overly pessimistic during periods such as these but I am usually pretty accurate regarding the arrival of 'upward trends'.

In this case, I anticipate much more troubled times ahead with a five year stretch of headaches until we even start to see the daylight.

And everything that is being done today to solve the current economic problem will return to bite us in the butt somewhere further down the troubled road.

JMT, it certainly is an amazing project. We actually "crashed" our way in and drove down what appears will be Harmon Road going through the 'center" of City Center. We felt like we had entered the Land of Oz.

I wish I could purchase a couple.

Will, I predict a 747 or two with no Western markings will come to town and park across the street from the MGM for a couple of days. After they leave, I predict MGM will make an announcement that they secured funding from investment partners.

That's been the way it's gone so far.

This reminds me of the story of Bugsy Seigel. Remember how he grand plans and kept borrowing more and more money. He kept having construction "issues". His vision was always there. His vision and his budget were never on the same page. It ended up costing him his life.

By now you probably all aware that all of MGM properties are on the market and that includes there casino in Detroit. Based on what I've read and or ascertained they will sell it all or individually but there in need of serious cash so nothing is off the table.
I read a post on another site and some of those members have been getting cancellation notices on previous comped rooms.
Those orders are coming right from the top so the hosts have no control over the cancellations.