CLAIMS TO FAME
- Won Japan’s only IR license in April 2023
- Was on the opening team of The Mirage alongside Steve Wynn
By any measure, it’s been a hugely successful year for MGM Resorts in Asia. Led by CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle, MGM is powering ahead with its US$9 billion Osaka integrated resort development in Japan – having won the only casino license to be issued nationwide back in April of 2023.
While the lengthy approval process and significant liquefaction work required on the Yumeshima Island site has seen the opening date pushed back one year to 2030, the company has allies in Osaka’s city and prefectural governments who have resisted an external push to further delay construction work during next year’s World Expo, also being held on Yumeshima.
MGM is also seen as a strong contender to win a casino license in the UAE after the recently established gaming regulator awarded the nation’s first license to Wynn Resorts in early October. The company is already developing a series of MGM-branded hotels in Dubai and has stated previously that these will include space for a casino should the opportunity arise in the future, however Hornbuckle has since revealed that MGM has officially applied for a casino license in Abu Dhabi, widely seen as a more realistic location for the UAE’s second license.
But it is in Macau where MGM has truly made great strides in 2024 by way of its 56%-held subsidiary MGM China. Buoyed by the grant of 198 additional gaming tables under Macau’s current 10-year gaming concessions, and as the city’s earliest adopter of smart gaming table technology – a tool that significantly improves operational efficiency – MGM China has seen its market share grow from less than 10% pre-COVID to more than 16% at times this year.
That growth included an all-time record in Adjusted Property EBITDAR in the March quarter, followed by another record in the June quarter, with revenues climbing above US$1 billion in Q2.
Such success was enough to convince MGM China to declare a Special Dividend following release of its second quarter results, while it has also unveiled plans to expand MGM Cotai by way of a new “wellness-themed resort” that would include the addition of hundreds more hotel rooms as well as spas and health treatment services.
A potential bid for an IR license in Thailand will also be pursued through the Macau subsidiary, MGM confirmed in July, highlighting just how active the group is becoming across the wider Asian region.
For the full list of 2024 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
