MGM Resorts International Is Having A Big Year
MGM Resorts recently opened T-Mobile Arena and The Park next to and behind New York-New York in Las Vegas and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In this week’s Sunday News we let you know that the M life players club will soon become M life Rewards (expect an announcement next week). There are rumors that an M life credit card is on the way and that the playMGM sports wagering app was just released.
Earlier this year MGM Growth Properties was formed and went public, meanwhile MGM National Harbor is wrapping up construction and will open later this year and MGM Resorts just announced that they’re purchasing Boyd Gaming’s 50% share of the Borgata in Atlantic City. On top of all this activity, MGM Resorts will be the first casino operator to charge for parking on the Vegas Strip. Whew!
MGM Takes Over Borgata
The plot for all of these news items thickened earlier this week when MGM Resorts announced that they were acquiring Borgata in Atlantic City for $900 million. MGM Resorts was already a 50% partner with Boyd Gaming on the Borgata and they’ll assume total control of the property once the deal is approved in the 3rd quarter. MGM Resorts announced that they would be selling Borgata’s land to MGM Growth Partners.
It should be safe to assume that the new M life Rewards program will extend to Atlantic City and take over for the My Borgata players club once MGM Resorts assumes total control. I’ll get more into potential expansion for M life Rewards shortly.
What Will Happen?
This extension of MGM Resorts to Atlantic City and New Jersey has implications for both online gamblers and sports bettors. Borgata’s online casino is one of the best and most profitable in New Jersey. It will be interesting to see if MGM Resorts can keep Borgata online gambling on top of the competition in New Jersey. More curious to Las Vegas will be if, when and how MGM Resorts will extend their online gambling platform in Nevada. Right now poker is the only legal online game in Nevada so MGM Resorts might look to the gaming board to expand those offerings to other casino games like video poker, slots and table games.
When (not if) sports betting is legalized in New Jersey the playMGM app will be ready to make MGM Resorts one of the biggest players in the state. William Hill already has roots to set up sports wagering operations in New Jersey starting with a sports book at Monmouth Park. PlayMGM will allow MGM Resorts to be a nationally recognized competitor one of the larger states for illegal sports betting.
MGM National Harbor will open just south of Baltimore and Washington, DC before the year is over. The casino is already promoting that this will be a part of M life Rewards. When MGM Springfield opens in 2018, M life Rewards will have as much of a grip on east coast casino customers as Caesars Entertainment’s Total Rewards has today. The growth of M life Rewards on the east coast could make for big business in Las Vegas.
This has been a busy year for MGM Resorts in Las Vegas and around the country. The company seems poised for a major growth spurt in the next few years and it’s only just beginning. Keep on the lookout for more MGM Resorts news in the near future.
Update 6/3: MGM Resorts just announced that their rebrand of Monte Carlo will be more upscale. You can read the press release here.
Other casino news you might find interesting:
Getting The Best Out Of The New M Life MasterCard
The Evolution Of The Cosmopolitan Of Las Vegas
How To Get The Cheapest Flights To Las Vegas
Palms To Become A Station Casinos Property Later This Year
Las Vegas | New Themed Casino Set To Open Later This Year
Las Vegas | Boyd Gaming Purchases Three Casinos
Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.
