This morning, Real Estate Alert published a story saying that MGM Resorts International and Dubai World had liquidated Crystals, the high-end retail mall at CityCenter, to Simon Property Partnership. The transaction was valued at $1.1 billion and change, which means 
that MGM CEO Jim Murren got a nice little markup on his desired $1 billion sale price. Of the deal, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli wrote, “If the transaction is completed, while there is economic value creation … we think the impact on sentiment could be more meaningful. In short, MGM has talked about selling non-core assets for several years now. With the profit growth plan in place and showing its merit in results, the sale of Crystals would further reinforce the theme of management delivering on its promises to the market. We think this could go a long way in changing the, what we believe to be, negative sentiment towards the name in the current market environment.” Santarelli’s JP Morgan counterpart, Joseph Greff also opined that the sale could have a positive effect on “mispriced” MGM stock.
MGM’s share of the proceeds could make a nice dent in its nearly $13 billion in long-term debt. However, the company is so expansion-minded of late that we wouldn’t be surprised to see the money invested elsewhere.
* Even online-gaming pundits are skeptical that California i-poker could gross enough to finance the $60 million slush fund for the horseracing industry which is part of a last-minute bill to legalize cyber poker in the Golden State. It’s difficult to feel optimism about the legislation’s prospects — not so long as the Pechanga and Agua Caliente bands want a “bad actor” (read: PokerStars) ban and not so long as tribes like the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, relative newcomers to gaming, balk at a provision that 
requires participating tribes to have been operating a casino for at least seven years. (Graton has been doing it for five.) At least the United Auburn Indian Community has flipped from the anti-PokerStars to pro-PokerStars camp. California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman Steve Stallings is vaguely supportive of some form of i-poker legalization. But California Online Poker‘s Steve Ruddock says, “For instance, even with a 15 percent tax on gross gaming revenue, the state’s tax revenue cut would be about $32.25 million in Year 1,” hardly the kind of numbers that are going to see horsey set collect its 60 mil.
California’s card rooms, meanwhile, are reeling from a California Bureau of Gambling Control edict that new games which are house-banked will no longer be permitted. Technically, players are offered the opportunity to rotate the dealer position. Few, however, take advantage of this, leading to the rise of the “third party proposition player.” Tribal casinos have contended that this creates a conflict of interest for the card room and that the proposition player has taken the place of the traditional rake. “Because a card room establishment cannot bank its own games, it contracts with a third party to act as an independent contractor to provide the service,” said a CBGC official. Don’t expect existing games to be shut down, but heavy new reporting requirements could be the card clubs’ burden.
* Did you know that slot magnate Len Ainsworth built his first “pokie” machine using spare parts from his dental-supply business?
