Dubai-backed casino giant narrows losses

MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas casino operator part-owned by Dubai World, has reported a narrower third-quarter loss after taking control of its Macau venture. The loss was $123.8m, the company said in a statement. That compares with a loss of $318m, a year earlier, which had writedowns in Atlantic City and in Vegas. Dubai World holds a 9.5 percent stake in MGM and is a joint partner in the Los Vegas-based CityCenter casino project. MGM Resorts won a lower than expected percentage of table bets on the Las Vegas Strip, where it has 10 casinos, according to Patrick Scholes, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. That probably led cash flow for the quarter, which rose 59 percent to $444m, to miss his estimate of $457m. The loss in the latest quarter included an impairment charge of $80m at MGM Resorts’ Circus Circus Reno, the company said. Revenue rose 43 percent to $2.23bn, beating the $2.21bn analysts expected. Property cash flow at wholly owned US casinos - measured as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda - rose 10 percent to $348m. MGM took an additional 1 percent stake in the Macau joint venture in June, acquiring control after partner Pansy Ho sold part of her holding in a $1.5bn Hong Kong initial public offering. Casino betting in the Chinese territory, the world’s biggest gambling market, surged 58 percent last year and 45 percent in the 10 months ended October 31.