MGM Mirage has announced that they will be building a $4.5 to $5 billion casino complex in Atlantic City. The complex will have the largest casino floor in the state, a poker room, a 3,000 room hotel facility, a 1,500 seat theatre, restaurants, spa, and a convention center. The complex will be built on the 72 acre property neighboring the Borgata, which the MGM equally owns with Boyd Gaming. Awaiting regulatory approval, MGM Mirage plans on break ground next year and opening the complex sometime in 2012.
With MGM Mirage’s announcement this will put more pressure on the already competitive Atlantic City market. Since the Borgata opened in 2003, it has prospered even at the expense of other older Atlantic City’s casinos properties. To try to compete with the Borgata, many casino companies have invested in renovation and expansion projects for their casinos.
In the past few years, Donald Trump has spent $225 million in renovations on all the rooms in his three Atlantic City casinos. Next year his company will spend another $250 million to add a second tower and more rooms to the Taj Mahal Casino Resort. The Tropicana Casino Resort has recently spent $15 million renovating its South Tower rooms and they opened a new nightclub. Pinnacle Entertainment is also doing some new things. First they are going to implode the former Sands Casino Hotel later this month. Then they plan on replacing it with a $2 billion casino resort on 18 adjacent oceanfront acres by 2011.
In February, Harrah’s revealed its first phase of their $500 million expansion project in Atlantic City. The remaining phases are to be completed next year, including what was to be the largest tower in Atlantic City. They will hold that title for only a couple years because MGM Mirage’s hotel tower will be taller.