MGM Mirage And Mandalay Resort Group Finalize Merger
Ten months after announcing the biggest merger in gaming history, it's finally a done deal. The south end of the resort corridor is now almost exclusively under the control of MGM-Mirage. MGM finalized its eight billion dollar merger with Mandalay Resorts today. Both companies promise it will payoff for customers, but some employees have already wound up on the losing end. News 3's Gerard Ramalho reports about the layoffs, and how much of an impact the merger will have on Las Vegas , a lot of that remains to be seen. It's unlikely any changes will be noticeable to the public. We do know more about who is getting laid off, but there are still some employee concerns. Regardless, MGM-Mirage is now the largest gaming company in the world. Once arch-rivals, these hotel-casinos are now officially part of the same family. After months of waiting for approval from gaming regulators, the deal is now complete. The new corporation will have 28 casinos world-wide, including 11 on the Las Vegas strip. It will control about half or 75,000 strip hotel rooms. Back in June when News 3 first reported the buy-out, at least some employees were concerned about their futures. " Mandalay Bay is such a nice hotel and we really don't want to be taken over by someone that just wants the money and is going to come in and make a lot of changes that we've been so used to." But MGM promises hotel guests aren't likely to notice any changes at all. As for job security, all but approximately 100-former Mandalay group managers will get to keep their current positions. Still some locals worry about what this could mean for employees. "If someone has a problem at a hotel, now they're going to have a problem everywhere on the strip. If you get laid off, that limits all the properties you can go to." Analysts believe the merger will benefit investors more than employees or customers. And some worry no real competition gives the house an unfair advantage. "It's just a conglomeration. It's just... too big."Well, people had better get used to it. Another, even bigger deal is in the works. By June the merger between Harrahs and Caesar's is expected to be complete.
2005-04-12
