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Gambling giant MGM Mirage is planning a new mega-resort with 4,000 rooms in the heart of the Las Vegas strip and extensive urban development, a project that will dramatically change the landscape of the city's most important commercial hub.

MGM Mirage officials are calling the ambitious plan the "Project City Center," and they believe it will help transform Las Vegas into a sophisticated, multidimensional city that rivals other major metropolises.

"Our master plan presents a significant new direction for our city and our company," said Terry Lanni, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage Inc.

The multibillion-dollar project includes three 400-room boutique hotels, an approximately 550,000-square-foot retail store, dining and entertainment venues, and a 1,650-unit luxury condominium complex.

The large-scale development will be built on a 66-acre site between Bellagio and Monte Carlo hotel casinos, with the first phase creating 12,000 jobs when completed in 2010.

Over the next 18 months, MGM Mirage will select master architects and select residential and hotel partners.
MGM Mirage president and chief financial officer Jim Murren said that once completed, it could become the largest private investment development in the country.

With this announcement, MGM Mirage has solved the question of where to build the company's next highly anticipated hotel casino. MGM Mirage has been discussing building mega resorts in Atlantic City or Las Vegas, which has been a huge success since 2003 with its unprecedented popularity that has helped gambling companies reap dizzying returns. The city is expected to record 37 million visitors this year.

Gambling experts reacted cautiously to MGM Mirage's announcement, which was expected on Wednesday.
"It's out of the box for MGM," said John Mulkey, a gambling analyst at Bear Stearns in New York. "They've been more aggressive buyers than developers in the past, but doing something impressive with this land certainly seems to be within their reach."

Like this city, MGM Mirage will soon undergo tremendous changes.

Lanni said the $4.8 billion merger with Mandalay Resort Group Inc is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2005.

The deal is awaiting government approval and will be the second-largest gambling company in the world. The company is currently held by Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

The MGM Mirage scheme is the third mega resort. Las Vegas Sands has begun construction on Palacho, a $1.6 billion hotel casino that is scheduled to open in 2007. It is across the street from Steve Wynn's latest gambling temple, Win Las Vegas, which costs $2.7 billion and is scheduled to open on Apr. 28.

MGM Mirage shares closed down 78 cents at $58.92 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, close to a 52-week trading range of $34.05 to $60.07.