A troubled Las Vegas casino complex has caused a ruckus between a leading Dubai investor and one of America’s largest casino developers is being bitterly fought out in the courtrooms.
Dubai World is asking the courts to free it from payments and obligations under a partnership deal with MGM Mirage. It blames MGM for massive cost overruns for the City Centre development. MGM estimated the complex would cost $10.74 (US $7.48) billion, but the price tag has since jumped to $12.35 (US $8.6) billion despite parts of the project being minimised to reduce costs.
MGM is attributing the cost overruns to a “plunge in Las Vegas gambling and tourism revenues” and less interest from financiers to invest with the economic crisis.
The project has recruited eight acclaimed architects to create and define 1,200 feet of frontage on the Las Vegas Strip. The design builds on developments by New York’s Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn (EEK) Architects, and is hailed as one of the most ambitious developments ever conceived.
The design has been described as a ‘city within a city’, with its own fire station, on-site power plant, and parking and pedestrian space. It will comprise a 61-storey casino, 2,000 seat theatre, and include $40 million worth of modern sculptures and installations by world-famous artists.
The project will employ 8,000 construction workers and use 39 cranes throughout its construction and create 12,000 new permanent positions when it opens.
