CEO and PRESIDENT
MGM Resorts
CHAIRPERSON and EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MGM China
POWER SCORE: 952
POSITION LAST YEAR: 21
CLAIMS TO FAME
- On the opening team of The Mirage alongside Steve Wynn
- Has continued “asset light” strategy started by predecessor Jim Murren
IT’S BEEN just over a year since Bill Hornbuckle replaced Jim Murren as MGM Resorts CEO and President and he has certainly wasted no time making the position his own.
Landing in the hotseat in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, his first priority was to shore up MGM’s liquidity position, which he achieved via the sale of the company’s stake in MGM Growth Properties for around US$7 billion and its 50% share in CityCenter, Las Vegas.
Those extra funds will likely come in handy in Japan, where the company was recently confirmed as Osaka’s preferred partner to develop an integrated resort, pending approval from the central government in 2022.
MGM and its local consortium partner ORIX are estimating a total development cost of US$10 billion in Osaka, although Hornbuckle said during a recent earnings call that he expects MGM’s initial contribution to total no more than US$2.5 billion.
Assuming Osaka is given the green light to proceed, as expected, MGM Resorts will become the only casino operator with an IR in any of Japan’s major metropolitan cities – cementing its presence as a major player in Asia given its existing assets in Macau.
That completes quite the journey for Hornbuckle, who has risen from an 18-year-old bartender and busboy at Las Vegas’ Jockey Club to the very top of the global gaming tree.
For the full list of 2021 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
