Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | January 2013 34 FEATURES I t’s a safe bet there will never be a more challenging time to take the reins of a Las Vegas-based gaming company than December 2008, but that’s when JimMurren found himself as the new chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International after 10 years at the company. Having championed the US$8.5 billion CityCenter project which was at the time seen as potentially detrimental to the company’s very survival, Mr Murren could have been forgiven for feeling snakebit, but in addition to his own considerable talents he had the support of someone who was intimately acquainted with overcoming hardship: company founder and now director emeritus Kirk Kerkorian, who grew up dirt poor in the Depression, delivered Canadian bombers to the Royal Air Force in World War II, missions that were known as suicide runs, and had navigated every other economic crisis and disaster since. Mr Kerkorian would telephone Mr Murren to talk about the business, but every call would start with the essential questions: How are you; how is your wife; and did you get your exercise in this morning? “He would call, speak briefly, calmly, unemotionally but with tremendous empathy in his voice; I know what it meant to my wife, Heather, and what it meant to me,” said Mr Murren. “That was the strongest outside influence that we had, particularly poignant when you’re going through that sort of time when everyone in the world has gotanopinion—everyarmchairquarterback, everybanker, every analyst, every consultant, every lawyer, every competitor, client and customer. They all know better than you and they all have a view as to what you should do and they’re all shouting over one another to get their point across. Cutting through all that like a razor was a very clear message that was calm, concise and consistent. And that was Kirk Kerkorian, and because of that, many rash decisions were avoided, many impulsive thoughts were eliminated and reason prevailed. He got us through this. I was the person that people saw a lot. But, in my opinion, it was Kirk Kerkorian who got us through the recession.” With City Center now on firm financial footing and Las Vegas in recovery mode, Mr Murren’s growing list of accomplishments as chairman and CEO of MGM came into full focus this year. Under his leadership, the company has continued to distinguish itself as the gaming industry leader in corporate social responsibility; reinvested and revitalized its Las Vegas Strip properties; built a first-rate loyalty program in M Life; won a land concession in Macau where it plans to build its second property, MGM Cotai; and launched MyVegas.com , a social gaming site that is attracting over 400,000 players a month. MGM also spread its North American developmental efforts to Toronto, Massachusetts and Maryland, where the company invested in and won an important political victory last month when Question 7, which provides for a new casino in Prince Roaring Back Jim Murren has fortified MGM Resorts International and positioned it for a new era of post-recession growth By Charles Anderer