Inside Asian Gaming

January 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 35 FEATURES George’s County, was approved by voters, an achievement derived in no small part from MGM’s commitment to diversity and environmental sustainability. It is for these reasons, among many others, that Jim Murren was named Casino Journal ’s Executive of the Year for 2012. Betting on Vegas In the fall of 2011, as MGM does every year, Mr Murren led the company through a robust strategic planning process which culminated in a presentation of three Las Vegas-based initiatives to the board. To start, Mr Murren felt it was particularly important to invest in Las Vegas properties, particularly as the economy was sluggish but, even then, starting to show signs of improvement. “We felt if we waited until all the signs were there we would have missed an opportunity,” said Mr Murren. “We made a commitment to invest in Las Vegas in a very significant way.” The second initiative was to find ways to better engage customers through loyalty programs. MGM committed to invest a considerable amount of money in IT and marketing in 2012 in order to drive more frequency to its properties in Las Vegas and to improve return visits. The third Las Vegas initiative was to make its properties more accessible to customers and to one another; to drive cross-market and cross-property play. Las Vegas has shown growth in 2012 for the company. Convention business is up and visitor volume is up slightly. “People are spending a little bit more money when they visit us; they’re still value-conscious and I think that trend will continue into 2013,” said Mr Murren. “But they’re willing to invest in unique experiences, and that has been our focus. We have been able to drive not only convention revenues but non-gaming revenues in general through higher occupancies and room rates, higher food covers in our restaurants, and better entertainment and retail revenue. I think that trend will continue into next year and it will be stimulated by our own capital improvements.” MGM invested US$160 million into the rooms at MGM Grand, which has been “a big shot in the arm” for that property. Other noteworthy additions have been a new show at Aria (Cirque du Soleil’s “Zarkana”) and new restaurants such as Javier’s (Aria) and Hyde (Bellagio). “When you make that kind of commitment, customers know you care, that you want to be competitive and they respond with return visits,” said Mr Murren. Other soon-to-be-completed major programs including Hakkasan at the MGM (“the ultimate in restaurant nightlife lifestyle”); two other new restaurants at MGM; renovation of the entire casino floor; improvements at Bellagio with Spa Tower (a US$40 million room renovation) and a new private gaming area; and the Michael Jackson show at Mandalay Bay. As for City Center, Mr Murren said the project “started finding its legs” in a very difficult economy in 2010 and it has continued to improve. “Aria has become one of the pre-eminent luxury casino hotels in Las Vegas, both in terms of its hotel revenue and its gaming revenue on the high end,” Mr Murren said. “It’s No. 1 in our system in terms of its slot revenue, and has become, through outside services likeAAAandMobil aswell as internal surveys, one of the best casino hotels in the world.” Under JimMurren’s guidance, MGM continues to explore expansion opportunities in the US, such as the development of a downtown casino in Springfield, Mass Despite the sluggish economy, Mr Murren invested in room renovations and upgrades at MGM Grand (pictured here) and other company resorts in Las Vegas