With the projected opening of CityCenter just nine months away, MGM Mirage is trying desperately to line up the final funding and refinancing for loans already granted for the project, which some estimate to be as expensive as $11 billion.

In an SEC filing last month, the company warned that it could declare bankruptcy unless better terms were negotiated on over $13 billion in debt.

In the filing, the company declared: “If (MGM Mirage) is unable to negotiate such a waiver or amendment, a majority of the lenders under the senior credit facility could accelerate repayment of borrowings and cross defaults could be triggered.”

The company is also seeking the final $1.2 billion that will complete CityCenter. There was some hope that discussions would incorporate the adjacent Cosmopolitan into CityCenter, with the property’s owner Deutsche Bank raising the final CityCenter capital. Those talks failed, however.

While MGM Mirage did not deny that it was considering sales of any of its assets, Alan Feldman, senior vice president of public affairs, pointed out that existing properties are profitable and that the expectations for CityCenter are equally as high. But the parent company is keeping its eye on the ball.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.