A week ago came the first inklings that the second-largest casino operator might be interested in buying a property from the world’s largest, as MGM Resorts International was showing interest in perhaps purchasing the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania from Las Vegas Sands. The Morning Call of Allentown was among the outlets reporting a week ago that Pennsylvania gaming officials had confirmed a deal was in the works and that Sands Bethlehem had already notified its employees of the possibility. Then on Wednesday came a follow-up report that a deal had been reached, with “an agreement in principle” having…

MGM Resorts has launched what it describes as the first real-money mobile gambling platform to be offered by a casino in the US. The easyPlay Mobile Tournaments platform, developed by mobile gaming technology company oneLIVE inc, allows guests at nine Las Vegas resorts to compete with other players in a variety of tournament games using their mobile devices or InteractivePro Tables located at MGM’s properties. MGM said scheduled tournaments will include slots, bingo and video poker as well as social, casual and console games. “The introduction of easyPLAY Mobile Tournaments at our MGM Resorts properties gives our guests an exciting,…

Murren’s comments came via an interview with News3LV in Las Vegas, in which he touched on a number of subjects. At the end, the interviewer broached the subject of online gambling; Murren spent more than four minutes talking about the issue, sometimes passionately. Loosely referencing the Sheldon Adelson-backed effort to ban online gambling at the federal level — the Restoration of America’s Wire Act — Murren once again dismissed the idea that prohibition is an effective way to deal with the issue: “People are gambling illegally online — Americans — right now,” Murren said. “We don’t know how old they…

Casino operator MGM Resorts International wants to build a $1b gaming venue in Atlanta, but serious obstacles remain. On Wednesday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that MGM was scouting suitable locations in downtown Atlanta for a complex that would feature a casino, a luxury hotel, a live entertainment venue and other non-gaming amenities. MGM spokesman Clark Dumont cautioned that MGM’s plans were only in “the very preliminary stages” but the company viewed Atlanta as a “beautiful market.” The market may be beautiful but it’s also completely inhospitable, as Georgia is one of a handful of US states that have yet…

Kirk Kerkorian, who made his name in Las Vegas when he built the International in 1969, has died. He was 98. Kerkorian’s death was confirmed Tuesday by MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas-based gaming company he founded in the early 1990s. Kerkorian, who turned 98 on June 6, was the largest shareholder in MGM Resorts. Anthony Mandekic, the chief executive of Kerkorian’s private investment company, Tracinda Corp., told the Los Angeles Times Kerkorian died Monday night at his home in Beverly Hills. Kerkorian invested in a number of industries during his career, including Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios, United Artists, even…

Shares of Las Vegas-based casino operator Wynn Resorts ended Thursday’s trading day up over 7%, making it TheStreet’s Move of the Day. The reason was merger speculation. TheStreet’s Jim Cramer, portfolio manager of the Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio, noted on CNBC there is speculation of a Wynn merger with Las Vegas-based competitor MGM Resorts International. Wynn’s first-quarter earnings, released in late April, included earnings per share of 70 cents, falling short of the consensus estimate. Revenue slumped almost 28% year over year to $1.09 billion. Revenue from Wynn’s Macau properties, a major casino hub in China, dropped nearly…