MGM Resorts International Profile
MGM Resorts International (MGM Resorts), through its subsidiaries, operates as a global gaming and entertainment company.
The company has domestic and international locations featuring hotels and casinos, meeting and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings, and sports betting and online gaming operations.
The company operates several of the finest casino properties in the world.
The company operates domestic casino properties, and through its 56% controlling interest in MGM China Holdings Limited (together with its subsidiaries, ‘MGM China’), which owns MGM Grand Paradise, S.A. (‘MGM Grand Paradise’), operate casino properties in Macau. The company also has global online gaming operations through the company’s consolidated subsidiary LV Lion Holding Limited (‘LeoVegas’) and the company’s unconsolidated 50% owned venture, BetMGM, LLC (‘BetMGM’). The company also has a 50% ownership interest in Osaka IR KK, an unconsolidated affiliate, which plans to develop an integrated resort in Osaka, Japan.
The company leases the real estate assets of its domestic properties pursuant to triple-net lease agreements.
As part of that business strategy, the company has sought and executed on opportunities to invest in the company’s growth areas, divest the company’s real estate assets, and acquire, or enter into venture transactions, with respect to online gaming and the operations of integrated casino, hotel, and entertainment properties.
Resort Operations
The company’s primary casino and hotel operations are owned and managed by the company. The company also leases space to third-party retail and food and beverage operators, particularly for branding opportunities.
As of December 31, 2023, the company had three reportable segments: Las Vegas Strip Resorts, Regional Operations, and MGM China.
Las Vegas Strip Resorts and Regional Operations
Las Vegas Strip Resorts. Las Vegas Strip Resorts consists of the following casino resorts: Aria (including Vdara) (upon its acquisition in September 2021), Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (‘The Cosmopolitan’) (upon its acquisition in May 2022), MGM Grand Las Vegas (including The Signature), Mandalay Bay (including Delano and Four Seasons), The Mirage (until its disposition in December 2022), Luxor, New York-New York (including The Park), Excalibur, and Park MGM (including NoMad Las Vegas).
Regional Operations. Regional Operations consists of the following casino properties: MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit, Michigan; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi; Gold Strike Tunica in Tunica, Mississippi (until its disposition in February 2023); Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey; MGM National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland; MGM Springfield in Springfield, Massachusetts; Empire City in Yonkers, New York; and MGM Northfield Park in Northfield Park, Ohio.
Over half of the net revenue from the company’s Las Vegas Strip Resorts is typically derived from non-gaming operations, including hotel, food and beverage, entertainment and other non-gaming amenities and the majority of the net revenue from the company’s Regional Operations is typically derived from gaming operations. The company’s long-term strategy continues to be to market to different customers and utilize the company’s significant convention and meeting facilities to allow the company to maximize hotel occupancy and customer volumes, which also leads to better labor utilization.
The company’s casino operations feature a variety of slots and table games. In addition, the company provides its premium players access to high-limit rooms and lounge experiences where players may enjoy an upscale atmosphere.
MGM China
The company owns approximately 56% of MGM China, which owns MGM Grand Paradise, the Macau company that owns and operates the MGM Macau and MGM Cotai casino resorts and holds the related gaming concession and land concessions. The company’s ownership interest in MGM China plays an important role in extending the company’s reach internationally and will foster future growth and profitability. Although visitation during 2021 and 2022 was significantly reduced by the novel 2019 coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, visitation during 2023 rebounded, and the company expects the long-term future growth of the Asian gaming market to drive additional visitation at MGM Macau and MGM Cotai.
The company’s MGM China operations relate to MGM Macau and MGM Cotai. MGM China’s revenues are generated primarily from gaming operations, which are conducted under a gaming concession held by MGM Grand Paradise, a subsidiary of MGM China.
Corporate and Other
The company has additional business activities, including LeoVegas, the company’s investments in unconsolidated affiliates, including BetMGM, and certain other corporate and management operations.
Customers
Las Vegas Strip Resorts and Regional Operations
The company’s customers include premium gaming customers; leisure and wholesale travel customers; business travelers, and group customers, including conventions, trade associations, and small meetings. The company has a diverse portfolio of properties, which appeal to the upper end of each market segment and also cater to leisure and value-oriented tour and travel customers. Many of the company’s properties have significant convention and meeting space, which the company utilizes to drive business to its properties during midweek and off-peak periods.
MGM China
The Macau gaming market has historically had three primary customer bases: VIP gaming operations, main floor gaming operations and slot machine operations. VIP gaming at MGM China is conducted through the use of special purpose nonnegotiable gaming chips. The nonnegotiable chips allow the company to track the amount of wagering conducted to determine VIP gaming play. VIP commissions are based on a percentage of rolling chip turnover and are recorded as a reduction of casino revenue. Main floor players do not receive commissions. The company has focused its business on main floor gaming operations. The majority of MGM China's casino revenue has been provided by main floor gaming operations in recent years and the company expects this customer base will be the primary source of growth in the future. The company offers amenities to attract players, such as premium gaming lounges and stadium-style electronic table games terminals, which include both table games and slots to create a dedicated exclusive gaming space for premium main floor players’ use, as well as non-gaming amenities, such as The Mansion and MGM Cotai Emerald Villa to attract ultra-high end customers.
Marketing
The company’s marketing efforts are conducted through various means, including its loyalty programs. The company advertises on radio, television, internet and billboards and in newspapers and magazines in selected cities throughout the United States and overseas, as well as by direct mail, email and through the use of social media. The company also advertises through its regional marketing offices located in major U.S. and foreign cities. The company’s direct marketing efforts utilize advanced analytic techniques that identify customer preferences and help predict future customer behavior, allowing the company to make more relevant offers to customers, influence incremental visits, and help build lasting customer relationships.
MGM Rewards, the company’s customer loyalty program, is a tiered program and allows customers to qualify for benefits across the company’s participating properties and in both gaming and non-gaming areas, encouraging customers to keep their total spend within the company’s casino properties. As members advance through tiers, a host of member benefits are unlocked, including priority access, exclusive events and experiences, and the opportunity to redeem MGM Rewards for hotel stays, food and beverage, and other MGM Resorts experiences. The company also offers the Golden Lion Club for gaming focused customers, in addition to M life, at MGM China. The structured rewards systems based on member value and tier level ensure that customers can progressively access the full range of services that the properties provide. The company’s loyalty programs focus on building a rewarding relationship with the company’s customers, encouraging members to increase both visitation and spend.
Strategy
The company strives to be a leader in the global gaming, entertainment and hospitality industry that delivers extraordinary entertainment across a portfolio of properties in the United States and Macau. The quality of the company’s properties and amenities is evidenced by the company’s success in winning numerous awards, both domestic and globally, including several Four and Five Diamond designations from the American Automobile Association, multiple Four and Five Star designations from Forbes Travel Guide and numerous certifications of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.
The company’s strategic plan that centers on various pillars, including:
Customer-Centric Model. Leverage a customer-centric model reinforced by a strong brand and deep customer insights to provide unmatched entertainment experiences for the company’s guests and drive top-line growth.
Gaming Entertainment. Innovate the company’s gaming entertainment product to drive continued premium offering and competitive differentiation. Distribute the company’s product offering to serve the broadest total addressable market possible.
Operational Excellence. Enhancement of digital capabilities to strengthen customer loyalty.
The strategic plan was developed with the intent to regularly revisit, measure, and reevaluate for emerging opportunities.
The company regularly evaluates targeted opportunities that provide an attractive return on investment in domestic and international markets, including the ownership, management and operation of gaming and non-gaming facilities and accessing new markets for iGaming and online sports betting. The company also leverages its management expertise and well-recognized brands through strategic partnerships and international expansion opportunities.
The company continues to maximize the benefits of the company’s operating model by driving optimization of the company’s Centers of Excellence and enabling best in class operations through adjustments within corporate and property business units. In addition, the company has implemented several improvement initiatives consisted of labor, sourcing, and revenue programs that have further improved the company’s operating model and have positioned the company as a stronger company.
The company has continued to focus on its key growth opportunities of developing an integrated resort in Japan, investing in BetMGM, investing in international digital opportunities, and exploring a full-scale commercial gaming opportunity in New York. In Japan, Osaka IR KK signed an agreement with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City in September 2023 to implement an Area Development Plan (‘ADP’) for the development of an integrated resort in Osaka, Japan.
As it relates to BetMGM, BetMGM is well-positioned as a long-term leader in online sports betting and iGaming. As part of the company’s commitment to the success of BetMGM, the company has integrated its MGM Rewards program with BetMGM and have BetMGM branded on-property sportsbooks and kiosks to drive higher value customers at lower acquisition costs through a robust omni-channel strategy. The company expanded its international digital presence in August 2023 when the company launched the BetMGM brand in the U.K., leveraging the technology of LeoVegas. The company seeks to further expand the BetMGM and LeoVegas brands into other geographies over time.
Internationally, in the United Arab Emirates (‘UAE’), the company has a non-gaming management agreement with Wasl Hospitality to bring the Bellagio, Aria, and MGM Grand brands to Dubai. With the UAE’s establishment of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, tasked with creating a regulatory framework for commercial gaming in the UAE, the company is encouraged by the potential opportunity for gaming expansion in Dubai.
Responsible Gaming
MGM Resorts has woven responsible gaming and gambling education into the fabric of the company’s world-class gaming experiences and premier guest service. The company offers a variety of resources throughout its properties, with the MGM Rewards Desk acting as the central hub for the company’s responsible gaming program, GameSense. GameSense is an industry-leading, enterprise-wide program that aligns responsible gambling policies with enhanced guest service and education. It is designed to promote positive play experiences and help guests and employees make informed gaming decisions. All MGM Resorts employees receive training to reinforce the company’s commitment and approach to responsible gaming.
Intellectual Property
The company’s principal intellectual property consists of trademarks for, among others, Aria, Vdara, Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan, Borgata, Mandalay Bay, MGM, MGM Grand, MGM Resorts International, Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, Park MGM, Beau Rivage, Empire City, and LeoVegas, all of which have been registered or allowed in various classes in the United States and foreign jurisdictions around the world, as applicable. In addition, the company has registered or applied to register numerous other trademarks, such as The Mirage, in connection with the company’s properties, facilities and development projects in the United States and in various other foreign jurisdictions. These trademarks are brand names under which the company markets its properties and services.
Government Regulation and Licensing
The company’s businesses are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations affecting businesses in general. These laws and regulations include, but are not limited to, restrictions and conditions concerning alcoholic beverages, smoking, employees, currency transactions, taxation, zoning and building codes (including regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires all public accommodations to meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by persons with disabilities), construction, land use and marketing and advertising.
In addition, the company is subject to certain federal, state and local environmental laws, regulations and ordinances, including the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation Recovery Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
History
MGM Resorts International, a Delaware corporation, was incorporated in 1986.
