• MGM Mirage sets Macau expansion with $1.06 billion project

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Casino operator MGM Mirage (MGM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday announced expansion plans for a casino resort it is building in Macau and said it has secured $700 million in financing for the project. The announcement -- along with a study last week predicting strong growth in Macau in 2006 -- helped boost shares in U.S. gaming companies with interests in the Chinese territory, analysts said. The shares in Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) were up more than 5 percent in late trading, followed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), up about 4 percent, and MGM Mirage, up about 3 percent. The SIG Casino Gaming Index as a whole was up about 1.4 percent. MGM Mirage said MGM Grand Macau -- which it expects to cost a total of about $1.06 billion and open in 2007 -- will now have a larger casino and a new entertainment venue and hotel atrium. It said a group of eight financial institutions has committed to financing the project, a joint venture between the casino operator and Pansy Ho Chiu-king, managing director of a Hong Kong-based conglomerate. Larry Klatzkin, analyst at Jefferies, said the gaming companies' shares were gaining on the announcement, as MGM's plans showed increased confidence in the Macau market. He said Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands had gained more than MGM Mirage because they were expected to become more dependent on revenues from Macau, with a majority of their earnings deriving from the casino resort by 2008. "MGM will still be concentrated in Las Vegas," he said. "Macau is a good thing for MGM, but it is still going to be a small part of their company." William Schmitt, analyst at CIBC World Markets, said the gain was also related to news last week about expected growth in the former Portuguese enclave that has become a gambling destination for mainland Chinese tourists. Las Vegas-based consultant Globalysis said in a report last week that casino revenues in Asia would increase 20 percent to $13 billion in 2006, led by growth in the Macau gaming industry. Wynn's shares were up $3.17, or 5.9 percent, to $57.21 in late trading. Las Vegas Sands was trading up $1.82, or 4.4 percent, to $43.42. MGM was up $1.06, or 2.9 percent, to $37.65.

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