MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts are both set for a pretty important week leading up to December 16 when the two companies face suitability hearings in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission set the Dec. 16 hearing to determine the state of the two companies’ business ties in Macau. Both MGM and Wynn have already won approval from their host communities so this meeting is shaping up to be a huge one for the two companies in their attempt to win two of the three casino licenses being dangled by the state.
For MGM, this hearing could be a déjà vu episode in light of what it had to go through in New Jersey back in 2010 when regulators deemed its partnership with Pansy Ho, the daughter of gambling czar Stanley Ho, ‘unsuitable’, causing MGM to divest its stake in an Atlantic City casino.
So this suitability hearing is a pretty big deal for both casino operators. Get the nod from the regulators and they’re one step closer to winning those coveted licenses. But be deemed unsuitable means that it’s back to the drawing board.
Despite rising to become the world’s undisputed gambling hub, Macau has attracted the attention of US regulators for suspicions that US companies doing business there are violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. That’s largely the reason why the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is holding this hearing as an attempt to ensure that both MGM and Wynn aren’t doing anything that can be deemed as illegal.
And for what it’s worth, the commission has taken to this background checks pretty seriously. Since becoming the first two companies to win approval from their host communities, the commission’s investigative arm has done exhaustive background checks on both MGM and Wynn. Next week’s meeting will likely have the final verdict on the companies’ suitability for the state and in essence, could make or break their chances of securing those licenses.
For their part, MGM and Wynn aren’t sweating out what the commission has learned in its background checks. The former, in particular, is confident that nothing unscrupulous will be unearthed from its dealings in the Chinese city.
“We are looking forward to that suitability hearing on Monday,” MGM Chief Executive James Murren said in an emailed statement to the Associated Press.
“I have every reason to expect that we will be found suitable.”
Gotta love the confidence, Jimmy, but with the way the commission has handled these casino applications in the past months, you and Steve should be careful about counting your chickens before those eggs hatch.
