MGM Mirage plans multibillion-dollar Atlantic City resort-casino

US gaming giant MGM Mirage announced plans Wednesday for a major resort-casino project in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with an investment of up to five billion dollars plus land costs.

The MGM Grand, which will become the largest casino in Atlantic City, will be located at the Renaissance Pointe site owned by the company, adjacent to the 50 percent-owned Borgata resort-casino.

The proposed resort at Atlantic City, considered the second most important US gambling center after Las Vegas, will consist of three separate hotel towers with over 3,000 rooms and suites.

The company said it would include the largest casino floor in Atlantic City with 5,000 slot machines, 200 table games and a large poker room. It also will feature a 1,500-seat theater, restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues and shops, along with a convention center.

"Our company has carefully considered the possibilities for our landholdings in Atlantic City," said Terry Lanni, chairman and chief executive of MGM Mirage.

"We believe the success at Borgata demonstrates the eagerness for further evolution of the nation's second-largest gaming market. We will continue to raise the bar, and by doing so, hope to re-energize the city's resort offerings and attract a new market of affluent East Coast customers. We believe our new resort will generate very healthy returns for our shareholders," Lanni said.

The company intends to seek reviews and permits in late 2007 or early 2008, with groundbreaking expected some time next year and the opening expected in 2012.