MGM Mirage City Center opens flagship casino-hotel

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - With fireworks and fanfare, MGM Mirage opened Wednesday night, Aria, the hotel-casino flagship of the $ 8.5 billion CityCenter development by thousands of rooms high-end - overproduction hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. MGM and Dubai World City Center Partners, banks - with its clean lines and modern - the visitors are willing and able to provide this level of salary as an incentive-the-art rooms and extras such as spa services, restaurants to celebrity chef restaurants and shopping at Tiffany's and Gucci. However, comes the brilliant complex of the "starchitects", such as Cesar Pelli and Daniel Libeskind designed the casino operator in Las Vegas, prices of hotel rooms and lowered offer discounted packages to attract companies in a weak economy. MGM executives say they believe the success of long-term project. "We believe that Las Vegas is a better place now a different place today," Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said at a press conference to celebrate the opening. Bobby Baldwin, CityCenter's President and CEO, said he is not afraid to reporters before the opening of the massive property that during a recession, because the companies time to inevitable on The Kinks are operations work. The specter of a price war for more than 6,000 hotel rooms will be City Center's cause, but has some Wall Street analysts worried. "New features have more of an opportunity to expand the customer base of Las Vegas has been considered," said Majestic Research, Matt Jacob. "But unfortunately we have yet to see declines in the markets ahead of the launch of City Center." As covered by a museum of modern art "Aria 4004 hotel rooms, over 150,000 square feet of casino space and surfaces with stone, wood and metal. It houses 10 bars and nightclubs, 16 restaurants and a new Cirque du Soleil together with the name "Viva Elvis" with interpretations of King's life and music - from gospel-tinged numbers as Elvis acrobatic superhero. Two "boutique" hotel at City Center opened earlier this month: a 47-storey Mandarin Oriental and 1500, non-smoking rooms Vdara. The Crystals Mall shops and restaurants is now open for a few weeks. Veer Towers condominiums is only the beginning of next year, and the Harmon Hotel will open later in 2010. "I think it's wonderful," said Monique crystals gin, a visitor from San Francisco, the multi-angle. "It's like walking into a museum of modern art." Aria and the surrounding of high rise hotels and apartments - an original idea Murren - is sufficiently different kind of Las Vegas about sequins, fake pyramids, volcano kane a gondola. "It's just not my cup of tea," said Chris Thompson of the unique design of City Center's shopping area is. Could not afford She and her husband, visiting from Toronto, usually stays at Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Paris Las Vegas have been, but reserved for the namesake property Wynn Resorts Ltd., since "it was a good business not to come. Pelli, Aria said his company is developing City Center's main asset is that he is not bound by a theme. "At first, an issue that seems to enhance the project, but it is actually a millstone. There are things you can do, he said an interview. Some analysts wonder whether the 67-acre Tower City Center's - covered with glass and dotted with sculptures and fountains - enough to draw new visitors to the Gaza Gaza. "I think that City Center will be a challenge for MGM and the market," said Jacob Majestic Research. "It's a while before we see these bonuses (hotel) prices are a major driver of growth would have Las Vegas earlier this decade." Inferior rank properties already feeling the impact. The band's 57-year-old Sahara on Tuesday would improve two of the three laps from the market. Binion's Gambling Hall closed near Hotels in Downtown Las Vegas on Monday all of its 365 rooms, citing weak demand. Fort exploit MGM came close to default earlier this year, while Dubai's World, an investment company in the Persian Gulf emirate, the creditors asked last month reached a standstill at 26 billion U.S. dollars debt. Fellow emirate of Abu Dhabi Monday with an injection of 10 billion U.S. Dollar evil. Dubai World would not affect the City Center, whose financing is already available, said a source familiar with the matter Wednesday that the Middle East does not sell on the basis of firm intention to either of its 50 percent stake CityCenter and MGM's stock. William Grounds, president and COO of The Real Estate Group by Dubai World, said CityCenter "change the landscape of Las Vegas" and "is destined to join the pantheon of great urban icon. "Because the project is an 50:50-joint venture companies could profit nine MGM CityCenter sucked everything out of the Las Vegas Strip resort property - such as Bellagio, Mandalay Bay or MGM Grand." The good thing for the stock that expectations are relatively low, "Sterne Agee analyst David Bain said MGM. MGM shares ended the day unchanged at $ 10.35 on the NYSE. The stock has fallen around 24 percent this year . (Reporting by Deena Beasley, editing by Carol Bishopric, Dave Zimmerman and Andre Grenon)