As reported by: Sapulpa Daily Herald
Casino giant MGM Mirage Inc. weathered the closure of its hurricane-battered resort in Mississippi to post a 31 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings Thursday.

Another Las Vegas-based gambling company, Wynn Resorts Ltd., announced a loss because of one-time charges it took in building a casino in Macau.

MGM, the world's second-largest casino company, said earnings grew to $97.8 million, or 33 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 3, compared with a year ago. Revenue rose 65 percent to $1.75 billion.

Excluding non-operating and one-time items, MGM said it earned 35 cents per share, beating Wall Street expectations of 33 cents per share on revenue of $1.74 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

MGM Chief Executive Terry Lanni noted the strong performances at Strip properties such as Mandalay Bay and Luxor, which the company acquired when it bought Mandalay Resort Group last April.

"We've only had them as part of our company for about seven, eight months now and we think there can be continued improvements," he said.

Revenue per available hotel room rose 8 percent to $152 in the quarter, even as the company added 11 percent, or 160,000 more room nights, on the Strip. The figure multiplies rooms by available nights.

Executives said the Beau Rivage casino resort in Biloxi, Miss. would be ready to reopen Aug. 29, a year after Hurricane Katrina forced it to close. Revenue from the resort was $204,000 in the quarter, compared with $77.1 million a year earlier.
Article By: Sapulpa Daily Herald