TheStreet sees MGM pressing a point

Was there an issue underlying the timing of MGM Mirage's announcement last week that it would build a $5 billion resort in Atlantic City?

TheStreet.com reported the company was using the announcement to pressure New Jersey gaming regulators to speed approval of the company's relationship with its joint-venture partner in a $1.1 billion resort in Macau.

New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement has yet to report on the probity assessment of Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho, the daughter of Macau casino kingpin Stanley Ho, whose gambling halls are alleged to have ties to Chinese organized crime triads. MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho plan to open the 600-room MGM Grand Macau at the end of the year.

Nevada and Mississippi gaming regulators approved the relationship this year.

TheStreet.com quoted a gaming insider saying MGM Mirage dangled potentially Atlantic City's largest resort to help push the process forward. Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner, in a note to investors, speculated the announcement could motivate New Jersey authorities.

MGM Mirage Vice President Gordon Absher said the two matters aren't connected.

"The regulatory issue is not germane to the discussion of our Atlantic City project," he said.

Ownership of the controversial Minxx Gentleman's Club said it was seeking an application for a gaming license to install slot machines inside the topless bar. Nevada gaming regulators said there is nothing in state law that would prohibit slot machines at strip clubs, but few applications have surfaced in recent years.

Waste Recovery, which has shares traded on the Pink Sheets, said gaming could add up to $2 million annually to the bottom line of Minxx, which found itself in headlines during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February.

Law enforcement accused Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones and two companions of attacking and threatening employees inside Minxx shortly before someone opened fire outside the club and wounded three people, including a bouncer, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

Baton Rouge, La., officials approved Pinnacle Entertainment's request to place the company's $250 million casino development plan on the city's Feb. 9 ballot ... Supporters of referendums that would nullify four large California tribal gaming compacts submitted more than 700,000 signatures to qualify the matter on the Feb. 5 ballot .... Mississippi's Highway 90 bridge in Biloxi, Miss., that connects the casino community with towns to the east and Alabama, opens Nov. 1, two years after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Review-Journal gaming and tourism writers Howard Stutz, Benjamin Spillman and Arnold M. Knightly. Send your tips about the gaming and tourism industry to insidegaming@reviewjournal.com.