New York - Casino stocks surged Wednesday as heavyweight MGM Mirage reported funding commitments for its CityCenter project and investors jumped back into the sector as the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by half a percentage point. The casino sector has been struggling as consumers continue to curb spending due to the ongoing housing downturn, diminishing credit, rising food costs and recession worries. Some companies have also had to delay or cancel development projects due to funding difficulties.

Las Vegas (AP) -- Shares in MGM Mirage Inc. surged Tuesday after the company said it secured commitments for USD 1.65 billion of the final USD 3 billion in financing for its next major casino project on the Las Vegas Strip. The company said last week that a deal was delayed because of tight financial markets. Company officials had expected the deal to be in place in June or July, but on Tuesday said it would be done in the third quarter.

or some time, the folks at MGM Mirage have touted the fact that CityCenter – all 18 million square feet of it – will open at once by the end of 2009. While there may be one heck of a grand opening for the USD 9.2 billion city-within-a-city on the Strip, actual opening dates for the various buildings will differ. This week, CityCenter Chief Executive Bobby Baldwin revealed more specifics in an interview with the Sun.

CityCenter has revealed that its stunning resort casino, scheduled to open in late 2009, will be named ARIA Resort & Casino. It will immediately become the focal point not only of the Las Vegas skyline but of the hospitality industry. Opening late 2009, ARIA Resort & Casino at CityCenter will deliver an unprecedented combination of striking architecture, sustainable design, high-end service and spectacular amenities.

The cost to build MGM Mirage’s massive CityCenter development has cracked the USD 9 billion mark. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, MGM Mirage said the construction budget for CityCenter had increased to USD 9.2 billion, which includes capitalized interest. The casino operator had previously estimated CityCenter’s construction budget was between USD 8.1 billion and USD 8.4 billion.

In spite of the real state crisis which is being held in US, Mexicans have found an investment opportunity and, as a second residence buying properties in the most expensive mixed project of the country: "City Center" Las Vegas. It is a construction development which will require a total investment of USD 8 billion, which will combine a 4,000 room casino-resort, four residential towers which will totalize 2,700 residences and a top shopping center of 46 thousand sqm.

Dubai World on Friday disclosed that it’s taken its stake in MGM Mirage to 6.5%, buying a sliver of the interest held by billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who remains the dominant shareholder of Las Vegas-based casino hotel. According to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the investment arm of the Dubai government raised its holding in the casino operator from 4.9% by buying 5 million shares at USD 84.50 each from the Lincy Foundation, Kerkorian’s philanthropic vehicle.

The budget for Las Vegas’ most expensive construction project grew a little larger. MGM Mirage said building costs for the 30 hectare CityCenter development on the Strip had increased USD 400 million to USD 7.8 billion. The project includes a 4,000-room hotel-casino, four high-rise residential and condominium-hotels, and an entertainment, dining and retail district. MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni said the complexity of CityCenter, which required more steel and concrete than has been previously budgeted, was the reason for cost increase.

Las Vegas (AP) -- Casino giant MGM Mirage Inc. said Friday that it has raised the estimated cost of its CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip to USD 7.4 billion because of an increase in the overall size of the development. "In a project of the magnitude and complexity of CityCenter, variances are to be expected," Terry Lanni, company chairman and chief executive, said in a statement explaining the increase from USD 7 billion.