MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International is the largest operator on the Las Vegas Strip by room count, running 10 properties with roughly 38,000 rooms between them. The company is also the protagonist of the Strip's "OpCo / PropCo" split: in a sequence of transactions from 2017 to 2023, MGM sold the real estate underneath nearly every one of its properties to VICI Properties — keeping the operating business while paying VICI rent in perpetuity. By the end of 2023, MGM owned almost none of the dirt it does business on.

The properties operate as a portfolio: Bellagio and Aria are the luxury anchors; MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay are the convention-and-concert beasts; Park MGM is the boutique; Luxor and Excalibur and NYNY are the mid-market themed properties; the Cosmopolitan (acquired May 2022 from Blackstone for $1.625B) is the newest addition.

Properties owned (10)

• Bellagio — Luxury anchor on the central Strip · MGM operates · VICI owns the dirt
• Aria Resort & Casino — CityCenter anchor · MGM · VICI (since 2022)
• Vdara Hotel & Spa — Non-gaming CityCenter tower · MGM · VICI
• MGM Grand Las Vegas — The largest single hotel in the United States · MGM · VICI
• Mandalay Bay — South-Strip convention & Shark Reef anchor · MGM · VICI
• Park MGM — Rebranded from Monte Carlo · MGM · VICI
• New York-New York — Manhattan-skyline themed mid-Strip · MGM · VICI
• Excalibur Hotel & Casino — Castle-themed value property · MGM · VICI
• Luxor Las Vegas — Pyramid-shaped south-Strip property · MGM · VICI
• The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — MGM operates (since 2022) · BREIT-Stonepeak-Cherng own the dirt

History

MGM's modern Strip dominance began with the Mandalay Resort Group acquisition (2005) and the construction of the CityCenter complex (Aria + Vdara, 2009). The 2016 spinoff of MGM Growth Properties (MGP) created the first dedicated MGM REIT; in April 2022, VICI Properties bought MGP outright for $17.2B, becoming MGM's landlord across the portfolio. In January 2023, VICI took 100% of MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay (buying out Blackstone's half for $1.27B). In May 2022, MGM also acquired operations of The Cosmopolitan from Blackstone — but the real estate stayed with a new consortium (BREIT, Stonepeak, Cherng Family Trust).

One Strip property MGM doesn't own anymore: the Mirage. MGM sold operations to Hard Rock International in 2022 for $1.075B; Hard Rock closed the property July 17, 2024 and is rebuilding it as a 42-story guitar-shaped tower (opens Q4 2027).

References

1. MGM Resorts 10-K filings, FY2024 / FY2025 — properties listed and rent payments disclosed. SEC EDGAR.
2. VICI-MGP merger announcement and close, April 2022 — $17.2B all-stock deal. VICI investor relations.