Vegas-should they blow it up?

[billynomates]

High stakes in MGM's Las Vegas gamble - Telegraph

[Nynus]

This has been a BIG story here in Vegas.

The gist of it is that City Center was a multi-billion dollar investment that was planned and started before the economy went into the shitter. Both MGM and the Dubai partners have tried to weasel out of the deal on multiple occasions to cut their losses. It consists of Aria, Mandarin Oriental, Vdara, Veer, Crystals and the Harmon tower.

Much of the planned profit from these properties were going to come from selling the condo's and the Association Fees. With the Vegas condo market taking an even bigger shit then the single family home market, everyone's trying to find any way out they can.

Harmon tower was supposed to be the centerpiece of the properties and was located right on the strip. I haven't seen the safety reports, but MGM says the concrete used in the tower will not withstand an high energy earthquake. The builders, Perini, say it's fine, and they can fix the other concerns.

It's a great opportunity for MGM if they can pull it off. They get to wash their hands of Harmon Tower, and then sue Perini to recoup some of their losses. It sucks big time for Perini, because they say they built it to standards and there's nothing wrong with it.

Lawsuits, yelling, accusations, more lawsuits, etc. etc. Eventually, there will be a boom, or not.

Here's the good part...... If the economy turns around, I'm sure MGM will suddenly decide that the 'fixes' Perini comes up with are perfectly acceptable.