MGM CEO Expects 4 UAE Casinos Will Be Allowed

12.10.2023 - 13:05 / skift.com / Wynn Al-Marjan / Ras Al-Khaimah / Bill Hornbuckle / Josh Corder / Jim Murren

The CEO of MGM Resorts has shared his expectation that the UAE could greenlight up to four casinos, including one in his own development: The MGM in Dubai. Bill Hornbuckle said at the Global Gaming Conference in Las Vegas this week that MGM is building a “podium and pedestal” that “could house a casino,” on the island in Dubai.

Hornbuckle shared the news in response to a question about the upcoming Wynn Al Marjan Island – which has a confirmed casino but is yet to secure any kind of license. The $3.9 billion Wynn will be in Ras Al Khaimah, overseen by a new arm of the emirate’s tourism authority called the Department of Entertainment and Gaming Regulation.

“Yes. We were there early. We have a project, now underway,” Hornbuckle said at the conference. “This island has an MGM, a Bellagio, and an Aria on it. We’re now building a podium and pedestal that could house a casino. We think there will be three or four [casinos] in the Emirates. It’s up to each ruler to decide what they want to do and where they want to do it.”

“I’d love to be in Dubai with an operating product with a casino in it, but one step and one day at a time. We’re very progressive and excited by what could happen there.”

At a federal level, the UAE has recently announced the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, known as the GCGRA, which will regulate and establish “strict guidelines” for the country’s commercial gaming industry. This new GCGRA is chaired by Jim Murren.

Murren is the former chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts, a role he held from 2008 to 2020. He was also chairman of the American Gaming Association from 2014 to 2017.

During September’s 2023 Bank of America Gaming and Lodging Conference, Hornbuckle addressed the formation of the GCGRA, and his own aspirations of a casino industry in Dubai.

“We have told them [Dubai] that we’ll put equity in, or we’ll lease the casino in its totality to give us the casino business,” Hornbuckle said.

“I don’t know that they [Dubai] are going to want to be in the casino business… I think at the end of the day we’ll end up leasing the casino.”

“Reportedly there’s a gaming decree that has been signed, but not released.”

The MGM in Dubai was first announced in 2017. The original scope included two million square feet of built-up space, an MGM Hotel, MGM-branded residences and a Bellagio-branded hotel containing a total of 1,000 rooms and 10 villas. There was also said to be a 500,000-sq-ft theatre, a range of restaurants, museums, a major beach club and adventure zones for both adults and children.

Earlier in the year, property and advisory firm Knight Frank surveyed HNWI prospect buyers about their sentiments and predictions of a UAE casino market. It found that 59% think a casino