The M Resort, a new $700-million project located on the Las Vegas Boulevard and only a few miles south from the Strip, is tuning the last details for what is going to be its long waited debut, which is programmed to happen in March, 2009. The 12-story resort developed by Anthony Marnell III and the Las Vegas hotel operator MGM Mirage Inc, will feature approximately 400 luxurious rooms and suites ranging from 550 to 2,400 square feet; a 92,000 square feet gaming and area more than 60,000 square feet dedicated for meeting and conference space as well as extra amenities including a partnership with Taubman Centers, Inc. to develop one of the largest retail centers in Vegas. The M Resort also count with a 2.3-acre pool and events area; a cellar and wine tasting room; lounge and several top class restaurants.

Galaxy Theaters is also working on a 14-screen, 63,000-square-foot Theater expected to open in late 2009, in addition, Marnell and publicly held Taubman Centers announced plans to add a 1.3 million-square-foot, shopping mall that would open between 2011 and 2012. In a conference given about six months ago, Taubman CEO Robert Taubman said that his company was “in serious discussions with anchor stores and are hopeful that we can put all the pieces together over the next year or so.”

In April, 2007, MGM Mirage invested a $160-million in subordinated convertible note which was eligible for conversion into a 50% equity interest in the M Resort in October, 2008. However, in its most recent quarterly report, MGM Mirage reported that the value of its note had decreased 17.5% to $132 million as of the end of September, including the accumulated interests. But even when MGM executives didn’t give any reasons to explain the decrease in value, most of which happened during last year, several experts think that it may be related with a fall  in the prize of the land in where the resort is located. Last month, the bond rating agency, Fitch Ratings projected that the casino industry will remain under significant pressure through 2009, and that a possible recovery in the industry is not likely to happen before 2010. Also that month, MGM Mirage agreed to sell the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip as part of a plan created to improve the company’s liquidity.

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