New Name for MGM Mirage

Casino operator MGM Mirage (MGM - Analyst Report) has been newly named MGM Resorts International on Tuesday, following shareholder approval. The change is aimed at enhancing brand awareness of the company. In April 2010, MGM Mirage intended publicly to re-brand itself and submitted the proposal to its shareholders.
 
Pursuant to the approval, the word "Mirage" has been eliminated from the corporate name, though the company has no plan to sell The Mirage casino in Las Vegas.  
 
Management believes that the new name better reflects its globally expanding asset base. The stock will retain the same symbol that it has been using so long to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
 
The chief executive officer of MGM Mirage, Jim Murren, commented that the new name has been under consideration since early 2009 and is indicative of other changes at the company.
 
In April 2010, MGM Mirage said the origin of its corporate name dates back to the purchase of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian in 1969. The company developed the original MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas in 1973.
 
MGM Grand became MGM Mirage in 2000 after the buyout of Steve Wynn's Mirage Resorts Inc., by Kerkorian.  
 
Separately, MGM Mirage also announced the relaunch of its current Players Club loyalty program under a new brand called M life, with rollout expected to commence in late summer. The M life Players Club is designed to earn the lasting loyalty of its guests by providing them with an appealing program of customer rewards, privileges and appreciation.  
 
MGM Mirage owns Las Vegas Strip resorts as well as casino properties in Mississippi and Michigan and a joint venture in China's Macau.
 
MGM Mirage and its joint venture partner in Macau expect to launch an initial public offering on the Hong Kong market later this year, and the company is developing Bellagio, MGM Grand and Skylofts hotels in Dubai that are expected to come into business in 2013.