{"id":293916,"date":"2023-10-13T14:36:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T19:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=293916"},"modified":"2023-10-16T13:43:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T18:43:15","slug":"mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"MGM’s Bill Hornbuckle Sees Four UAE Casinos Being Permitted"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) could go from long forbidding casino gaming to eventually being home to as many as four casino resorts.<\/p>\n

\"MGM
A rendering of MGM’s proposed resort in Dubai. CEO Bill Hornbuckle believes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will eventually have four casinos. (Image: Hotelier Middle East<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) CEO Bill Hornbuckle expressed that view earlier this week at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas. The Bellagio operator is developing a hotel in Dubai in partnership with Wasl Asset Management Group that Hornbuckle described as a \u201cpodium and pedestal\u201d that \u201ccould house a casino.\u201d<\/p>\n

We were there early. We have a project, now underway,\u201d<\/strong> Hornbuckle told G2E attendees. \u201cThis island has an MGM, a Bellagio, and an Aria on it. We\u2019re now building a podium and pedestal that could house a casino. We think there will be three or four [casinos] in the Emirates.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The MGM chief executive officer recently noted that the company set aside 150,000 square feet<\/a> of space at the Dubai property that could be used for a casino in the event UAE leadership signs-off on gaming.<\/p>\n

UAE Casino Opportunity Taking Shape<\/h2>\n

In late 2021, Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) announced plans for Wynn Al Marjan Island<\/a> with the expectation, but little clarity, that the venue would be allowed to have a casino. Construction on the property commenced earlier this year, and it\u2019s slated to open in early 2027.<\/p>\n

\n

Since Wynn unveiled that effort, indications have emerged that the UAE is warming to casino gaming, and could eventually be the integrated resort hub of the Arab world. The UAE announced the formation last month of its first gaming regulatory agency, the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The chairman of the GCGRA<\/a> is former MGM CEO Jim Murren. Whether or not those ties are advantageous for MGM in the UAE remains to be seen. But the operator is ready to act if the various emirates approve casino gaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to be in Dubai with an operating product with a casino in it. But one step and one day at a time. We\u2019re very progressive and excited by what could happen there,\u201d Hornbuckle said at G2E.<\/p>\n

UAE Casino Options<\/h2>\n

Home to some of the world\u2019s largest oil reserves, the UAE controls a substantial sovereign wealth fund. But that doesn\u2019t mean the government wants to have direct ownership of a casino. At G2E, Hornbuckle noted MGM is prepared for various scenarios, including taking equity in a gaming venue or leasing it outright.<\/p>\n

He said there\u2019s chatter that a gaming decree has been formalized by UAE leaders, but it hasn\u2019t been released as of yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In terms of potential locations for casino hotels in UAE, a survey conducted earlier this year by Knight Frank indicates 59% of respondents believe Abu Dhabi will eventually have at least one gaming venue, and 58% feel the same way about Dubai. Some 48% see UAE integrated resorts being located in the other five emirates.<\/p>\n

Wynn Al Marjan Island is located on a manmade island in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) could go from long forbidding casino gaming to eventually being home to as many as four casino resorts. MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) CEO Bill Hornbuckle expressed that view earlier this week at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas. The Bellagio operator is developing a hotel in Dubai […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":293917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,83109,81883],"tags":[81913,83229,82205],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMGM CEO Sees UAE Approving Four Casinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MGM CEO Hornbukle believes UAAE will allow up to four casino resorts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MGM CEO Sees UAE Approving Four Casinos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MGM CEO Hornbukle believes UAAE will allow up to four casino resorts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-13T19:36:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-16T18:43:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/\",\"name\":\"MGM CEO Sees UAE Approving Four Casinos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-13T19:36:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-16T18:43:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"MGM CEO Hornbukle believes UAAE will allow up to four casino resorts.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":550,\"caption\":\"A rendering of MGM's proposed resort in Dubai. CEO Bill Hornbuckle believes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will eventually have four casinos. (Image: Hotelier Middle East)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia Pacific Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"MGM’s Bill Hornbuckle Sees Four UAE Casinos Being Permitted\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MGM CEO Sees UAE Approving Four Casinos","description":"MGM CEO Hornbukle believes UAAE will allow up to four casino resorts.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MGM CEO Sees UAE Approving Four Casinos","og_description":"MGM CEO Hornbukle believes UAAE will allow up to four casino resorts.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2023-10-13T19:36:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-16T18:43:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":550,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/","name":"MGM CEO Sees UAE Approving Four Casinos","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-13T19:36:05+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-16T18:43:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"MGM CEO Hornbukle believes UAAE will allow up to four casino resorts.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/MGMUAE.jpg","width":800,"height":550,"caption":"A rendering of MGM's proposed resort in Dubai. CEO Bill Hornbuckle believes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will eventually have four casinos. (Image: Hotelier Middle East)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-ceo-sees-uae-approving-four-casinos\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia Pacific Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"MGM’s Bill Hornbuckle Sees Four UAE Casinos Being Permitted"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293916"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293916"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294090,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293916\/revisions\/294090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}