An official of the MGM Mirage casino vowed on May 26th, 2010 that they will pay the subcontractors who claim that the company owed them almost $400 million dollars for their participation on CityCenter, following meeting between MGM Mirage executives and Governor Jim Gibbons.
CityCenter CEO Bobby Baldwin said that paying some six hundred subcontractors, small businesses and vendors that are caught in the legal battle between MGM Mirage and CityCenter’s general contractor, Perini Building Co. was the appropriate thing to do. Baldwin made his statement after an hour long meeting with Gov. Gibbons and his staff at the governor’s office in Las Vegas.
Gibbons talked with Perini officials and representatives of the subcontractors last week to discuss the row with MGM Mirage, which owns the $8.5 billion dollars CityCenter in a fifty-fifty joint collaboration with Dubai World. Perini officials, who claim that MGM Mirage owes them more than $490 million dollars, have said that about $390 million dollars of the disputed amount belongs to the project’s subcontractors.
Perini Building Co. filed a lien against the CityCenter and a lawsuit in the District Court of Clark County to get MGM Mirage to pay the amount. The group has also started a media campaign on the issue. CEO Baldwin used the meeting with Gov. Gibbons to explain the steps that the company is taking to pay the money that they owe to their subcontractors.
The group said in a court filing two weeks ago that it was taking the closeout process from Perini because the company has violated its contractual obligations when it sued MGM Mirage for payment. Baldwin stated in a statement released by Gov. Gibbon’s office that they intend to pay the subcontractors quickly of what they are owed. MGM Mirage also announced on Wednesday that they would meet with the subcontractors on June 9th, 2010 at Aria to start the payment process at exactly 10:00 a.m.
Gibbons said that MGM Mirage officials have assured him that they intend to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Unlike the meeting with Perini officials last week, the media were not informed in advance of the Wednesday meeting.
CEO Baldwin and MGM Mirage Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Alan Feldman met with Gov. Gibbons. The governor, who announced last week there was little he could do to resolve the issue other than keep the lines of communication between the two sides open, said that his main concern to make sure that the small businesses receive their payment.
MGM Mirage officials have said that the organization is willing to pay the subcontractors but the back-up materials given by Perini were disorganized. Perini Head Ron Tutor said last week after talking with Gov. Gibbons that he was hopeful that the subcontractors would finally be paid and added that they would want to solve the issue just between them and MGM.
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