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LAS VEGAS-MGM Mirage Inc. will develop 166 acres it owns in Jean, NV, in partnership with American Nevada Corp. and Cloobeck Cos. MGM officials say they sold a 50% stake in the planned development in a transaction that valued the partnership's assets at $150 million. Currently, the assets generate approximately $6 million in annual cash flow.

MGM's new partner in the project is Jeanco Realty Development LLC, which includes American Nevada Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of American Nevada Corp., and Diamond Resorts LLC, a subsidiary of Cloobeck Cos. The partnership is subject to state gaming approvals; the related transaction is anticipated to close later this year.

The development land is located along Interstate 15, 30 miles south of Downtown Las Vegas, and is mostly undeveloped. MGM chairman Terry Lanni says that development plans include residential, commercial and retail elements in addition to a new hotel casino.

MGM currently operates Nevada Landing Casino and the Gold Strike Hotel and Casino in Jean. Both properties became part of the MGM Mirage portfolio with the Mandalay Resort Group merger in April 2005. As an initial step in this new undertaking, MGM will close by April 18, the 302-room Nevada Landing property and focus on the Gold Strike Hotel and Casino, which is currently in the process of having its 800 rooms renovated.

"This move will expedite our efforts in Jean," Lanni says. "In addition to making better utilization of the land, it will allow us to more properly match capacity with demand and concentrate ongoing improvement efforts in the market on a single entity, rather than splitting focus between two competing properties."

American Nevada Co. is the real estate development arm of the Greenspun group of companies. It broke ground for the 8,400-acre Green Valley community in Henderson in 1978. In 2004, American Nevada opened the District at Green Valley Ranch, the state's first metropolitan lifestyle center. American Nevada also is the managing partner of Aliante, a master-planned community that opened in 2003.

The Cloobeck Cos. provides development, management, operations and marketing for real estate properties. The company's principals have developed Polo Towers, the first purpose built, high-rise timeshare property in the industry and, most recently, spearheaded the design of Marriott's Grand Chateau, which features approximately $450 million of construction development.

MGM Mirage owns and operates 23 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan, and has investments in three other properties in Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois. Its current major developments include CityCenter, a multibillion-dollar mixed-use urban development in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip; a new MGM Grand hotel and casino complex is being built in Downtown Detroit; and a 50% interest in MGM Grand Macau, a hotel-casino resort currently under construction in Macau S.A.R.

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MGM Mirage Buys Into 166-Acre Development

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