MGM Ho Tram is under construction and slated for completion in 2011, the duo said. ACDL will own and finance the project while MGM Mirage will provide development assistance, brand equity, and will operate the property upon completion. Beyond the number of rooms the details of the resorts components, such as their square footages, were not available because they have "not yet been finalized," an MGM representative tells GlobeSt.com. A rendering of the development also was unavailable.

The overall development plan calls for 10,000 rooms in five resorts on the so-called Ho Tram Strip, a 430-acre area that includes 1.4-mile stretch of white-sand beachfront and forest in Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, eighty miles from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Only plans for MGM Ho Tram have been announced. If completed, it would be the largest tourism complex in Vietnam, competing with integrated resorts in neighboring China, Malaysia and Singapore. The company reportedly received its casino license in March and, as part of the agreement, will invest in infrastructure improvements such as an airport, a ferry terminal and highways.

ACDL's website provides little detail on the company and no detail on its principals, and a company representative did not return a phone call seeking more information. The CEO of the company is David Subotic, who, according to his bio for the 2007 Asian Casinos Executive Summit, played key roles in financing deals for casino and resort-casino developments for Trump Entertainment, among others, and was active in the early stages of the online gaming market. His past employers include Haywood Securities, a broker-dealer firm, and Octagon Capital Corp., a Canada-based company firm that provides investment services.

The chairman and largest shareholder in the company is Michael Aymong, formerly a top executive with Starnet and its successor company World Gaming, both internet gaming companies. Prior to World Gaming, Aymong was an executive vice president with GT Group Telecom. According to an article in the Financial Post, written in July, Aymong has a checkered past when it comes to business ventures. Harbinger Capital is reportedly the second-biggest shareholder with a 25% stake.

The company's Web site did provide a list of companies that it says are contributing to the Ho Tram Strip. Among the names are architecture firm Steelman Partners; project manager Page Kirkland; investor relations firm Barnes McInerney; and law firms Heenan Blaikie LLP (Canada) and Baker & McKenzie (US, International).