MGM Cotai opening pushed back to second half of ‘17

MGM Cotai, MGM Resorts International’s $3.1 billion hotel-casino under construction just off Macau’s Cotai Strip, will open in the second half of 2017 instead of in the second quarter, the company disclosed Tuesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

In the filing, the company cited the complexity of the project design as the reason for the delay.

It’s the second time that MGM Cotai opening date has been pushed back. Eleven months ago, the company announced in its fourth-quarter earnings call that it was pushing back the opening of the property to early 2017 because of Macau’s struggling economy.

Since then, the market has picked up with five consecutive months of year-over-year growth.

The SEC filing by MGM said, “Given the complexity of the design of MGM Cotai and the company’s commitment to a successful opening that reflects the demands of the current market, the expected opening time of MGM Cotai will be adjusted from the second quarter of 2017 to the second half of 2017. However, ultimately, the final opening date of MGM COTAI will also be subject to obtaining the required government approvals.”

MGM Cotai, located across the street from Wynn Palace, is expected to have a 500,000-square-foot casino with 500 table games and 2,500 slot machines and 300,000 square feet of convention space.

Shares of MGM Resorts gained 4 cents, or 0.14 percent, to close at $28.66. They have traded between a low of $16.18 and a high of $30.62 in the last 52 weeks, according to Google finance.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.