ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — MGM Mirage said Friday it will sell its 50 percent stake in Atlantic City’s top casino and stop doing business in New Jersey rather than cut ties with the family of an Asian casino mogul that the state felt was too closely linked with organized crime.
The Las Vegas company reached a settlement with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement in which it would put its interest in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa into a trust and sell it within 30 months.
MGM’s exit will likely kick off an intense round of bidding for the Borgata, which dominates the nation’s second-largest casino market. Co-owner Boyd Gaming has the right of first refusal to buy MGM’s interest but would not say Friday whether it planned to pursue it.
New Jersey regulators have expressed concern about Pansy Ho, MGM Mirage’s joint venture partner in the Chinese enclave of Macau. Her father, Stanley Ho, has been accused of ties to Asian organized crime gangs but never charged. He denies any ties. The Associated Press
