MGM Resorts Plans Micro Sphere in Dubai

September 19, 2024

On Thursday, MGM Resorts revealed the most recent information about The Island, the 1,500-room resort it is constructing in Dubai. Situated on 26 acres of Bluewaters Island, it will have distinct hotel towers for the MGM, Bellagio, and Aria, with a circular event space in the middle.

At the Skift Global Forum travel conference in New York City, Bill Hornbuckle, the CEO and president of MGM Resorts, stated to the audience that the company's presence in Dubai would not be "as big as the sphere in Las Vegas by any stretch but equally compelling."

Size Counts

It's a stretch, though, to describe the Dubai Sphere as "not as big... by any stretch."

“It has 300 seats with a mini showroom and the visual things you’d obviously do inside a sphere,” Hornbuckle told the audience gathered at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Compared to the Las Vegas Sphere, that is 60 times smaller. Furthermore, there are no intentions to raise it off its base and use it as a thrilling ride in an amusement park.

Rather, Hornbuckle stated that the experience his company will offer "walks through the history of Dubai," elaborating on how, "literally 35 years later, it's this megatropolis with 2 million people," whereas in 1985 it was a desert.

Speaking to the Skift guests, Hornbuckle stated that MGM would construct its sphere on its own and made it clear that it would not be associated with the Las Vegas Sphere or any other Spheres that James Dolan's Sphere Entertainment had intended to construct before the world said, "no, thanks."

At a later time, Hornbuckle said, MGM would be open to adding a partner. Additionally, Dolan stated to Variety last year that he would consider building "smaller Spheres for smaller markets."

Well,

Still No Video Games

The ruler of the United Arab Emirates approved the MGM project in March 2017, but things moved very slowly after that. In actuality, no building contract was given out until earlier this year.

Hornbuckle assured the audience that the project is moving forward again, but he withheld the opening date and stated that the casino that MGM had intended to construct will not be included.

Still, Hornbuckle remained optimistic.

"Once you get there and gaming is socially accepted — not for Emiratis by the way — but 80-90% of the [UAE] population are non-Emirati. India is a massive market, the rest of the Middle East could be massive, China will continue to come to Dubai, so we’re excited by what it presents and we hope to be there,” he told the crowd.

Since gambling is against Islamic law, it has long been disapproved of throughout the Middle East. However, official sentiments have softened because to competition for tourists from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. To design and manage a framework for casino gaming, the United Arab Emirates established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority in September of last year.

In the event that UAE leaders decide to approve gaming, Hornbuckle informed the convention that The Island requests "several podiums which in fact, [is where] Dubai wants gaming."

Wasl Hospitality and Leisure, a hotel owner and developer with connections to UAE officials, is based in Dubai and is collaborating with MGM on the project.

The connection between MGM and Dubai dates back to 2007, when a Dubai World subsidiary bought a 50% share in CityCenter to assist MGM in covering its $8 billion investment. MGM claimed in 2021 to have paid $2.125 billion to repurchase Infinity World's portion of the company.

Dubai-Off

For MGM, Dubai is not a market without competitors.

At Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, which is located in the Persian Gulf around 30 miles north of Dubai, Wynn Resorts has begun construction of a $4 billion resort. It is expected to open in early 2027 and, should gambling make its way to Dubai, it is likely to house the first casino license in the area.

In collaboration with Dubai Holding, Caesars Entertainment opened the non-gaming Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai and The Residences at Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai in late 2018.

In November 2023, the massive gambling company in Las Vegas departed the Dubai market when Singapore-based Banyan Tree Hotels took over as the properties' operator.