Business Briefly

MGM Mirage, Dubai reach pact to finish CityCenter

LAS VEGAS (AP) " Casino operator MGM Mirage said Wednesday that it agreed with partner Dubai World and the pair's lenders to finish an $8.5 billion casino complex on the Las Vegas Strip.

MGM Mirage said Dubai World, the investment arm of the Dubai government, would drop a lawsuit it filed against the Las Vegas-based casino company, which is majority owned by investor Kirk Kerkorian.

The pact secures MGM Mirage's payment obligations for construction costs with its Circus Circus Las Vegas casino and adjacent land. MGM Mirage and Dubai World each agreed to fund their remaining payments for CityCenter with letters of credit, and the lenders agreed to immediately fund $1.8 billion to finish the project, rather than wait until each partner had fully paid its share.

The company said CityCenter is now on track to be open by December 2009.

Bankruptcy sale authorized for AC Tropicana

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) " The Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., will be auctioned off to the highest bidder in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The bankruptcy petition was filed Wednesday, after New Jersey's Casino Control Commission authorized a sale.

State law mandated that the casino be sold. A group including billionaire investor Carl Icahn has emerged as the leading candidate to win the casino at auction, though others could still bid.

The auction should be held by mid-June.