Revitalised CityCenter is chasing 12,000 staff

Four months after the CityCenter project in Las Vegas was saved from bankruptcy by its shareholders, Dubai World and MGM Mirage, the hotel and leisure complex is embarking on a hiring spree for 12,000 staff, officials said yesterday. The recruitment drive for jobs at ARIA Resort and Casino, Vdara Hotel and Crystals retail district would be the "single largest hiring effort in the nation", the company said. The jobs range from bartenders and cooks to prop handlers, slot operators and manicurists.

"We're proud to celebrate this significant milestone as we begin to extend job offers to 12,000 deserving individuals," said Bobby Baldwin, the president and chief executive of CityCenter. "This is more than a collection of resorts; we see it as a beacon of hope for a future of renewed economic vitality in Las Vegas." The announcement comes as MGM Mirage, the developer of the project, is scrambling to prevent home buyers in the residential towers of the project from defaulting. Prices in Las Vegas have fallen 53 per cent between August 2006 and May this year. The company has been re-pricing homes and trying to get additional financing from banks for its customers, Jim Murren, MGM's chief executive, said last month.

CityCenter is one of Dubai's largest profile investments outside the UAE. It bought a 50 per cent stake in the project in 2007 for Dh9.9 billion (US$2.69bn). But troubles with the project's schedule and MGM Mirage's ability to continue funding the project led Dubai World to file a lawsuit against MGM Mirage for an alleged breach of its agreement earlier this year. MGM Mirage eventually paid a Dh734.6 million debt payment that allowed construction to continue and the two sides have since downplayed the dispute.

bhope@thenational.ae