JUNE 3, 1996

Vegas support grows

THE plans to hold a Grand Prix on the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada, received a new boost this week with the announcement that Mirage Resorts - the casino group which is keenest to run a race - has gone into partnership in Atlantic City with rival Las Vegas group Boyd Gaming. The two companies plan to build a 1000-room, $500m hotel/casino to be called the Stardust Atlantic City. The move is likely to ensure that Boyd Gaming agrees to help promote the race in Las Vegas, where it owns three hotel/casinos: the Stardust, Sam's Town and the Fremont.

Mirage has also just announced a joint venture in Atlantic City with another Las Vegas rival Circus Circus. The two groups already work together in Vegas and plan to open the 3000-room Monte Carlo hotel/casino within the next couple of weeks. This is built on the old Dunes property near the junction between The Strip and Tropicana Avenue, the junction around which the race is due to be centered. Circus Circus is building the 3000-room Bellagio resort next door.

The word in Atlantic City incidentally is that Mirage is about to announce another joint venture with Harrah's, which operates another big Las Vegas casino.

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