Earnings Labs

MGM Resorts International (MGM)

Q4 2014 Earnings Call· Wed, Feb 18, 2015

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the MGM Resorts International Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2014 Earnings Conference Call. Joining the call from the company today are: Jim Murren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Dan D'Arrigo, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; Grant Bowie, Chief Executive Officer of MGM China Holdings, Limited. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Mrs. Sarah Rogers. Please go ahead.

Sarah Rogers

Analyst

Good morning, and welcome to MGM Resorts International's fourth quarter earnings call. This call is being broadcast live on the Internet at mgmresorts.com. A replay of the call will be available on our website. We furnished our press release on Form 8-K to the SEC this morning. On this call, we will make forward-looking statements under the Safe Harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. Actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in these forward-looking statements is contained in today's press release and in our periodic filings with the SEC, including our most recent Form 10-K. During the call, we will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures in talking about the company's performance. You can find the reconciliation of these measures to GAAP financial measures in our press release, which is available on our website. Finally, please note that this presentation is being recorded. With that, I'll turn it over to Jim.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Well, thank you, Sarah, and good morning, everyone. This is a good day for the MGM team. Our U.S. wholly-owned operations achieved its best EBITDA cash flow in 6 years. Last year, CityCenter's cash flow from resort operations was a new record. And at MGM China, even though it's a challenging market, we also had a record year as well in 2014. And we closed the year with very solid fourth quarter results. Our wholly-owned domestic resorts reported its best fourth quarter since 2007. Quarterly revenues and cash flow both grew 5% year-over-year, driven by our Strip property growth. CityCenter resort operations results were impacted by a really tough hold at ARIA, but the campus as a whole continued to improve in the quarter. At MGM China, of course, Grant will get you more detail in this on the fourth quarter, but I'm pleased with that property's market outperformance and its ability to grow margins year-over-year in what is obviously a very challenging macro environment there. Today, MGM China announced a special dividend of $400 million and will also recommend $120 million final dividend as part of our regular dividend policy. We have again demonstrated our commitment of sharing our returns with our shareholders with the declaration of these dividends. Really, 2014 was a great year for the company. And I'd just like to take a couple of moments to highlight the progress we have made in that very busy, busy year. First, the property improvements to our Strip properties. We completed the new Strip frontage at Monte Carlo and at New York-New York. And as you can see, if you've been out here, those properties look beautiful and are seeing a lift as they've reported increases of 9% and 14% cash flow growth, respectively, during the quarter. Also, we've…

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

Thank you, Jim, and good morning, everyone. In Las Vegas, we achieved 6% growth in both revenues and EBITDA. During the quarter, we increased margins by approximately 10 basis points. And during the quarter, we saw a broad-based revenue growth in casino, hotel and food and beverage. Each of these segments were up mid-single digits at our Strip properties. Our properties continue to benefit from increased occupancy, up 3 percentage points year-over-year, driven by a higher convention mix in the quarter. This allowed us to grow fourth quarter Strip REVPAR by 7%, exceeding our guidance of 5%. This was the ninth consecutive quarter of REVPAR growth for our company. In fact, 2014 was our highest convention mix ever in the history of our company at over -- slightly over 17% of our room nights in 2014. As we look into 2015, it is our expectation based on current convention bookings to meet or slightly beat the level attained in 2014. Over 90% of that target is contracted and on the books, and over 60% of all of our future bookings are now being comprised of future corporate meeting events. Looking at the first quarter, we expect REVPAR growth of approximately 2% to 3%. This is a significant accomplishment, given we are growing over the 14% REVPAR growth in the prior year's quarter. I'm very proud of the sales and yield management teams for this extraordinary effort, and all of our operating units for putting forth a great result in 2014 and off to a tremendous start thus far in 2015. Moving over to CityCenter. CityCenter resort operations EBITDA decreased by 16% year-over-year on a tough hold comparison, as Jim mentioned, at ARIA. ARIA reported EBITDA of $60 million lower year-over-year, driven by a 450 basis point decrease in table games…

Grant R. Bowie

Analyst

Thanks, Dan, and good morning. So 2014 produced a number of records for MGM China. EBITDA grew by 5% to $850 million, and margins increased 140 basis points. These results were achieved despite the many challenges confronting us in Macau, requiring us to constantly adapt and respond to the rapidly changing business environment. We're certainly not immune to the challenges in the Macau market, but I do believe we have a robust and responsive strategies that will allow us to create opportunities for future growth. For the fourth quarter, MGM China reported net revenue and EBITDA down 22% year-on-year, while the overall market was actually down 25%. Our EBITDA margin, though, was up 10 basis points year-over-year to 25.8%, thanks to growth in the main floor business and cost controls. MGM China, in fact, is the only Macau concessionaire that recorded growth in the main floor business during the fourth quarter. Our main floor table games revenue increased by 19% year-over-year, while the overall market was, in fact, down 9%. Our outperformance in the segment, which has been our strength for a number of quarters, is a result of our relentless execution of strategy and our focus on our customer experiences and operating performance. Given the current market trends, which have seen revenue migration from the VIP to the mass segment, we have reallocated capacity such that now over half of our tables are now allocated to the main floor, the result of this being that the mass business contributed approximately 75% of our profit in the fourth quarter. This compares to approximately 60% in 2013. VIP table games revenue decreased by 39% year-over-year. This was due to the market being down 32%, and for us, lower hold, which was 2.6% versus 2.8% in the prior period. We are committed…

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Well, thank you, Grant. Our largest market, of course, Las Vegas, is showing solid signs of growth. Visitation was up 4% last year to a new record of over 41 million visitors. The LVCVA has the goal of reaching 45 million visitors over the next few years and growing our international mix of those visitors from about 20% now to 30%. We think these objectives are achievable. We do not expect any new capacity in the market in the near future, and airlift is scheduled to be up about 3% for the first quarter. Obviously, the U.S. consumer is feeling better. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 5 years, consumer confidence is at new highs, house prices are recovering and of course, energy costs have been cut dramatically. Remember that 70% of our Las Vegas revenues are non-gaming. Consumers are spending more, and this really helps, particularly our core properties. And I can tell you that for MGM, 2015 is off to a very strong start in Las Vegas. For example, in January, the Consumer Electronics Show had record attendance. And during that conference, the MGM portfolio had 2 of its best hotel revenue days of all time, and we continue to build off of our strong base of convention room nights. The next month, in February, the Super Bowl drew the second-largest crowd in the city's history for that event. And later this week, we kick off Chinese New Year's, which is, of course, always a major holiday for people that travel to Las Vegas from around the world, and of course, for Macau as well. MGM continues to invest where we see opportunity. We're really excited about the venues we have opening this year. Rock in Rio will debut in May. There may even be a certain fight that month in May, Bill. Our convention center expansion will open this year. That will have a profound impact on Mandalay Bay next year. The arena, it is hard to understate the impact of the neighborhood of that 20,000-seat arena. And of course, we own the neighborhood on that side of the Strip. And that opens next year, next spring. And beyond Las Vegas, we're really excited about the targeted developments we have underway, including, obviously, MGM Cotai, MGM National Harbor and MGM Springfield. And so with that, operator, we have plenty of time for questions, and I'd like to turn it over to you.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Joseph Greff with JPMorgan. Joseph Greff - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division: I have 2 questions, one relates to Las Vegas and then my second one relates to Macau. With respect to the Las Vegas Strip -- and I understand your comments were quite positive in terms of what you're seeing so far, the first month plus this year. Can you talk about what you're seeing on the Baccarat volume side? I know the last 5 months, the Strip had some squishy results. Some of that is maybe comparison-related, and it looks like you took some share in the fourth quarter. But can you talk about what you're seeing with that Baccarat consumer? And then my second question on Macau and maybe for you as well, Jim. Can you talk about what the dividend policy and maybe the leverage -- balance sheet leverage strategy is there with respect to Macau?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Okay, Joe, let me tackle that. January, we had a very strong Baccarat month. Our volume was up -- well, it was up double digits in January. In fact, overall table games were up high single digits in the month of January. And so I'd say we're off to a good start there. That said, just so you kind of understand the frame of the issue, because China is obviously topical, we've looked at this. Here in Las Vegas, our cash flow exposure to Chinese Baccarat play is in the low single digits. Less than 5% of our EBITDA comes from China here in Las Vegas in terms of Baccarat. It's important, and as I said, it was up nicely overall in January. But I just wanted to frame the quantum of that for you. And I think the second half, the question goes to Grant.

Grant R. Bowie

Analyst

Joe, so the issue on the dividend, in terms of -- I'm assuming you're talking about go-forward leverage, Joe? Joseph Greff - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division: Exactly, exactly.

Grant R. Bowie

Analyst

Okay. So clearly, we are going to maintain the annual commitment, the annual bonus -- the annual dividend. The bigger issue obviously is going to be the go-forward special dividend, and obviously, that will be mapped out against our cash requirements. We're still looking very positively at being able to generate significant cash, and I'm sure that all of our shareholders would see us being able to distribute back. But that will obviously need to be determined on a cash by cash basis. So we continue to reaffirm the commitment to our existing policy, with the board addressing opportunities for special dividends as they see it as appropriate.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Harry Curtis from Nomura.

Harry C. Curtis - Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., Research Division

Analyst

Jim, let's start with you. Let's go back to 2007, when your properties generated about $2 billion worth of EBITDA. Still a fairly wide gap between what you generated in '14 and that peak. What are the drivers going to be to help you close that gap? And specifically, how important is the casino piece in 2015 and '16 versus how big it was then?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Okay, Harry, let me take a stab at that. Yes, those were the good old days when Jim didn't have gray hair. You're talking about the '07 time, right? So if you break up our portfolio here between maybe luxury and non-luxury, the non-luxury is outperforming right now the luxury, right? So the core -- if you look at core REVPARs, you look at core cash flows, they're growing more rapidly than luxury because, obviously, they were the ones that were most devastated by the recession. We had just tremendous declines on cash flows at our core properties. Properties that were doing $80 million a year got down to $20 million, and the $150 million got down to $80 million. And it was just a devastation to our cash flows. They are doing better now, and we expect them to continue to improve. You probably saw that in the fourth quarter, their margins were up almost a couple hundred basis points and they were up almost 100 basis points for the year. And we expect them to continue to improve, but they're still 50% off of where they were back in 2007. And that means that's about a $300 million EBITDA opportunity if we were to restore the core properties' cash flows to where they were in '07. I think that is an achievable goal. If the city-wide convention market continues to improve, if the LVCVA does as it wants and expands and improves, as we expand our convention business and the consumer generally improves, that's a big opportunity for us. And that, frankly, is the best sense of how the U.S. consumer is doing, is right there. The luxury properties are also down from their peaks, and that's a combination of high-end gaming and the food and beverage side. We feel like we can improve on both of those, and we don't know if we're going to get fully back to where we were in '07 on the luxury side. It was pretty heady back then. But people are starting to spend money remarkably here. Corey Sanders showed me a check at Prime, which I couldn't believe. Corey, it was a group that spent $300,000?

Corey I. Sanders

Analyst

Yes.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

$300,000 for dinner at Prime. That's a pretty good check. You would have liked the wine, Harry. And we haven't seen that in a long time. So I'm not saying that's a trend. But to get the kind of cash flow numbers the luxury properties got up and down the Strip, you're going to have to see that type of abundant spending. We don't see that. We're not predicting that, but we do predict that we'll be able to continue to grow REVPAR in our luxuries, we do predict that they'll benefit from the convention business and that they'll get back a lot of the cash flow they lost from that peak. So if I were to model out over the next few years, I think we're lifting off operationally on the core properties. We held up pretty well in the luxuries. I think we'll grow there, but I think the delta will be better in core.

Harry C. Curtis - Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., Research Division

Analyst

So I'm guessing that dinner was not a Nomura-sponsored dinner?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

No, it was not.

Harry C. Curtis - Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., Research Division

Analyst

So then my second question speaks to or addresses the issue of margins in Las Vegas. I would have expected a bit better performance on the margin side in the fourth quarter given your revenue growth. Can you talk to why they might have been held back and your expectations for margin expansion this year?

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

Sure, Harry, this is Dan. I think when you look at the fourth quarter, clearly, we had a pretty tough comp in the prior year's fourth quarter, given some accruals and some different things that benefited the fourth quarter in '13. So on a year-over-year basis, that kind of held us back. I think when you kind of look at our overall margin improvement, we are improving margins. We're going to continue to be focused on improving margins. And I think as you kind of look at the opportunities as we go forward in terms of cost structure and driving top line, we're in a good position as we look into 2015 and beyond. And really, when you look at the last couple of years and how we've been able to improve margin in '13 and '14, we've been able to really kind of drive roughly about a 50% flow-through overall in the business. And as we said before, it's really a longer-term view than either a monthly or a quarter-by-quarter view. And we're pretty proud of that accomplishment over the past couple of years. We're going to keep our head down and stay focused on driving margin improvement in 2015 and beyond.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

I was just saying, correct me if I'm wrong, Dan, but if you look at the average of the flow-through in the fourth quarter of this past year and the one in the year before, it's about 50%, 48%, 50%. And the flow-through over the last couple of years, if you looked at the average of last 2 years, it's been about 50%.

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

About 50%.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

So it's -- there'll be ups and downs, but 50% is still a pretty good benchmark. It just -- and if you look at the core properties, obviously, they did better.

Harry C. Curtis - Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., Research Division

Analyst

So using a mid -- in Vegas, using a mid- to high single digit EBITDA growth, assuming roughly 5%, 6% top line growth is not unreasonable then?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

No.

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

No.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Felicia Hendrix of Barclays.

Felicia R. Hendrix - Barclays Capital, Research Division

Analyst

Jim, in your -- I don't remember if it's Jim or Dan, sorry. But in your prepared -- I think it was you, Dan. In your prepared remarks, you talked about some of the convention stack for 2015, and I -- you talked a lot about booking. I was just hoping you could tell us a bit about rate. This actually might even be for Corey.

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

Yes, when you look at the bookings, obviously, I did mention that, that we got about 90% of our 2015 goal contracted on the books, and that's pacing at roughly about a mid-single digit increase year-over-year. And I think as we kind of fill in some of the shoulder periods and weaker periods on the convention side within the year -- for the year, our goal is to continue to kind of drive that rate.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

You might also mention, Dan, the mix of convention business, right? So we have a lot of it already booked. But increasingly, corporates are becoming a higher percentage of our bookings. It was under 50% a couple of years ago. It was like 50%, Sarah, last year?

Sarah Rogers

Analyst

Yes.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

And now 60% of our future bookings are corporates. And clearly, that's a positive sign for the market and for us from a revenue perspective for that group business.

Felicia R. Hendrix - Barclays Capital, Research Division

Analyst

Okay, great. And then just when you talked about the convention booking mix being the highest at over 17% for 2014, if you remove CON/AGG, what would that have looked like?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

You want to do that? I think you have that, don't you?

Sarah Rogers

Analyst

Well, I have REVPAR -- sorry, maybe you can hear me better now. So I mean in terms of the percentage of room nights, we don't have that handy. But I can tell you that we're able to achieve a similar convention mix this year, and that's lapping the strong first quarter because of CON/AGG.

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

It still would've been a record year-over-year when you look at it overall from a historical standpoint. Remember, our prior peak period was in the low 16% mix. So we still would've been above that level, excluding CON/AGG in '14.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

And did we give the first quarter mix, Dan?

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

We have not.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Do you want that?

Sarah Rogers

Analyst

It's about 23% convention mix in the first quarter.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

And what was the last year?

Sarah Rogers

Analyst

That's similar on a year-over-year basis.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

So that's kind of good depth. So our convention mix in the first quarter this year will be about 23%. That's what it was last year, with CON/AGG, so you could get a sense that things are -- we've been able to work around CON/AGG not being here.

Felicia R. Hendrix - Barclays Capital, Research Division

Analyst

Yes, very helpful. And then, Jim, you talked about this a little bit before, but your core properties did better than expected in the quarter. The luxury properties lagged, you talked about that. You also talked about some things that you're doing in the convention and meeting area -- arena that should improve that. It looks like you're kind of working your way towards that improvement just given the stack, but anything else you want to add there?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Well, on the core properties, I think that we're taking the view that these properties that we own on the core side can all do better than they are right now. And the first start was with New York-New York and Monte Carlo because they're center Strip, and we felt that there was a lot we could do to have an immediate impact. And we are seeing that impact. You look at the traffic counts going into Monte Carlo today versus where they were before we started this, it's significant. We're up 20%, 30% in terms of traffic counts of people walking into Monte Carlo this January versus last January as a result of what we did there. We're seeing high slot handles at Monte Carlo. We see really good room revenue at Monte Carlo in January. So that has to be largely due to what we had done in front of that building. In the same kind of story, you could see it in New York-New York. Shake Shack isn't the only success there. We've seen big volume increases at Nine Fine Irishmen and our other venues as well. So our strategy will be to take a look at these properties and find ways where we could deploy some capital with an outsized return, with the idea that more people go to those kind of properties than any other kind in Las Vegas. The mid-market properties are the bread and butter of Las Vegas. It's not the part that a lot of people talk about a lot about because it's not Baccarat, it's not the big shows, but it's where you can make the most money over time. So we're looking at Excalibur and further improvements to Monte Carlo, in Luxor, but not in dramatic, major capital type of…

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Chris Jones of Union Gaming.

Christopher E. Jones - Union Gaming Group, LLC

Analyst

Just staying on topic on the core properties. Could you talk a little bit more about what else is driving it, in terms of your M life program or even perhaps if you're seeing just better economic lift from that region as well? Certainly, it's good to see that, and we've seen some pretty strong stock performance there as well. And then also, just out of Macau, if you could talk a little bit about your CapEx spend over there, where you're looking to, I guess, redo the main floor, some timing on that as to what the impact might be to the main floor from the refresh?

Corey I. Sanders

Analyst

Chris, it's Corey. With regards to the core properties and lift, I think there's a few factors that are definitely driving it. Lower gas prices helped. The fact that we have such a solid convention base, which fills our luxury properties, and the fact that there's a 3% lift in air seats also helps those properties. And then we do see a lot of benefit with the regional properties filling casino room nights in the core properties. So I think all those things are beginning to help those properties drive rate.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Shaun...

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

Hang on. Grant, did you want to take the Macau question?

Grant R. Bowie

Analyst

Sure. So Chris, we're working through the process. We're looking at hopefully getting the work commenced in probably the third quarter. And as you correctly note, what we're doing is making sure that we protect ourselves in terms of any revenue loss. So what we wanted to do first is put in all the incremental gaming that doesn't actually take away from anything we've got. So that's really the focus is to maximize that and then minimize any significant impact. At this point in time, we're actually pretty confident that we should be able to keep all the productive capacity that we currently have available. And then once we have obviously completed it, we'll be adding more capacity into the floor.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Shaun Kelley of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Shaun C. Kelley - BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division

Analyst

Just wanted to ask a little bit about 2 subjects. The first is just, in general, your cash tax position heading into 2015 from 2014. And then secondarily, we're starting to see a lot more creative financing structures as it relates to regional gaming assets. And I'm curious, would you guys -- I think you've spoken before that those types of transactions may not make sense for the overall business. But I'm curious if you would consider that either for any of your regional gaming properties or maybe some sort of creative financing solutions to help de-risk the properties in Massachusetts and Maryland, given the size of those investments.

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

Shaun, this is Dan. As far as cash taxes, we will pay some taxes. It's pretty minimal this year in terms of our overall cash taxes. It's probably less than $50 million in the year as far as our cash taxes this year.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

And I think your next part were some of the other kind of corporate strategies, for example, like REITs that Penn pursued last year and Pinnacle looks like it's pursuing right now. We are -- we look at everything. I think that those who have followed us a lot know that we're an active corporate finance organization here. We've bought properties, we've sold properties, we've done just about everything that we can -- that's been done out there. The concept of converting gaming assets to REITs is not a new one. It was very actively discussed before the recession. In fact, a couple of companies pursued that and then canceled those plans. And more recently, the dialogue is there again. We look at this all the time. We're pitched by every bank that is out there in terms of whether or not we should do that. And there's some merit to it. We believe that our assets are undervalued around the portfolio of our assets. And so we should -- we believe that as we're working for the shareholders, we should explore every opportunity as they come across our desk. And so I'd have to say, there's nothing definitive. There's nothing to report, but we do look at these type of corporate transactions. We do know there's great value in cross-marketing in the gaming industry. And one would know -- you just have to look at the fourth quarter, or if we could show you the January numbers in Detroit, which is great, we're doing great in Detroit in January and down in Mississippi. And the amount of business we get between our regional properties and our core properties here in Las Vegas is growing rapidly. So we do know that there's value in a portfolio of properties. Whether we have to own them all is the question that you're asking. We don't have the answers to that at this point in time. But I have to tell you that we're shareholder-oriented. We look at this stuff all the time. We are going to continue to look at it. I see some challenges around it from a tax perspective, but that doesn't mean that can't be overcome. And so we're going to continue to explore them.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Carlo Santarelli of Deutsche Bank.

Carlo Santarelli - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division

Analyst

When we look at the last couple of quarters, obviously, you guys have pretty much consistently been in a 2-year stack REVPAR range of about 8%. And when we look at the 1Q guidance on top of a plus 14% last year, it shows obviously a meaningful uptick, as you guys have obviously filled in the convention hall pretty nicely. When we think about the rest of the year, do you kind of look at the 1Q as being maybe the trough year-over-year REVPAR growth quarter, just given the difficult comparison?

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

Carlo, it's Dan. I think you're spot-on as we look at 2015. Clearly, March will be a tough comp, given the impact CON/AGG had from a year-over-year standpoint. And as we've mentioned previously, it's our goal, and we think we can do it, to grow each quarter on a year-over-year basis. And first quarter, given that tougher comp, will probably be the trough quarter out of all 4.

Carlo Santarelli - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division

Analyst

Great. And then just really quickly for Grant. Grant, if you could just comment a little bit on maybe how the reclassifications in Macau have gone thus far and what your plans are on a go-forward basis?

Grant R. Bowie

Analyst

So in terms of, obviously, just maximizing opportunities, we will just keep moving product into the mass market to the extent that we see that as being incremental and as long as we can create more floor space to actually achieve that. At this point in time, as I think everyone is seeing, the jacket market is soft, and we don't see any significant opportunities for that to change. So I think the focus is clearly moving that into the mass environment.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Joel Simkins of Crédit Suisse. Joel H. Simkins - Crédit Suisse AG, Research Division: I have 2 quick questions. Jim, you sort of referenced this potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight sometime in the second quarter. I guess, what are your expectations around that? What does that at least mean in the short term? And then secondly, I'd say, a longer-term question. There's been some fits and starts around the couple of proposed developments around the Strip. Are your expectations that we would not see any meaningful supply growth on the Strip until at least the end of the decade?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Okay, Bill's like, you're going to get in trouble, Jim. Listen, I'm just responding to newspaper rumors. I'm just -- look, we're holding the date. We're holding the date on May 2 for a fight, and we hope it's a big, big fight. And if it's the fight that we hope it is, it'll be the biggest fight. And if it's that fight, then our REVPAR in May at the MGM Grand is going to go through the roof. So -- but we have a pretty good calendar this year of events, both concerts and fights. We know Mayweather is going to fight at some point in time, right, Bill?

William Joseph Hornbuckle

Analyst

That's right.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

And he will -- so he will fight. And so we're working as hard as anyone that cares about boxing on that very event. And I could just say that we're working very hard, and we're all hopeful. I have to say that also, the events this year are going to -- they're going to be really fun for Las Vegas in general. And what we're up to on our festival lot across from Luxor, what we're up to at Rock in Rio, what Caesars' is doing behind on the LINQ, there are some new events this year that are going to drive incremental traffic from some people that don't typically come to Las Vegas, which I think, over time, is really good. I'm struggling with what's going to happen out here from a capacity perspective, frankly. We have heard for many quarters that Genting was going to break ground, and they have not. And I remember saying last quarter, we hope they do. And we do hope that because we do believe they'll drive some incremental business. Steve Wynn very famously said many years ago the worst neighbor is a vacant lot, and we ascribe to that theory. So we hope that they build. There's no evidence that we see out here being active in the market in terms of engaging consultants, architects, urban planners that, that is going to happen anytime soon. But we hope that, that does. And of course, James Packer and Andrew Pascal are working on a project. I haven't gotten an update from them on that. My guess is here we are in '15 already, that nothing opens until beyond 2018. And it could even be later than that. And it's not necessarily a certainty that a new property opens at all. And so…

Operator

Operator

Our next question is from Steve Wieczynski of Stifel. Steven M. Wieczynski - Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division: Jim, so one of the properties you haven't talked about is The Mirage. Again, it's not a huge property for you guys, but it seems like that property is always kind of popping up here with rumors it's potentially for sale. But you guys just started a pretty extensive renovation project that seems like it's going to take a while to complete. So I guess maybe how do you view that property longer term in terms of your portfolio? And then also maybe talk about the decision to remove, seems like a lot of high-end play, from that property as well.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Yes, The Mirage got pummeled by hold in the fourth quarter. It was -- I don't think it could have done worse from a hold perspective, but we are putting money into that iconic property. One of the things we're doing in there, and you've noticed, is that it really -- what Mirage struggles from is the fact that it doesn't have enough to keep people there throughout the night. And so we're adding -- we're putting in a center bar and a lounge, and we've changed out some of the restaurants. We have a couple more ideas in that regard. It's got so many great elements to it. It's got probably arguably the best villa product in the city still for those who like the garden villas, and many of our customers, particularly the ones that value their privacy, love those villas. It's got 2 theaters, it's got a decent amount of convention space, it's got a great location and so -- and of course, a great brand name. And it is the sports hub for all of our properties. So that -- the Mirage sports book generates more volume than anyone else out here because it's -- we hub all of our sports activity through The Mirage. But yes, it has been rumored to be on the sale block for many, many years, really since 2000. My point on that would be we're not in charge of owning all these properties. These properties are owned by the shareholders, all of them are. And we look at anything that will generate value for shareholders. And we're not blindly in love with any of our properties. So I don't -- I can't say for sure that there'll be a sale on the Strip. But I will say this, is that…

Sarah Rogers

Analyst

It's Sarah. So our M life loyalty program, we saw market share gains in slots for the year, both at our Strip properties and at the regions. We had a record number of enrollments, that was up 9% year-over-year, and active M life members also grew up 8% year-over-year.

Operator

Operator

Our last question is from Steven Kent of Goldman Sachs.

Steven E. Kent - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Just -- actually, it's a pretty quick question. On CityCenter, it looks like now the litigation is done, or it feels that way. Does this, in some way, pave the way for a broader recapitalization of that asset or outright sale? How should we be thinking about it now that this seems to be behind you, at least from the litigation front?

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

Well, it feels like it's behind us, too, Steve, and it really feels like it's behind us. And we lived through it more painfully than you did. Yes, there are a couple of things that will emanate from that important resolution. One is, as you can see, when you're out here, we're taking down the Harmon. It's coming down, I think, a floor a week right now. It's at a nice pace, and it'll be down certainly by the end of the year and cleaned up. And we're going to put a nice façade on that because it faces Crystals. But that's 2.2 acres of prime real estate on the Las Vegas Boulevard. So the CityCenter board is now engaged in trying to find the highest and best use of that property. So that -- we'll have meetings on that this year. As recently, Chris, as next week, I think we're having 1, or is it 2 weeks?

Christopher W. Nordling

Analyst

25th.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

25th, yes. So we're having another kind of whiteboard session on what we should do there. Secondly, yes, there's an -- there are multiple opportunities of recapitalizing CityCenter. It's under-leveraged. It has cash on the balance sheet. It's got a couple of significant assets. And so Dan and his team are looking with our partners at Dubai, looking at a variety of ways that we could return value to owners, whether that be through sale of some parts of CityCenter or through dividends or through a recapitalization, we're looking at all that. And that really is going to usher in a new era for CityCenter. I think this is Phase 3. Phase 1 was struggling to get it open, Phase 2 was struggling to make it successful and profitable and cleaning up clouds of litigation and construction. And now we're in Phase 3 of an enterprise that's making a considerable amount of money, but has the capacity to make a lot more money, given its size and its quality. And how to maximize on that growing cash flow for the owners is the phase that we're in right now. Okay. I think, Sarah, you said that was the last comment. So thank you all very much for joining us. And I have to apologize in advance that it's 55 degrees here in Las Vegas. As I'm looking at my son in Connecticut at 19 and my other son in Baltimore at 16, and I'm sure New York is no better than that and everywhere else. So...

Daniel J. D'Arrigo

Analyst

But we're going to 80.

James Joseph Murren

Analyst

But we're going to 80 today. So for those that haven't booked their flights for the weekend, it's better here than there. Enjoy yourselves, and we're always around for questions. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.