01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 26, 2006

BY PAUL GRIMALDI
Journal Staff Writer

LEDYARD, Conn. -- MGM Mirage will bring its marketing and casino expertise to Foxwoods Resort Casino in a partnership joining one of the world's largest gambling corporations with the Indian tribe that runs one of the world's most successful casinos.

The deal, announced yesterday morning, will put MGM's name on a new hotel and casino the Mashantucket Pequots are building on their reservation here in southeastern Connecticut, but leave control of gaming operations to the tribe.

The arrangement opens the lucrative New England market to MGM and opens the world to the Mashantuckets.

The two sides will share a customer database, entertainment bookings and join in development projects outside the Mashantuckets' home in Ledyard.

"Our affiliation with MGM Mirage provides us with an experienced adviser in gaming, a proven resort development partner . . . and an equal partner in a powerful venture all at once," said Michael Thomas, the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequots.

In January 2004, MGM Mirage made a deal to buy Wembley PLC, the onetime owner of the Lincoln Park video-slots venue. But that deal fell apart and the park was sold last year to BLB Investors LLC.

"Our strategy includes joining forces with strong and well-respected partners to enhance our growth prospects," MGM Mirage chairman and chief executive officer Terry Lanni said in a statement.

Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage owns and operates 24 casinos in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan. It also has a partial stake in the Borgata in Atlantic City, N.J.

Thomas addressed the tribe's plans yesterday during a media conference at Foxwoods.

"We do hope to bring the Foxwoods brand elsewhere," he said. "We don't have a West Coast presence."

The Mashantuckets are already planning a 600-acre resort and casino in the U.S. Virgin Islands and have an interest in opening another near Philadelphia.

Those plans are separate from the $700-million expansion under way at Foxwoods. The project will include an 825-room hotel tower, 115,000 square feet of meeting space, a 50,000-square-foot casino with 1,500 slot machines and 45 table games, a 4,000-seat theater, restaurants and nightclubs.

"I don't know if you'll see a lot of change at Foxwoods directly," Thomas said of the deal's impact.

Publicly traded MGM Mirage (MGM:NYSE) is licensing its name and providing consulting services to Foxwoods.

MGM Mirage will offer its links to entertainment companies, restaurants and other entities to raise the casino's profile among potential customers -- including MGM Mirage's own international gaming clientele and conventioneers.

MGM Mirage will not share in gaming revenue at Foxwoods, said the two sides.

The deal does not preclude the company from opening its own casino in New England or partnering with another operator in the region, according to Gordon Absher, an MGM Mirage spokesman.

"There's nothing in the agreement that would prevent us from going it alone," Absher said in a telephone interview.

The two sides provided few financial details about the relationship.

The new partners will collaborate on other, unspecified developments, they said, including gaming projects in the United States and abroad. MGM Mirage will loan the tribe $200 million to finance its investments in such projects.

Unclear is what state or federal regulatory approvals the broad arrangement will require, or whether as a partner to a publicly traded company, Foxwoods would have to report its revenues.

The Mashantuckets do not release financial figures, but under their gaming compact with Connecticut, hand over a quarter of slot revenues at Foxwoods to the state.

Thomas said he expects Connecticut officials to be pleased.

"I would think that people at the state level will be thrilled with this," he said. "They will get more money, faster."

pgrimald@projo.com / (401)-277-7356