The growing California tribal casino market was one of the reasons for the billion-dollar merger of the MGM Mirage and Mandalay Resort Group gaming companies, an executive said.
The deal, worth an estimated $5 billion, was announced shortly before another major merger. Harrah's Entertainment agreed to buy Caesars Entertainment for more than $5 billion. Tribes in California and northern Nevada took in $4.7 billion in revenues last year. California tribes are poised to expand operations under new compacts signed with the state or under a ballot initiative that has won the endorsement of the state's largest inter-tribal organization. Get the Story: