Las Vegas' CityCenter, an $8.6 billion venture by gambling giant MGM Mirage and Dubai World, narrowly averted falling into bankruptcy when MGM on Friday secured waivers from its lenders and stitched together $200 million in funding for the project.

citycenter

A rendering of the completed CityCenter in Las Vegas.


The funding includes $100 million that should have been financed by Dubai World, MGM said. The financing means the construction on the complex could continue while MGM seeks additional funding, the company said. MGM also said it intends to work with Dubai World, its lenders and others to find a long-term solution to fund the completion of CityCenter.

CityCenter, a 67-acre site consisting of hotel-condominiums, a casino and a 500,000-square-foot shopping center, had hired law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf to prepare for a potential bankruptcy filing, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified people briefed on the matter.

Dubai World has signaled it won't provide its half of Friday's payment, while MGM Mirage struggles to persuade its unwilling lenders to help it finance the project alone, the paper said. The casino company faces a cash crunch as it tries to meet obligations on more than $13 billion in debt. It narrowly averted defaulting on loans last week and warned that it could default by mid-May, the Journal reported.

Missing the payment Friday would have halted work on the project within days, idling 8,500 construction jobs, the Journal said, citing a person familiar with the situation. A delayed opening could also affect 12,000 workers who are to staff the complex, the paper said.