Mega merger mania

According to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there's all kinds of doings, dirt, and drama to the two proposed mega-mergers: MGM Mirage-Mandalay and Harrah's-Caesars.

Wall Street analysts had expected the MGM Mirage-Mandalay merger to fly through regulatory approvals with little difficulty and with no requirement that properties be sold, except in Detroit, where both companies operate casinos and the number of licensees is limited.

However, in a worst-case scenario, some industry experts are now saying the proposed Harrah's-Caesars merger could lead federal antitrust officials to kill both deals.

Steven Newborn, a partner in New York-based Weil Gotshal & Manges who was the former director of litigation at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition, said it "is not reckless" to suggest that derailing the MGM Mirage deal may even have been the motivation in proposing the Harrah's-Caesar merger.

Makes me glad I don't swim in these waters--they're way too muddy and deep. Should be interesting to see how it all shakes out in the end.

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