MGM Grand breathes easier after Tyson fight

MGM Grand Inc. took a big risk hosting volatile heavyweight Mike Tyson's return to the ring last weekend. The gamble appeared to pay off.

While the MGM Grand Garden Arena was nearly filled for Saturday night's bout, the audience included a large number of fans who were comped or employees who paid cut-rate prices for their tickets.

Nevertheless, the MGM casino was packed with gamblers late into the night, the company's 50 percent-owned New York-New York hotel-casino across the Strip was nearly as busy and the fight's outcome bodes well for future ticket sales to fans initially wary about Tyson's comeback.

"We're squarely back in the boxing business," MGM Chief Financial Officer Jim Murren said Monday.

Previous Tyson bouts have been mired in controversy, including the fighter's disqualification for biting the ears of heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield.

The widespread perception Tyson's skills had deteriorated and the melee that closed the casino after the earlier fight had reduced his drawing power and slowed ticket sales for his bout with Francois Botha.

But MGM gambled that a good -- and relatively incident-free -- performance by Tyson would stimulate renewed interest in his future fights. Tyson's stunning fifth-round knockout of Botha, who was leading the fight until then, couldn't have been scripted any better from MGM's standpoint.

"It was a calculated risk," Murren said. "It was incumbent upon us to create a fun, safe, upbeat experience, and we paid a lot of attention to the quantity and quality of the fight crowd.

"We had a zero-tolerance policy on disturbances, and from that standpoint it was an incident-free event. The casino was packed with people several deep at the tables, (the nightclub) Studio 54 was jammed, our bars and theaters were full. We had a very successful weekend."

Murren didn't disclose any financial details. He also declined to comment on whether any high-rollers won big from the casino, saying only, "We had a good weekend overall on the tables." But he said there will be more big events in the future.

"We've got a multi-fight contract with Mike Tyson and expect there to be increasing demand for this type of entertainment," Murren said."There was a lot of goodwill created with the exciting, multi-round main event and the entertaining undercard.

"We have the perfect venue to host major fights, which have a way of building their own momentum," he said. "We'll do at least four more boxing cards this year. But we'll pick our events carefully.

"Still, with boxing, concerts and special events, the arena will be used more this year than at any time since we opened in 1993."

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