Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Forms Alliance With MGM

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) and MGM MIRAGE recently announced that they have agreed to enter into a multi-faceted strategic alliance encompassing a major new destination hotel/casino resort at Foxwoods Resort Casino and the development of additional gaming and non-gaming projects,

"Our strategy includes joining forces with strong and well-respected partners to enhance our growth prospects," said Terry Lanni, MGM MIRAGE's chairman and CEO. "We are honored to associate our company and our brands with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and to provide MPTN with the benefit of our experience in developing destination resorts in multiple venues.

"The alliance with MPTN provides a whole new dimension for our company and MPTN to combine the best of both organizations as equal partners in the development and operation of appropriate gaming and non-gaming opportunities."

The strategic alliance contemplates a series of ongoing relationships between MPTN and MGM MIRAGE, including the following:

* MGM MIRAGE will consult with MPTN in the development of the $700 million destination hotel/casino resort, currently under construction at Foxwoods and scheduled to open in Spring 2008.

The new resort will utilize one of the most well-known brands in the hotel/casino resort industry MGM Grand under long-term license arrangements, and will contain the kind of fine dining, night club, entertainment, spa and recreational and retail amenities for which MGM MIRAGE is famous

* MPTN and MGM MIRAGE will collaborate on the master planning of future destination gaming resorts and other facilities at Foxwoods.

* MGM MIRAGE will provide MPTN with a variety of technical services in connection with operations at Foxwoods.

* MPTN and MGM MIRAGE will develop a variety of crossmarketing opportunities between their resorts.

* MPTN and MGM MIRAGE will enter into a strategic alliance to develop gaming and non-gaming enterprises, including Indian and nonIndian gaming, throughout the United States and abroad.

Michael J. Thomas, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, said, "The Tribal Nation here at our ancestral homelands in Mashantucket welcomes and honors this strategic alliance with MGM MIRAGE. Our affiliation with MGM MIRAGE provides us with an experienced advisor in gaming, a proven resort development partner, at Mashantucket.

"The quality and positive energy of the people who lead MGM MIRAGE mirror the culture we have embraced from the onset of our gaming enterprise. Our tribe has been carefully matching our needs and opportunities with potential strategic partners in recent years."

Thomas said the alliance with MGM MIRAGE will enable MPTN to "develop a destination resort with a greater range of entertainment experiences than any other in the world."

He also noted that the Tribal Nation will develop the "institutional capacity to maximize our economic success over the long term through this relationship without compromising the direct control of gaming at Mashantucket that we are noted for within Indian Country." For more information visit www.foxwoods.com.