The status of MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) as the front-runner to be the first casino operator to open an integrated resort in Japan was cemented after Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) said last month that it was no longer interested in competing for a license in Osaka.
The city is expected to be the first to issue a license in Japan. And since Las Vegas Sands similarly withdrew from the competition -- as did Melco Resorts & Entertainment -- while Caesars Entertainment has dropped out of opening a resort anywhere in Japan to focus on its merger with Eldorado Resorts, it increasingly looks like the license is MGM's to lose.
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