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MGM agrees to sell Bellagio for $4.25 billion

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

MGM Resorts International on Tuesday announced it will sell its Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to the Blackstone Group, and then lease back the property, in a $4.25 billion deal.

By the numbers: It also agreed to an $825 million sale for Circus Circus with real estate mogul Phil Ruffin.

The bottom line: MGM has been under investor pressure to cut its debt, although earlier reports suggested that its Blackstone talks were for a larger deal that also would have included MGM Grand Las Vegas.

Go deeper... Earlier: Blackstone prepares to bet again on Vegas

Go deeper

Hans Nichols, author of Sneak Peek
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Sources say Beto plans Texas comeback in governor’s race

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks during the Georgetown to Austin March for Democracy rally on July 31, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke is preparing to run for governor of Texas in 2022, with an announcement expected later this year, Texas political operatives tell Axios.

Why it matters: O'Rourke's entry would give Democrats a high-profile candidate with a national fundraising network to challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — and give O’Rourke, a former three-term congressman from El Paso and 2020 presidential candidate and voting rights activist, a path to a political comeback.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Ivana Saric
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Texas doctor says he performed an abortion in violation of state law

Pro-choice protesters march down Congress Avenue and back to the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas, in July 2021. Photo: Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

A Texas doctor disclosed in an op-ed in the Washington Post on Saturday that he has performed an abortion in violation of the state's restrictive new abortion law, which effectively bans the procedure after six weeks.

Why it matters: Alan Braid's op-ed is a direct disclosure that will very likely result in legal action, thereby setting it up as a potential test case for how the abortion ban will be litigated, notes the New York Times.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Mike Allen, author of AM
6 hours ago - Technology

Axios interview: Facebook to try for more transparency

Nick Clegg last year. Photo: Matthew Sobocinski/USA Today via Reuters

Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, tells me the company will try to provide more data to outside researchers to scrutinize the health of activity on Facebook and Instagram, following The Wall Street Journal's brutal look at internal documents.

Driving the news: Clegg didn't say that in his public response to the series. So I called him to push for what Facebook will actually do differently given the new dangers raised by The Journal.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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