LAS VEGAS Billionaire Phil Ruffin, who purchased Treasure Island Hotel & Casino from MGM Resorts International in 2008, recently inquired with MGM about at least two other properties.
Ruffin expressed interest in the neighboring Mirage Resort and Casino and Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. “We approached them, and they don’t have anything on the market,” Ruffin tells his hometown paper, The Wichita Eagle.
The Mirage is appealing to Ruffin due to its proximity to Treasure Island. “Well, it hooks onto my casino here,” he says. “They kind of go together.”
Ruffin says no deals are imminent with MGM. “It’s hard to buy them when they’re not for sale,” he says. “And you never want to chase a deal. You’ll pay too much when you start.”
Nevertheless, Ruffin tells the Eagle that he has the interest and funds to pick up another gaming property. “At some point, we will pick up another casino down the road,” he says.