disneyfreak, i think you make excellent points.
below is an undated article from gamblingtimes.com. i found it just by typing "disney" and "gambling" into yahoo.
like i said, disney already has ties to the gaming industry. they just have their toes in the water right now. maybe 10 years from now, you'll be playing poker with chips that resemble mouse ears.
here's the article:
Disney and MGM Mirage have announced plans to bring some of the Disney brand names to MGM's New York-New York casino. Specifically, the ESPN Zone sports bar is planned to open next summer at the New York-New York Las Vegas property. The announcement featured : five Laker Girls cheerleaders and three ESPN television network talents: Robin Roberts, Charley Steiner and Al Bernstein. MGM Mirage brought its own leading lights: Chairman Terry Lanni, Co-Chief Executives Dan Wade and John Redmond, and President Jim Murren.
"The success of ESPN Zone dining and entertainment centers is directly related to the power of the ESPN brand," Disney Regional Entertainment Vice-President and General Manager Randall Baumberger said. "The synergy created between the ESPN television and radio networks, ESPN magazine, ESPN Web sites and our ESPN Zones is a win-win-win-win situation, for ESPN, Las Vegas, MGM Mirage, and our customers."
MGM Mirage's Lanni responded: "One of the main reasons for our merger with Mirage was the power of the Mirage brands: Bellagio, Mirage and Shadow Creek, among them. What better brand to have than ESPN Zone here in Las Vegas?"
The Las Vegas ESPN Zone will be Disney's seventh. Locations in Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., are open, and an Anaheim, Calif., location next to Disneyland is scheduled to open in January. Plans for the Las Vegas ESPN Zone include two bars, with a second-floor bar overlooking the inside of the New York-New York casino.
There are also two separate dining areas. The Studio Grill will serve diners surrounded by replicas of ESPN studio broadcasting sets, and a screening room will let diners view a video wall of live games and updated scores. ESPN and ABC television and radio broadcasts will likely be broadcast from the on-site studio. The ESPN Zone also plans a 10,000-square-foot Sports Arena with a number of interactive and skill based sports games. The two-level sports bar will take the place of the former Motown Cafe.
"We love the location," Baumberger said. "We have access to a major hotel, we're on a great corner (Tropicana Avenue and the Strip), and we have unparalleled Strip exposure." "If everything goes well, we'd love to be open by June next year," Baumberger added. No information was tendered regarding the cost of buy-outs and new improvements.
