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MGM Boss Murren Backs Clinton, Blasts 'Destructive' Trump Rhetoric

MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, a lifelong Republican, broke ranks with his party this year to vocally support Democrat Hillary Clinton for president. Murren also tells KNPR of his dealings to try and bring a professional basketball team to Las Vegas.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, a lifelong Republican, broke ranks with his party this year to vocally support Democrat Hillary Clinton for president. Murren also tells KNPR of his dealings to try and bring a professional basketball team to Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, a lifelong Republican, broke ranks with his party this year to vocally support Democrat Hillary Clinton for president.

He said he favors her stances on the economy and travel promotion, but made his decision more on what he said was the disqualifying behavior of GOP nominee Donald Trump.

“As a person that works at a company of 68,000 employees — we have 50,000 here in Las Vegas — the majority of my employees are minorities,” he said. “And the rhetoric, the disrespect, the division, the discrimination, the hatred, the venom coming out of Donald Trump is so destructive I just couldn’t sit idly by.”

Murren said he understands the support Trump has gotten from others in the casino industry.

“Many others believe Donald Trump will shake up Washington, and they’re frustrated with the bureaucracy of Washington,” he said. “And who isn’t?”

Still, Murren said, now isn’t the time to be cutting taxes, as Trump has proposed. Instead, Murren, whose compensation was more than $13 million in 2015, said he is willing to pay higher taxes to “make education more accessible.”

In a wide-ranging interview with KNPR’s State of Nevada, Murren also said:

  • He is bullish that the NFL will allow the Raiders to move to Las Vegas, saying it would benefit the league, which has seen lower attendance and TV ratings this year. Also, Las Vegas’ marketing know-how will help keep the domed stadium busy year-round.
  • He is trying to bring an existing NBA team to Las Vegas to play at the T-Mobile Arena, where a National Hockey League team will begin playing next year.

“The thought of having a professional hockey team, a professional football team, a professional soccer team, probably a professional basketball team — I’m working on that was an impossible team. It’s a very real reality and possibility now,” he said.

  • MGM is rethinking the casino to better to appeal to younger players, including developing a new gaming space for millenials at the MGM Grand.
  • Congress needs to “simplify and clarify” the corporate tax structure and reduce loopholes used by companies to avoid paying taxes.
  • He opposes efforts to privatize Social Security, saying that would only benefit Wall Street, where Murren worked before coming to MGM 18 years ago.

Jim Murren,MGM Resorts International CEO

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With deep experience in journalism, politics, and the nonprofit sector, news producer Doug Puppel has built strong connections statewide that benefit the Nevada Public Radio audience.