MGM Mirage says 1st-quarter hotel revenue will be lower

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Casino operator MGM Mirage (MGM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects first-quarter hotel revenue to be slightly lower than it was in the year-earlier quarter, the company's chief financial officer said on Thursday.

"We are definitely seeing the effects of a weakened economy," CFO Dan D'Arrigo said on a conference call, noting that most of the weakness is outside of Las Vegas and at MGM's mid-market properties in Las Vegas.

He said MGM expects its convention business to pick up in the latter half of this year. D'Arrigo added that gambling business tied to Chinese New Year was down compared with last year due in part to the early-February timing of this year's holiday, which brought it closer to the western holiday on Jan. 1.

"Many of our Asian customers made visits during these periods but with the holidays being much closer together, that did affect certain travel plans here in the Chinese New Year," he said.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley, editing by Phil Berlowitz)