Manny Pacquiao turns to the crowd after arriving at the MGM Grand casino and hotel in Las Vegas.  Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Shane Mosely on Saturday. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson
Manny Pacquiao turns to the crowd after arriving at the MGM Grand casino and hotel in Las Vegas. Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Shane Mosely on Saturday. AP Photo/Julie JacobShow more

Manny Pacquiao bout packs a punch for Dubai World and Las Vegas tourism



There will be more than just fight fans cheering when Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley step into the ring in Las Vegas this weekend.

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The nearby CityCenter mega-resort half-owned by Dubai World, is showing signs of improvement amid evidence of a wider recovery on the Las Vegas Strip.

MGM Resorts, the leisure company which owns the other half of the CityCenter hotel and casino development says there has been a rise in rates and occupancy levels at its Vegas properties. This is helping to reduce CityCenter's losses, after the resort, which cost $8.5 billion (Dh31bn) to build, launched in December 2009 into a severely depressed and challenging market that has proved difficult for businesses to recover from.

But events such as the high-profile fight, which takes place a the MGM Grand Garden Arena with Manny expected into the ring around 5am UAE time, will only help speed up a pick up in business in Las Vegas.

"Consumer spending is strengthening and we will take advantage of this through a very strong event calendar that we have throughout the the summer and into the second half," said Jim Murren, the international chief executive of MGM Resorts.

"We know that when we have good events at the arenas people spend more money and we're seeing that right now. This weekend we have a very important fight at the MGM. This is going to draw attention from around the world. Manny Pacquiao is fighting Shane Mosley. This is clearly going to be a strong draw for the Strip properties." Events at its Mandalay events centre and MGM Grand Garden properties are up significantly this year, Mr Murren said.

He added that a Paul McCartney concert there in June would also help attract visitors and spend.

MGM Resorts saw 16 per cent increase in revenue per available room at its Las Vegas properties in the first quarter, with occupancy levels increasing from 85 to 87 per cent and average daily rates rising 13 per cent to $130.

Convention bookings are also growing in Las Vegas at CityCenter, MGM Resorts reported.

The CityCenter development, 50 per cent owned by the Dubai World subsidiary Infinity World, was planned during a boom time for Las Vegas property and tourism sector. As the economic downturn set in, Las Vegas was hit hard, as convention bookings and tourism declined and property prices slumped.

The CityCenter complex's main attraction is the 4,004-room Aria gaming resort. It also has as luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas' first Mandarin Oriental. There is also a 46,450 square metre retail and entertainment district and a $40m fine art collection.

The improvement at the development has been significant. Aria's occupancy levels were 86 per cent in the first quarter and it had average rates of $201, resulting in revenue per available room of $172, a 41 per cent increase on the same period last year. This helped the property narrow its losses from $119 million to $6 million last year.

This was CityCenter's strongest quarter to date, despite the opening of the $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan hotel and casino nearby in December. Owned by Deutsche Bank, one might expect this to be strong competition.

"Overall we believe the opening had a positive impact on all of CityCenter and has helped to improve foot traffic," said Bobby Baldwin, the president of CityCenter.

But MGM Resorts, despite having more than $12 billion of debt, remains upbeat on the future for CityCenter.

"We're very happy with the operating improvement we have seen in the first quarter," said Mr Murren. "We expect more great things to come for that venture."

rbundhun@thenational.ae

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Company%20Profile
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Why your domicile status is important

Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.

Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born. 

UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.

A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.

PETER%20PAN%20%26%20WENDY
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ARGYLLE
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Ferrari
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MATCH INFO

What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae

THE DEALS

Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m

Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m

Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m

Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m

Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m

TOTAL $485m

Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

PSG's line up

GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)

Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)

Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)

Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)

Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)

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Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5