Someone, or some people, recently paid a $300,000 check at a Bellagio restaurant.
But MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren didn’t say who when he mentioned the eye-popping meal Tuesday in a conference call with analysts about his company’s latest earnings report.
Now Bloomberg says it was Shane Smith, the CEO of Vice Media, who footed the bill. Citing an anonymous source, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Smith paid for the wildly expensive dinner at Prime Steakhouse after he “had been on a lucky gambling run.”
Bloomberg reported previously that the meal took place during the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual technology convention held in Las Vegas last month. Wednesday’s article also referenced a tweet from David Carr, a New York Times media columnist who died last week, which appears to support the claim about Smith’s gambling luck.
Carr sent the tweets during the week of CES.
Murren brought up the $300,000 anecdote when he was talking about how “people are starting to spend remarkably here,” even though it will be tough for business at MGM’s luxury properties to return to its pre-recession peak.
“That’s a pretty good check,” Murren said. “We haven’t seen that in a long time. I’m not saying that’s a trend, but to get the kind of cash flow numbers the luxury properties got up and down the Strip, you’re going to have to see that type of abundant spending.”
An MGM spokesman told Bloomberg the check was for a party of 12, but a guest at the meal reportedly “put the number closer to 25.”
MGM spokeswoman Yvette Monet said in an email that she couldn’t confirm guest identities, per the company’s guest privacy policies. A spokesman for Vice didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.