What is happening behind the scenes at MGM Resorts?
And again, the surprising connection between money and politics... $MGM
MGM Resorts is one of the largest hospitality, entertainment, and gambling companies in the world.
It operates leading resorts in Las Vegas, across the US, and in China.
A key growth engine for the company is BetMGM – its online gambling and sports betting arm, which is in fierce competition for market share in the US.
Note this, it's important for later.
- Not long ago, BetMGM reported and beat analyst estimates
- Revenue was 2.8 billion – a 33% year-over-year growth
- iGaming revenue grew by 24%
- Online sports betting revenue grew by 63% – as we said, this is the company's growth engine.
The company improved its guidance following continuous growth on the BetMGM platform, along with higher user engagement – and confirmed guidance of up to $3.2 billion for 2026.
There is even an expectation of reaching significant positive EBITDA of half a billion dollars by 2027.
The company also maintains its global strength – at the end of 2025, the company signed a long-term agreement ensuring the use of the MGM brand in China until at least 2032 – which removes a Chinese regulatory cloud over its operations in the Far East.
The company also updated that it is engaged in extensive renovations at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, expected to be completed this year, and plans to launch a new luxury property.
Additionally, the company recently announced that starting May 2026, MGM will host LIV Golf League week in Las Vegas – a move expected to significantly increase room occupancy and revenue at its luxury properties.
What's particularly interesting is what's happening behind the scenes –
Between March 23-24, IAC (InterActiveCorp), owned and led by media tycoon Barry Diller, who holds over 26% in the company and whose representatives are members of the board, aggressively bought shares.
Total purchases are close to $40,000,000 at an average price of about $37.2.
This is an increase of about 1.5% – which doesn't sound impressive – but it's part of a massive move that started back in 2020.
We are talking about 10/09/2020
Then IAC announced a $1 billion investment in MGM with the goal of acquiring over a 10% stake in the company.
Joey Levin, who serves today as a director at MGM on behalf of IAC, explained the move at the time –
"We believe MGM presented a 'once-in-a-decade' opportunity for IAC to own a significant piece of a leading brand in a large category with great potential to go online."
In other words – IAC became a partner in MGM due to its online growth potential.
Since the announcement, MGM stock has risen over 70% – while IAC continues to increase its holdings over time.
When we checked, we found that this is truly a consistent investment thesis for IAC.
The company invested in the online dating platform Match in 1999, at a time when the platform had no paying subscribers at all...
Today – it has over 10 million subscribers.
Likewise, IAC invested in Expedia in 2002, when the US online travel market was worth $9 billion – a small fraction of the $1.1 trillion it is worth today.
In other words, IAC repeatedly employs the same method – taking an early position in a company with significant online expansion potential?
Another sentence that caught our eye, in the company's investor update on entering the position back in 2020, management wrote –
"IAC executives say that financial markets do not properly value MGM's balance sheet and that over the next decade, the operator's free cash flow is expected to be higher than its current valuation."
And now – let's move on to Barry Diller:
He is considered to have extensive political connections – especially within the Democratic Party; he donates enormous sums to the party and consistently supports them with significant statements in the media.
The gambling sector is a highly active and evolving regulatory field, and its influence can be critical concerning online gambling regulation and casino licensing in new states (like New York).
Therefore – it's not surprising to discover that Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna trades MGM stock frequently; since August, he has purchased shares of the company 3 times – (and sold once).
But wait until you hear our next revelations –
Ro Khanna is an enthusiastic public supporter of online gambling.
Here are a few examples:
Here's one.
Here's another video where he explains his position in detail.
Sounds like a conflict of interest in the House of Representatives? – You haven't seen anything yet!
Ro Khanna is considered a representative of Silicon Valley – he is directly supported by the organization Fwd.us, founded by Mark Zuckerberg – to which Barry Diller also belongs – Ro Khanna receives many donations from there.
The political action committee of IAC (of which Diller is the chairman) regularly donates to Democratic candidates who support the digital economy – and Ro Khanna? – he is one of the main beneficiaries of this as a representative of Silicon Valley.
We are monitoring.