RPT-UPDATE 3-MGM Mirage posts loss, but revenue tops estimates

* Q2 adj EPS loss 12 cents vs. estimate loss 9 cents

* Revenue $1.49 billion vs. estimate $1.48 billion

* Shares up 5 pct; Sands, Wynn also up (Adds company comment)

ATLANTA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - MGM Mirage (MGM.N) posted a second-quarter loss on Monday as it discounted hotel rooms in a bid to attract conventioneers to its Las Vegas resorts, but its shares gained 5 percent as it cited better revenue trends.

The casino operator also said convention and business group bookings were improving and added it was likely gaining market share. Declines in hotel revenue in Las Vegas slowed in the second quarter from the first period, and that sequential trend is expected to continue, the company added.

"The operating environment we think will remain choppy in the near term," MGM Mirage Chief Executive Jim Murren said during a conference call. "However, we see extremely positive signs especially as we go into 2010 or even into the fourth quarter."

MGM also said it expects CityCenter, the multi-tower project on the Las Vegas Strip it is developing with joint venture partner Dubai World, would help recharge growth in the Vegas market and at its surrounding properties. CityCenter is on track to start opening later this year.

The No. 2 casino operator, whose largest shareholder is billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, reported a net loss of $212.6 million, or 60 cents a diluted share, compared with year-earlier net income of $113.1 million, or 40 cents a share.

The results included a cash impairment charge of 34 cents a share from an investment in a convertible note, and other special items.

Excluding items, the loss came to 12 cents a share, while analysts on average had expected a loss of 9 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue, adjusting for promotional allowances, fell 21 percent to $1.49 billion, compared with $1.48 billion forecast by analysts.

Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Robert LaFleur said MGM did a "good job" controlling expenses in the quarter.

"It was from our view sort of an in-line quarter," LaFleur said.

MGM, whose holdings include nine Las Vegas Strip casino-hotels, gambling resorts in Mississippi and Michigan, and joint ventures in New Jersey and China's Macau, said $2.65 billion of debt and equity issuances completed in the quarter improved its financial position.

The company is looking to further expand in Asia as decreased business travel pressures casinos. It said in June that it was in talks with investors to develop a casino in Taiwan and also was eyeing potential projects in Japan and the Philippines.

But the company faces scrutiny in the United States tied to its joint venture in Macau with partner Pansy Ho.

Last week, the state of New Jersey reopened its review of the gaming license held by MGM and Boyd Gaming Corp's (BYD.N) -- a 50-50 venture that operates Atlantic City's Borgata.

The move is tied to issues raised earlier this year by an investigation of the Macau venture. In May, New Jersey's gaming enforcement division issued a report recommending that MGM sever business ties with Ho.

MGM said it looks forward to presenting evidence at a hearing before state gambling authorities.

"I don't think this is going to result in anything near term," LaFleur said of the New Jersey investigation. "I think we're in the very early stages of a long, drawn-out process."

Shares of MGM, which fell before the market opened, were up 36 cents, or 5 percent, at $7.59 at mid-afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange. Other casino stocks rose, with market leader Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) up 6.8 percent at $9.99 and Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) up 4.9 percent at $53.66. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs; Editing by Richard Chang)