Travel Roundup: NYC's Gay Tourism, MGM Mirage Hires Morgan Stanley, Miramar Hotel Lawsuit Ends and More

(MoneyWatch)  New York City looks to gay and lesbian tourism -- New York City officials want gay and lesbians tourism to help fix their $4 billion budget deficit. The Rainbow Pilgrimage campaign comes as the economy is faltering and tourism is down across the country. The campaign is scheduled to come a few months in advance of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in Manhattan, considered the start of the gay civil rights movement. An estimated 47 million people visited the city last year, with gays and lesbians accounting for about 10 percent of that figure. The city will be working with Travelocity.com, hotels, restaurants and theaters to offer discounts and advertise on Web sites, magazines and bus stop shelters. The annual economic impact of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travelers is about $70.3 billion in the United States, according to Community Marketing. [Source: Associated Press]

MGM Mirage hired Morgan Stanley to handle casino sales -- MGM Mirage hired Morgan Stanley to handle the possible sales of two of its casinos, MGM Grand Detroit and the Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi, Miss. The Las Vegas-based casino operator needs to raise cash and meet debt obligations of $13.5 billion. MGM Mirage also hopes to save its development, CityCenter, the beleaguered $8.6 billion development co-owned by MGM Mirage and Dubai World that still needs about $2 billion to finish the project. [Source: Wall Street Journal]

Miramar Hotel lawsuit ends -- A lawsuit over redeveloping the Miramar Hotel in Montecito, Calif. ended in an agreement between the Los Angeles developer and residents who opposed the project and filed a California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit against it. Rick Caruso, founder of Caruso Affiliated, has plans to build a new luxury hotel at the 16-acre oceanfront site. Residents cited drainage issues as the reason for the CEQA lawsuit. [Source: GlobeSt]

Las Vegas Strip casinos suffer losses -- Las Vegas Strip casinos had gross wins drop 23.4 percent in February, the fifth-straight month of double-digit declines. The state Gaming Control Board reported that casinos statewide won $830.9 million in February, off 18.1 percent when compared to the same month in 2008. A bright spot for casinos was the Super Bowl, where casinos won $6.7 million this year compared to a $2.6 million loss last year. [Source: Las Vegas Sun]