MGM crisis management

On October 1, 2017 a man opened fire from the Mandalay Bay casino on to concrete goers
attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. Since the shooting occurred more than 1,900
victims of the shooting have sued the MGM Resorts International. In July 2018 MGM Resorts
International filed a lawsuit to try and move all cases to federal court instead of local courts around the
country under the post 9/11 Safety Act. In September of this year MGM Resorts International offered to
donate $500 to any victim willing to waive being served legal documents or allow their attorney to except
on their behalf.
I would suggest that we hold a press conference with the CEO James Murren, Chief Corporate
Council Andrew Hagopain III and Senior Vice President of Federal Government Affairs Ayesha Khanna
to explain our decision to press this matter into the federal court system. We will be standing by our
lawsuit. We want to combine the lawsuits in one case instead of having several cases that drag out in
several different states. Murren will be there to show that our company is serious in addressing the issues
at hand. Hagopain will be available for any legal question that may need to be answered so that we can
answer questions to the fullest. Khanna will be there to discuss the implications of the post 9/11 Safety
Act that congress has approved by law.
We will also be reaching out to the lawyers of the victims to ensure them that we are nottrying to
stop the lawsuits from happening but instead is a way to make it fair and get it settled so that these victims
will not each have to wait for a day in court. To be transparent and not look like we are hiding anything
we will also release our letter to local and national media. MGM Resorts International wants to make
sure that it is understood that we are not trying to cause the victims any harm but instead trying to work
with them on this matter at hand.
In a news release we will provide letter from CEO Murren that this lawsuit is not about money
and only about the venue that the lawsuit is held in. We want to clear up any miss understanding that can
be conveyed by the term “lawsuit.” We think that many will believe that this means we are going after
the victims for money and that could not be further from the truth and want to make sure our intentions
are clear on this matter. We respect the rights of the victims to sue in this matter we just do not believe it
should be a state matter and are taking the legal steps necessary to do so.
Primary audience is the victims of the shooting.
Ages: 18-50
Sex: male and femal
Income: $20,000-$60,000
We would reach them by inviting media from both local and national networks. We would also
reach them by sending a letter explaining our stance to their lawyers so that they can have another way to
process the information on their own. We want to make sure that they know that we are not trying to
block their lawsuit and or purpose is to change the venue from local to federal and make lawsuits a more
stream line process. We also want it understood that we are not going after them for monetary gain in this
lawsuit it is a legal tool just like they are using.
Secondary audience is those who might stay at our resorts.
Age: 21+
Sex: male and female
Income: $ 40,000 plus
We understand that when the news of our lawsuit came out it might have some effect on our
customer base who might see us as attacking the victims of the shooting. We want to make sure they
understand that we are not going after the victims and that we are taking steps in legal proceedings to
speed up the process and be fair to victims. Also ensure them that MGM Resorts International is not
using this to gain anything financially it is just a legal means of trying to move this from local courts to
federal courts. Lawsuit normally means money and when headline are seen that MGM Resorts
International is suing victims the first thought can go to money and that needs to be cleared up in our
potential vacationers. We will reach them through local and national news outlets.
Key Messages
1. MGM Resorts International is not suing the victims for monetary gain.
2. We feel that because of the Congress passed post 9/11 Safety Act these lawsuits should
be held in federal court not local. Since the concert security was federally certified.
3. This lawsuit is not an attack on victims of the shooting and is instead a legal tool for
change of venue.

Number one strategy is to hold an hour and a half press conference at the MGM Grand Detroit.
Victims, their lawyers, local media from around the country, national media and gaming bloggers will be
invited to attend. We have chosen MGM Grand Detroit so that we do not look like we are intimidating
any victims that me choose to attend. We feel that if we have it at one of our Las Vegas properties it
could seen as making the victims relive the tragic events. That is not our goal and want to make them feel
welcome and have a chance to ask question if they would like. We will release a statement and then open
up for questions and answers as we would like to make our stances as transparent as possible.
Second, we will be using a letter from the CEO to further our side and our transparency on this
lawsuit. The letter will be posted on our social media sites along with being sent to local and national
newspapers. A copy of this will be provided to the victims that attend our press conference and sent to
the lawyers of those that do not. We want to make sure that our side in this lawsuit is getting out in our
words and allow people to judge at that point.
We will be able to tell is our message is getting out by looking at our numbers of guest staying at
our properties and money spent at these properties. If they have declined, then we will know that the
message of not attacking victims has not worked. If we see that people are still staying and gambling at
our properties, we will know that our message is being seen as positive since our release. If we get an
agreement from the victims and their lawyers to move to federal court with out needing the lawsuit to go
forward would be the ultimate sign of success.
 References
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/07/17/mgm-resorts-sues-victims-las-vegas-massacre-
denies-liability/791511002/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-shooting-mgm-sues-victims-survivors-claiming-no-liability/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/07/19/mgm-files-awful-lawsuit-against-
las-vegas-shooting-survivors/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f146a619d5ab
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mgm-las-vegas-massacre-lawsuit-victims-20180724-
story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/07/19/mgm-files-awful-lawsuit-against-
las-vegas-shooting-survivors/?utm_term=.51d7012ef740
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=286798
https://www.mgmresorts.com/en/hotels.html