Celebrated Team of Designers and Architects Appointed to Lead Project

NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ:MHGC) ("MHG") and Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) ("Boyd") today announced their development and design plans for the new Mondrian and Delano hotels at Echelon in Las Vegas. A world-class team of designers and architects has been appointed to lead the project.

MHG and Boyd have named Chad Oppenheim as design architect, Klai Juba as executive architect, Marcel Wanders as interior designer for Mondrian, Piet Boon as interior designer for Delano and Cagley and Tanner as executive interior designer. Together, this celebrated team of designers and architects will design and develop the hotels to bring a new level of style and sophistication to Las Vegas.

"We are incredibly excited about this project and the talented design team we've assembled," said Ed Scheetz, President and Chief Executive Officer of MHG. "The level of creativity and experience each brings to this project is perfectly matched with MHG's goal to set a new standard for groundbreaking hotels."

"The Delano and Mondrian are iconic hotel brands and will help define Echelon," said Bob Boughner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming's Echelon Resorts. "Their presence will add a fresh sensibility to the Las Vegas hotel experience."

About the Designers

Oppenheim Architecture+Design is a full service architecture, interior design and urban planning firm located in Miami, Florida. The firm, founded by Principal Chad Oppenheim, has extensive experience in world class hospitality, residential and mixed-use design.

Klai Juba Architects has been part of the creation of some of the most notable and successful resorts on the Las Vegas strip for more than 25 years. The firm has led highly successful projects in Las Vegas including the Four Seasons Hotel, Sky Las Vegas, and Mandalay Bay and is currently leading the expansion and renovation project at MHG's Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas.

Marcel Wanders, Elle Decoration's "Designer of the Year" in 2006, founded the design label Mooi in 2000. His designs run from mass-produced objects to limited editions and unique pieces. Amongst Wanders' most recent interior projects include MHG's Miami Mondrian and the-soon-to-be opened Villa Moda store in Bahrain and a private residence in Jakarta.

Piet Boon is one of the Netherlands' most high profile designers, with his award-winning work seen everywhere from the world's finest homes and hotels to museum exhibitions on multiple continents. Piet's work includes fashion shops, restaurants, public space and bungalows in Hof van Saksen, the biggest luxury resort of the Netherlands, beach houses on Bonaire, floating villas, Hotel Provencal in Southern France and a winery in Tuscany.

William A. Richardson Builders, headed by Las Vegas development veteran Bill Richardson, has been retained to provide preconstruction consulting and estimating services.

As announced in January 2006, MHG and Boyd will develop a Delano and Mondrian at Echelon through a 50/50 joint venture. The new Mondrian and Delano will feature approximately 860 and 550 rooms respectively, with a diverse collection of rooms, suites, lofts and bungalows. Each hotel will feature its own porte-cochere, lobby, destination restaurants, nightlife venues, pools and gardens and will have direct access to the gaming, retail, dining and entertainment offerings of Echelon. Delano will boast a lobby bar and one of Morgans Hotel Group's historically successful restaurants, and amenities including a spa and fitness center, private pool and recreation area. Mondrian will include an innovative nightlife venue, private pool and meeting and conference space to appeal to both business and leisure guests. The expected development cost for the project is approximately $950 million.

Spanning 87 acres on the Las Vegas Strip, Echelon will feature approximately 5,000 hotel rooms, 750,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, two live entertainment venues, 30 dining and nightlife venues, and a 140,000-square-foot casino, all within a lushly landscaped resort setting. Echelon is planned to open in the third quarter 2010.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements contain words such as "may," "will," "might," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "could," "would," "estimate," "continue," or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and may include (without limitation) information regarding Boyd Gaming and Morgan Hotel Group's expectations, goals or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to statements regarding the joint venture to develop Delano and Mondrian, the design team selected to develop the hotels, including the experience and expertise that such design team is expected to bring to the development of the hotels, the expectation that Delano and Mondrian will enhance Echelon, the expected amenities of the hotels, the anticipated development cost associated with Delano and Mondrian, Boyd Gaming's expectations regarding Echelon, including anticipated timing, amenities and cost. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in any such statement. In particular, neither Boyd Gaming nor Morgans Hotel Group can provide any assurances regarding the estimated timing, cost, progress or anticipated amenities and features of Echelon, Delano or Mondrian. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: competition, litigation, changes in laws and regulations, including increased taxes, the availability and price of energy, economic, credit and capital market conditions and the effects of war, terrorist or similar activity. In addition, development projects, including Echelon, Delano and Mondrian, are subject to the many risks inherent in the construction of a new enterprise, including unanticipated design, construction, regulatory, environmental and operating problems and lack of demand for such projects, as well as unanticipated delays and cost increases, shortages of materials, shortages of skilled labor or work stoppages, unforeseen construction scheduling, engineering, environmental, permitting, construction or geological problems, weather interference, floods, fires or other casualty losses. In addition, anticipated cost and construction periods for development projects, including those discussed in this release, are based upon budgets, conceptual design documents and construction schedule estimates prepared in consultation with the projects' architects and contractors. Many of these costs are estimated at inception of the project and can change over time as the project is built to completion. The cost of any project may vary significantly from initial budget expectations, and Boyd Gaming may have a limited amount of capital resources to fund cost overruns. If Boyd Gaming cannot finance cost overruns on a timely basis, the completion of one or more projects may be delayed until adequate funding is available. Neither Boyd Gaming nor Morgans Hotel Group can assure you that any project will be completed, if at all, on time or within established budgets, or that any project will result in increased earnings. Significant delays, cost overruns, or failures of the development projects to achieve market acceptance could have a material adverse effect on Boyd Gaming's business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, Boyd Gaming's projects may not help it compete with new or increased competition in its markets. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ are discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" and in other sections of each of Boyd Gaming and Morgans Hotel Group's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, each of which is on file with the SEC, and in the companies' other current and periodic reports filed from time to time with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to each of Boyd Gaming and Morgans Hotel Group as of the date hereof, and neither company assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

About Morgans Hotel Group

Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ:MHGC) , which is widely credited with establishing and developing the rapidly expanding boutique hotel sector, owns and operates Morgans, Royalton and Hudson in New York, Delano and The Shore Club in Miami, Mondrian in Los Angeles, Scottsdale and South Beach, Clift in San Francisco, and Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London. In February 2007, MHG and an equity partner acquired the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and related assets. MHG has other property transactions in various stages of completion including projects in Miami Beach, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada, and continues to vigorously pursue its strategy of developing unique properties at various price points in international gateway cities in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia and around the world. For more information please visit http://www.morganshotelgroup.com/.

About Boyd Gaming

Headquartered in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) is a leading diversified owner and operator of 17 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana and Florida. The Company is also developing Echelon, a world-class destination resort on the Las Vegas Strip, expected to open in the third quarter 2010. Boyd Gaming press releases are available at http://www.prnewswire.com/. Additional news and information on Boyd Gaming can be found at http://www.boydgaming.com/.

Source: Boyd Gaming Corporation

CONTACT: Jennifer Foley of Morgans Hotel Group, ; or Eric Brielmann, Andi Salas, or Joele Frank, , all of Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher for Morgans Hotel Group; or media, Rob Stillwell, Vice President Corporate Communications, , , or financial, Paul Chakmak, EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, , , both of Boyd Gaming

Web site: http://www.boydgaming.com/
http://www.morganshotelgroup.com/