CityCenter builder asks Nevada for investigation into MGM Mirage not paying $490 million bill

Builder wants state to probe MGM Mirage nonpayment

LAS VEGAS — The primary contractor that built the $8.5 billion CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip is asking Nevada’s governor to investigate why MGM Mirage hasn’t paid $490 million in construction bills.

A spokesman for Gov. Jim Gibbons told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Gibbons hasn’t seen the letter from Perini Building Co.

Spokesman Dan Burns says he’s not sure whether the office has received it.

Representatives for MGM Mirage declined immediate comment. The company has said it believes it owes Perini far less because the Harmon Hotel was shortened and delayed because of problems with its reinforcing steel.

Perini says in the letter the Harmon issue is a “smokescreen” and an excuse for MGM Mirage to not pay.