Caesars to develop non-casino properties in Asia

"There's so much dynamism in Asia, that you have to find a way to participate," Loveman told the newspaper. "In gaming, you can't go where the politicians don't allow you to go, so you have to find something else you do that's less controversial."

The company owns a golf course in one of Asia’s hottest gaming markets, Macau, but has been unable to obtain a gambling license there. Likewise, Caesars has been shut of the Singapore casino market.

Company spokesman Gary Thompson confirmed that the strategy is under discussion at the company. "These things are in a nascent stage," he said. Exactly how the company would move forward, through franchise deals or other agreements, has not been decided, he said.

"We typically manage all of our properties. And we manage some for tribal entities as well," Thompson said. "It is under discussion to do franchises but there has been no decision."

MGM Resorts in 2007 spun off a separate company, MGM Hospitality, to operate non-casino hotels under three brands: MGM Grand, Skyloft and Bellagio.

MGM currently has projects in India, Vietnam and China, with its first hotel scheduled to open later this year in Sanya, a beach resort in Southern China.