Basis of presentation. As permitted by the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s 2019 annual consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the Company’s interim financial statements. The results for such periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Principles of consolidation. For entities not determined to be a variable interest entity (“VIE”), the Company consolidates such entities in which the Company owns 100% of the equity. For entities in which the Company owns less than 100% of the equity interest, the Company consolidates the entity if it has the direct or indirect ability to control the entities’ activities based upon the terms of the respective entities’ ownership agreements, such as MGM China. For these entities, the Company records a noncontrolling interest in the consolidated balance sheets. All intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation.

The Company’s investments in unconsolidated affiliates are accounted for under the equity method when the Company can exercise significant influence over, or has joint control of, the unconsolidated affiliate, such as CityCenter and MGP BREIT Venture.

The Company evaluates entities for which control is achieved through means other than voting rights to determine if it is the primary beneficiary of a VIE. A VIE is an entity in which either (i) the equity investors as a group, if any, lack the power through voting or similar rights to direct the activities of such entity that most significantly impact such entity’s economic performance or (ii) the equity investment at risk is insufficient to finance that entity’s activities without additional subordinated financial support. The Company identifies the primary beneficiary of a VIE as the enterprise that has both of the following characteristics: (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance; and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses or receive benefits of the VIE that could potentially be significant to the entity. The Company consolidates its investment in a VIE when it determines that it is its primary beneficiary. For these VIEs, the Company records a noncontrolling interest in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company may change its original assessment of a VIE upon subsequent events such as the modification of contractual arrangements that affect the characteristics or adequacy of the entity’s equity investments at risk and the disposition of all or a portion of an interest held by the primary beneficiary. The Company performs this analysis on an ongoing basis.

Management has determined that MGP is a VIE because the Class A equity investors as a group lack the power through voting or similar rights to direct the activities of such entity that most significantly impact such entity’s economic performance. The Company has determined that it is the primary beneficiary of MGP and consolidates MGP because (i) its ownership of MGP’s single Class B share entitles it to a majority of the total voting power of MGP’s shares, and (ii) the exchangeable nature of the Operating Partnership units owned provide the Company the right to receive benefits from MGP that could potentially be significant to MGP. The Company has recorded MGP’s ownership interest in the Operating Partnership as noncontrolling interest in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. As of September 30, 2020, on a consolidated basis MGP had total assets of $10.7 billion, primarily related to its real estate investments, and total liabilities of $4.4 billion, primarily related to its indebtedness.

Management has determined that Bellagio BREIT Venture is a VIE because the equity holders as a group lack the power through voting or similar rights to direct the activities of such entity that most significantly impact such entity’s economic performance. The Company has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary of Bellagio BREIT Venture and, accordingly, does not consolidate the venture, because the Company does not have power to direct the activities that could potentially be significant to the venture; BREIT, as the managing member, has such power. The Company has recorded its 5% ownership interest in Bellagio BREIT Venture as an investment in unconsolidated affiliates in the Company’s consolidated financial statements, for which such amount was $60 million as of September 30, 2020. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with Bellagio BREIT Venture is equal to the carrying value of its investment, assuming no future capital funding requirements, plus the exposure to loss resulting from the Company’s guarantee of the debt of Bellagio BREIT Venture, as further discussed in Note 7.

Reclassifications. Certain reclassifications have been made to conform the prior period presentation.

Revenue recognition. The Company’s revenue from contracts with customers consists of casino wagers transactions, hotel room sales, food and beverage transactions, entertainment shows, and retail transactions.

For casino wager transactions that include incentives earned by customers under the Company’s loyalty programs, the Company allocates a portion of net win based upon the standalone selling price of such incentive (less estimated breakage). This allocation is deferred and recognized as revenue when the customer redeems the incentive. When redeemed, revenue is recognized in the department that provides the goods or service. Redemption of loyalty incentives at third party outlets are deducted from the loyalty liability and amounts owed are paid to the third party, with any discount received recorded as other revenue. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, commissions and incentives provided to gaming customers were $276 million and $801 million, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, commissions and incentives provided to gaming customers were $687 million and $1.9 billion, respectively. After allocating revenue to other goods and services provided as part of casino wager transactions, the Company records the residual amount to casino revenue.

Contract and Contract-Related Liabilities. There may be a difference between the timing of cash receipts from the customer and the recognition of revenue, resulting in a contract or contract-related liability. The Company generally has three types of liabilities related to contracts with customers: (1) outstanding chip liability, which represents the amounts owed in exchange for gaming chips held by a customer, (2) loyalty program obligations, which represents the deferred allocation of revenue relating to loyalty program incentives earned, as discussed above, and (3) customer advances and other, which is primarily funds deposited by customers before gaming play occurs (“casino front money”) and advance payments on goods and services yet to be provided such as advance ticket sales and deposits on rooms and convention space or for unpaid wagers. These liabilities are generally expected to be recognized as revenue within one year of being purchased, earned, or deposited and are recorded within “Other accrued liabilities” on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

The following table summarizes the activity related to contract and contract-related liabilities:

	Outstanding Chip Liability				Loyalty Program				Customer Advances and Other
	2020		2019		2020		2019		2020			2019
	(in thousands)
Balance at January 1	$	314,570	$	323,811	$	126,966	$	113,293	$	481,095		$	667,285
Balance at September 30		350,848		328,061		138,785		125,518		359,877			444,573
Increase / (decrease)	$	36,278	$	4,250	$	11,819	$	12,225	$	(121,218	)	$	(222,712	)

Revenue by source. The Company presents the revenue earned disaggregated by the type or nature of the good or service (casino, room, food and beverage, and entertainment, retail and other) and by relevant geographic region within Note 10.

Leases. Refer to Note 6 for discussion of leases under which the Company is a lessee. The Company is a lessor under certain other lease arrangements. Lease revenues earned by the Company from third parties are classified within the line item corresponding to the type or nature of the tenant’s good or service. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, lease revenues from third-party tenants include $7 million and $21 million recorded within food and beverage revenue, respectively, and $14 million and $47 million recorded within entertainment, retail, and other revenue for the same such periods, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, lease revenues from third-party tenants include $14 million and $39 million recorded within food and beverage revenue, respectively, and $22 million and $67 million recorded within entertainment, retail, and other revenue for the same such periods, respectively. Lease revenues from the rental of hotel rooms are recorded as rooms revenues within the consolidated statements of operations.

Recently issued accounting standards. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASC 326 “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurements of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” (“ASC 326”), which replaces the existing incurred loss model with a current expected credit loss (CECL) model that requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The Company adopted ASC 326 on January 1, 2020, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or accounting policies. The Company now utilizes a forward-looking current expected credit loss model for accounts receivables, guarantees, and other financial instruments.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes,” (“ASU 2019-12”), which simplifies the accounting for income taxes and includes removal of certain exceptions to the general principles of ASC 740, Income Taxes, and simplification in several other areas such as accounting for a franchise tax (or similar tax) that is partially based on income. The Company will adopt ASU 2019-12 on January 1, 2021 and, although the Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2019-12, the Company does not expect it to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.