Gambling is harmful, according to the Koran, and so it is banned in the United Arab Emirates and other Persian Gulf states.

But that has not stopped Dubai World, a conglomerate owned by the Gulf emirate, from making a big entrance in Las Vegas.

Dubai World has agreed to buy 14 million shares of MGM Mirage--which owns the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and Mirage casinos among other properties--for $84 a share, or about $1.2 billion. Dubai will also acquire half of Mirage's CityCenter hotels and condos for another $2.7 billion. And Dubai plans to buy another $1.18 billion of MGM stock from public shareholders. (MGM shares closed on Tuesday at $74.32.)

The deal may put to rest uncertainty about the direction of MGM Mirage, which is controlled by investor Kirk Kerkorian.

Earlier this year, Kerkorian offered to buy the Bellagio and CityCenter in a move seen by some as a way to put MGM in play. But in June, he withdrew the offer.

MGM's chief executive, Terry Lanni, told the Wall Street Journal that with the Dubai deal, "We have a financially secure partner who has aggressively secured other brands. They love brands. They want to help us build our brands." 

Dubai can buy up to 20 percent of MGM under the deal.

An investment arm of Dubai World recently clinched a deal for the retail chain Barneys New York. Another unit, Dubai Ports World, had to sell its U.S. operations acquired in a deal with P&O of Britain after a political firestorm.

Dubai is already a big investor in another gambling company, Kerzner International, which owns the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.

Dubai World's chairman, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, told Bloomberg News: "Through our Kerzner investment we're already into gambling, so this shouldn't come as a surprise.  "The important thing is that MGM's non-gambling revenue is rising.''

As they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Related Links:

• FT Alphaville: Dubai hits Las Vegas
• DealBook: Dubai to Buy Stake in MGM Mirage for $5 Billion