The lousy economy has claimed--at least temporarily--another Atlantic City construction-project victim.

In a move that has caused surprisingly little comment or consternation, Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage has put off the scheduled winter, 2009 groundbreaking for its $4.5 billion Atlantic City mega-resort.

MGM Mirage is so tight-lipped about this development that the business world learned of it not from the company itself, but from a second-quarter earnings conference call for financial analysts conducted by Perini Construction, the firm whose shovels are now scheduled to hit the dirt in the winter of 2010, which means the luxe casino-hotel complex probably won't open its doors before the end of 2012 or early 2013.

When (if?) it is built, the facility--which will be AyCee's largest--will encompass more than 70 acres next to Borgata. The blueprints call for 5,000 slot machines, 200 table games a major large poker room, 1,500-seat theater, restaurants, nightclubs, a spa, a half-million square feet of retail space and a convention center.