The future of Las Vegas casino jobs with CityCenter is now in question.

MGM Mirage now has 8,500 current and 10,000 future jobs, as well as billion of dollars in assets on the line. The company has invested $8.7 billion in the new CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip with partner Dubai World.

According to an article by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the company recently made a dept payment giving it until the end of April to proceed with the project or halt it.

Stephen Miller, an economics professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said if CityCenter filed for bankruptcy, an estimated 8,500 construction workers could be laid off. This would increase the local unemployment rate by 0.6 percent. Layoffs also could cause problems with unemployment claims, as many workers in Las Vegas live in other communities.

If the company files for bankruptcy, it would have the option of stopping the CityCenter project until the outlook improves, completing it and putting it up for sale, or selling it as-is. The project’s lenders would decide whether the project was worth more as a finished product.

Dubai World, a private development company in the United Arab Emirates, who is a partner in the project, also could make the future complicated. Dubai World recently sued MGM Mirage in Delaware, saying the company’s latest quarterly earnings report showed it breached a joint-venture pact. If CityCenter were to go bankrupt, it would be hard for Dubai World to get back the $6 billion it has invested in the project.