Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp disclosed in a filing that it sold 20 million shares in gambling and resort operator MGM Resorts International on Wednesday, leaving it with a 22.8 percent interest.

MGM shares were down $1.50 or 13 percent, to $10.04 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Kerkorian's firm held 111,173,744 shares as of August 17. In April, Tracinda, which is based in Beverly Hills, California, had 26.8 percent of shares.

It remains MGM's largest shareholder, ahead of Paulson & Co, which owns 8.5 percent of shares.

Tracinda said it sold the shares for $10.7437 per share. Despite selling 20 million shares, Tracinda said in the filing that it continues to believe that there is substantial value in the assets of MGM Resorts and that the Company is a good long-term investment.

The company owns 10 resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as casino-resorts in Mississippi and Michigan and joint ventures in New Jersey and Macau.

MGM Resorts International last week reported a second-quarter profit which included a large gain following the initial public offering of its Macau joint venture, MGM China Holdings Ltd <2282.HK>.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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