MGM Resorts has gone from prey to predator in the blink of an eye. Just a day after Barry Diller's People Inc. dropped its takeover bid for the casino company, MGM is now looking at acquiring Diller's media empire. That suggests it's confident of a comeback in its traditional Las Vegas business.

Diller's $12.4 billion bid for MGM was always a long-shot proposal. The billionaire publishing magnate spotted a bargain during the Covid pandemic in 2020 when he picked up the majority of his current 27% stake in MGM. But Diller seemingly couldn't pull together the financing for a full acquisition via his much smaller media company.

Still, MGM appears to be going cheap. At least the company's executives appear to think so, as they discuss buying Diller's People, according to The Wall Street Journal. That offers an opportunity to effectively buy back a major stake in their MGM stock while also picking up other assets such as People magazine.

People Inc. stock was up 11% in premarket trading Friday, while MGM shares were rising 0.1%.

Diller's rationale for buying MGM was that its physical assets-think the famed Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip-are undervalued by a world increasingly focused on the digital. He's not the only one thinking along those lines. Caesars Entertainment is being acquired for $17.6 billion by billionaire Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta, who also has a major stake in Wynn Resorts.

MGM and Fertitta think the charms of Sin City and old-school gambling will eventually prevail. But the market still seems skeptical as MGM stock has given back all the gains it made on Diller's reported takeover interest. Its peer Bally's has also been under pressure over its plans to build or expand multiple casinos across the country.

In a world suddenly consumed by online sports betting and prediction markets, bricks-and-mortar casinos are a contrarian pick. But when billionaires are suddenly making big gambles on an unloved sector, it's worth paying attention.