Featured Articles Archive - Page 128

Inside Gaming: Merger hasn't changed Sartini's business style

He oversees a publicly traded company, but you won't find Blake Sartini with his attention focused solely on the daily ups and downs of Golden Entertainment's stock price.The gaming operator is nearly 4 months old after a $341 million merger that brought together Golden Gaming's statewide slot machine route operation, Pahrump casinos and the Nevada-leading tavern business with Lakes Entertainment, owners of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Maryland.Sartini, whose family kept a 35% ownership stake in the once privately held business, sees no reason to change his or the company's management style."Prior to the merger, we kept our heads down, focused on what we were doing and executed our plan," said Sartini, 56, who is chairman and CEO of Golden Entertainment...read more

DraftKings power attorney unleashes his case against New York

DraftKings' hiring of attorney David Boies appears to have been worth every penny for the daily fantasy sports giant.No, a decision hasn't been made in the company's fight against New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. That may or may not come on Wednesday when an emergency hearing will take place in response to the cease-and-desist order the AG filed last week, seeking to shut down all DFS operators in the state of New York, posthaste.DraftKings has hired power attorney David Boies (photo by David Shankbone) But after listening to Boies hold court today with the media during a conference call to discuss the case and upcoming hearing, it's clear DraftKings' decision to put its fate in the hands of the man Fortune magazine once dubbed "Corporate America's No...read more

Nevada regulators approve more stringent oversight for casino nightclub operations

The Nevada Gaming Commission will require casino operators to take more stringent approach in monitoring their nightclub venues, hoping to avoid regulatory complaints that often led to six- and seven-figure fines for allowing illicit activity inside the venues.Among the changes, the casinos will have to designate an employee to oversee and monitor the nightclubs and that person will have to be licensed under state gaming regulations as a key employee...read more

Nevada Gaming Commission approves three buyouts

Three casino industry buyouts were approved Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission, including Eldorado Resorts' $72.5 million acquisition of MGM Resorts International's holdings in Reno.Commissioners, meeting in Las Vegas, unanimously signed off on Eldorado's purchase of Circus Circus Hotel Casino - Reno and the remaining half of the Silver Legacy Resort Casino from MGM Resorts...read more

Dan's DFS picks for NFL Week 11

When I went to bed Monday night, right about at the end of the first quarter of the Bengals-Texans game, I just assumed I had no shot to cash in the DraftKings Millionaire Maker.I was wrong. I woke up Tuesday morning to an e-mail on my phone with a subject line that simply read, "danpodheiser, you won!" Somehow, my so-so lineup that produced a measly 140.54 points was good enough for a 58,312th place finish and a min-cash worth $30...read more

Wynn delays opening of Macau resort

Wynn Resorts Ltd. said Wednesday it will move the opening of its $4.1 billion Wynn Palace development in Macau back by three months.In a brief statement, the company said it was notified by its general contractor that the 1,700-room Cotai Strip hotel-casino will not be ready to open by the projected early completion date of March 25.The revised opening date for the project is now June 25.The announcement sent shares of Wynn Resorts down as much as 6% before the stock price rallied...read more

Pennsylvania House Committee passes Internet Gaming Bill

Pennsylvania took a giant step toward joining Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey as U.S. states that allow gambling online after its House Gaming Oversight Committee today overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill to license and regulate online gaming.The committee's chairman, Republican State Representative John Payne, introduced the bill (HB 649) earlier this year...read more

Inside Gaming: Let's call daily fantasy sports what it is — gambling

The debate that DraftKings and FanDuel never wanted is taking place.At this juncture, the winning argument is that daily fantasy sports is gambling and not a game of skill.Nevada gaming regulators, based on an attorney general's opinion, said in October daily fantasy was sports wagering under the state's gambling laws...read more

Avengers, Transformers attractions coming to Treasure Island

Treasure Island will turn over the second and third floors of its recently completed 40,000 square-foot retail area along the Strip to an exhibition company that will create attractions based on Marvel Comics' The Avengers and Hasbro's Transformers, offering customers interactive, theme parklike experiences.The project's developers, Victory Hill Exhibitions, said the attractions will capitalize on the popularity of the two brands, which have been the subject of multiple movies in the past few years...read more

New York AG files preliminary injunction against DraftKings and FanDuel

Less than 24 hours after a judge denied temporary restraining orders filed by two major daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators seeking to block cease-and-desist orders, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman unleashed a preliminary injunction against DraftKings and FanDuel in state Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, prompting two different responses from the companies."The Attorney General seeks a preliminary injunction prohibiting DraftKings and FanDuel from continuing to operate an illegal sports gambling business in New York," Schneiderman's office wrote in court papers filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.The injunction claims that FanDuel and DraftKings' argument that DFS is not gambling "fails for two clear reasons.""First, this view overlooks the explicit prohibition against wagering on future contingent events, a statutory test that requires no judgment of the relative importance of skill and chance—they are irrelevant to the question."Second, the key factor establishing a game of skill is not the presence of skill, but the absence of a material element of chance...read more