Featured Articles Archive - Page 137

Affinity Gaming reverses second-quarter loss

Affinity Gaming reversed a second-quarter net loss, which the Las Vegas-based company's chief executive credited to a change in the casino operator's marketing approach.Affinity, which owns the off-Strip Silver Sevens Hotel and Casino, the three Primm properties and casinos in Iowa, Missouri and Colorado, said its net income for the quarter that ended June 30 was $797,000, compared to net loss of $14.3 million a year ago...read more

HR consultant says gaming jobs are returning

Ann Simmons Nicholson has hired gaming industry workers in good times and bad."There were times where, if you were good, you could name your price," she said.These days, times are good — not as good as in the 1990s and early 2000s when gaming was expanding across the country, but the recession is over.Simmons Nicholson has worked in human resources for casinos since the early 1990s, overseeing the hiring of workers for the openings of properties such as the Stratosphere, several resorts managed by Station Casinos and Harrah's Entertainment...read more

Inside Gaming: Adelson has optimistic outlook for Macau

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson remains Macau's most optimistic and vocal cheerleader.The question is, does anyone in the investment community share the same rosy outlook as the chairman, CEO and largest shareholder in Las Vegas Sands Corp.?After 14 straight monthly gaming revenue declines in Macau — the last six months of decreases have been above 30% — there aren't many on Wall Street with Adelson's positive view."We see little sign that market pressures are abating and continue to expect the competitive environment to increase," Morgan Stanley gaming analyst Thomas Allen told investors after Las Vegas Sands said results from its Macau casinos were the primary contributor to the company's 19.4% revenue decline and 30.1% drop in profits in the second quarter.Added Wells Fargo Securities gaming analyst Cameron McKnight, "We remain neutral on Macau and believe market revenues likely remain pressured."Adelson, however, is resilient to any notion that Macau's once flourishing gaming empire is in an out-of-control downward spiral...read more

MGM dreams of luxury shopping in wake of Harmon 'nightmare'

So what does a company do with a 2.5-acre hole-in-the-ground on the Strip after years of an expensive and contentious construction defect lawsuit?Answer: It won't be another high-rise building.The never-finished Harmon, plagued by structural problems and the subject of a now-concluded massive legal fight over responsibility for construction defects, has been torn down...read more

Skill-based slots still far from reaching casino floors

After more than two-and-a-half hours of discussion of regulations for skill-based slot machines, Nevada is no closer to seeing the potential industry-changing games on casino floors than when the hearing began Thursday afternoon.The Gaming Control Board oversaw its second workshop in Carson City concerning regulations to accommodate technology approved by the Legislature this year.There were clear differences in the proposed regulations and language offered by Senate Bill 9 sponsor Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers and the Control Board...read more

Penn National Gaming gains preliminary approval to buy Tropicana

Nevada gaming regulators granted preliminary approval Wednesday for Penn National Gaming to acquire the Tropicana Las Vegas for $360 million.The Gaming Control Board had few concerns about the transaction, which was announced in April by the Wyomissing, Pa.-based regional casino giant."This is good for the state and Strip," said Control Board Chairman A.G...read more

Eldorado Resorts sees profits up but revenues down

Reno-based Eldorado Resorts grew its profits in the second quarter, but saw overall revenue decline slightly.The casino operator, which is buying Circus Circus Hotel Casino - Reno and a 50% stake in the Silver Legacy Resort Casino from MGM Resorts International, said Wednesday its net income for the quarter that ended June 30 was $4.8 million, or 10 cents per share...read more

Caesars reverses net loss, reporting 17.4% revenue increase

Caesars Entertainment Corp. said Tuesday its net revenue increased 17.4% in the second quarter, crediting the openings of The Cromwell on the Strip and the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and the $223 million renovation of The Linq Hotel & Casino for the boost in results.The Las Vegas-based company, which operates more than 50 resorts nationwide, said its net income for the quarter that ended June 30 was $15 million, or 10 cents per share, reversing a net loss from a year ago...read more

MGM CEO says The Mirage is "not on the market"

MGM Resorts International did not announce a real estate investment trust structure for the company Tuesday and top executive Jim Murren shot down reports that The Mirage was about to be sold.But a "seminal internal transformation" of the casino giant is underway that Murren said will increase annual cash flow by $300 million through various corporate initiatives.During a conference call with analysts to discuss MGM's second quarter earnings, Murren, MGM's chairman and CEO, unveiled plans for a "Profit Growth Plan" initiative...read more

Inside Gaming: Global Cash changes name as focus shifts to slot machines

Global Cash Access Holdings is disappearing.Sort of.The gaming industry's top provider of payment processing equipment will unveil a new name, logo and New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol later this month that reflects the Las Vegas-based company's place within the casino equipment manufacturing sector.That's what last year's $1.2 billion purchase of rising slot machine manufacturer Multimedia Games will do for a business.The new corporate moniker will receive a proper roll-out at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas at the end of September."Our new brand will provide us with the unique identity that conveys our intention to be a full-service supplier of casino gaming equipment and payment solutions," Global Cash CEO Ram Chary said last week on the company's second-quarter earnings conference call.The reasoning is that Global Cash wants the investment community to focus on Multimedia Games, which has design and manufacturing facilities in Austin, Texas.Global Cash is best known for providing the casino industry with ATMs, point-of-sale and debit card transaction devices, as well as slot machine ticket redemption kiosks...read more