Featured Articles Archive - Page 140

Deal Me In: 'Loose slots' aren't necessarily a good bet

Dear Mark: In your recent article you told a reader that “there is no magic switch that's flipped from some secret location” to get more dough out of people. My question is this. Here in Reno, casinos talk and advertise about “we've loosened our slots,” or, we have “the loosest slots in town." Is this a myth? SteveAs I stated in that column, Steve, it is not cost effective for casinos to vary their payouts on slot machines when the circus comes to town...read more

Affactive, Revenue Jet affiliate programs shut down following owners' arrests

The Affactive and Revenue Jet affiliate programs shut down Thursday, following the arrests of two owners of the online casino groups.The GPWA has confirmed the link between the closing of the programs and the arrests of the owners through conversations with Affactive affiliate managers...read more

Penn National plans development program for the Tropicana

Regional casino operator Penn National Gaming said Thursday it will launch a development plan for the Tropicana Las Vegas that would take three to five years to implement.The company announced in April it was acquiring the Strip resort for $360 million and the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year...read more

State gaming regulators approve Golden Gaming-Lakes merger

State gaming regulators said Thursday they wished all mergers were this easy.Golden Gaming's $341 million combination with Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment was approved Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission. The transaction, which was announced in January, is expected to be finalized by Aug...read more

Boyd keeping mum about REIT plans

The investment community knew the answer going into Boyd Gaming Corp.'s second-quarter earnings conference call.The casino operator wasn't providing additional commentary on a possible real estate investment trust or strategic corporate option...read more

Macau market decline cuts into Las Vegas Sands' quarterly revenues

At least it wasn't a net loss.Las Vegas Sands Corp. said Wednesday financial issues surrounding the Macau gaming community resulted in the casino company reporting a 19.4 percent decline in revenue and 30.1 percent drop in profits during the second quarter.For the past year, visitation by gamblers to Macau has been hampered by various challenges, including economic downturn, a crackdown on corruption by the mainland Chinese government against junket operators, a potential smoking ban, and tourist restrictions...read more

Pinnacle, GLPI agree on $4.75 billion merger

The gaming industry's worst-kept secret became official Tuesday.Real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. will acquire the real estate owned by regional gaming operator Pinnacle Entertainment for $4.75 billion in an all-stock transaction and lease the casinos back to the Las Vegas-based company.The deal had been widely anticipated after Pinnacle announced plans last year to spin off its casinos into a separate publicly traded REIT.GLPI, a gaming industry REIT based in Pennsylvania and spun off from Penn National Gaming, made two offers in the past few months to acquire Pinnacle, the most recent coming earlier this month...read more

Caesars reaches restructuring agreement with second-tier creditors

Caesars Entertainment Corp. struck an agreement with a large group of the company's second-tier debt holders, which could smooth out the bankruptcy reorganization of the casino operator's largest business division.However, the deal would delay Caesars Entertainment Operating Co.'s exit from the process by six months.In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday, Caesars said the agreement gives the creditors, who are owed billions of dollars, "a substantial improvement in recoveries" once the bankruptcy restructuring is completed.Caesars said the agreement would become effective once 50 percent of the holders have signed on to the plan...read more

Inside Gaming: MGM Resorts CEO discusses REIT plans

It hasn't been a quiet year for MGM Resorts International. The general belief is that it's going to get much louder.Wall Street expects MGM Resorts to announce some type of corporate initiative in the next few months, most likely spinning off a portion of its casinos into a real estate investment trust...read more

New Caesars CEO blamed for Hertz accounting failures

Mark Frissora, the three-week-old CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corp., was accused by Hertz Global Holdings of having a "management style and temperament that created a pressurized operating environment" during his tenure as the top executive of the automobile and equipment rental car company.Hertz said the lack of oversight by Frissora led to "material misstatements" in the company‘s 2011, 2012, and 2013 financial reports totaling $207 million.Hertz made the comments through an explanatory note in the company‘s year-end financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday...read more