Featured Articles Archive - Page 158

MGM sells Reno properties to Eldorado Resorts

MGM Resorts International sold its Reno casino holdings Tuesday to Eldorado Resorts for $72.5 million, giving the Northern Nevada company ownership of Circus Circus Hotel Casino - Reno and a remaining 50 percent stake in the Silver Legacy Resort Casino.Eldorado Resorts already owned the other half of the Silver Legacy.The transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will give Eldorado seven casinos in five markets, including three resorts in downtown Reno.“The acquisition is expected to be accretive to our operating results upon closing, builds the critical mass of our gaming operations and fortifies our position in the increasingly attractive Reno gaming market,” Eldorado CEO Gary Carano said in a statement.Silver Legacy, Circus Circus Reno and the Eldorado Resort Casino property are connected by a 200-foot wide skyway corridor.The sale will end MGM’s casino operations in Reno...read more

Pinnacle Entertainment considers new proposal from GLPI

Real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. on Tuesday sweetened its 3-month-old proposal to acquire Pinnacle Entertainment’s land holdings Tuesday, offering a higher share price and better stock incentives.Analysts believe it’s a foregone conclusion the merger will take place.The transaction is now valued at $5 billion, up from $4.1 billion proposed in March.In a letter to Las Vegas-based Pinnacle’s board, GLPI Chairman Peter Carlino said the new offer would also increase the ownership stake that Pinnacle shareholders would receive in the REIT.J.P...read more

Main Event sets new Day 1C record, but total participation drops

LAS VEGAS – Participation is officially down at the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2015, even with a record-setting Day 1C field.A whopping 3,963 players showed up to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on Tuesday to register for the Main Event, bringing the total 2015 field to 6,420 entrants...read more

San Diego bar owner relishes playing with Ivey, Hellmuth

LAS VEGAS – He had Phil Ivey to his left, Phil Hellmuth to his right, and a host of poker pros sprinkled around the table. But Marco Rodriguez was not fazed.The 29-year-old restaurateur and bar owner from San Diego played in Day 1C of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event on Tuesday, and sat down in the Pavilion at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino confident and ready to go.Then Ivey, a 10-time bracelet winner and the consensus best player in the world, sat down two seats to Rodriguez’s left...read more

Flash floods, leaking water in the Rio cause a stir on Day 1B

LAS VEGAS – Tournament officials paused play with nine minutes remaining in the third level of Day 1B of the World Series of Poker Main Event on Monday night, as water leaked through the ceiling onto a number of tables in the Brasilia Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.Brian Hastings, seeking his third WSOP bracelet in 2015, got off to a great start on Day 1B...read more

Ohio woman balances passion for poker with love for her job

LAS VEGAS – Annette Wood is a lot like many other recreational players who entered the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event.The Akron, Ohio native earned her $10,000 buy-in to poker’s premier event by winning her home poker league, a 17-week tournament series played by 15-20 friends at the local VFW.Annette Wood plays in the Amazon Room at the Rio during Day 1B of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event...read more

Rep. Barton continues push to legalize online poker

At the World Series of Poker, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, is a celebrity.In the last five sessions of Congress, Barton has either been the primary sponsor or signed on to a bill that would legalize Internet poker in the U.S. His most reason version of the measure was introduced on June 25.A few days later, the Poker Players Alliance, a grass-roots trade organization seeking online poker legalization, brought Barton to Las Vegas to visit with poker players in the organization’s booth at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino...read more

Inside Gaming: At SLS Las Vegas, things may get worse before they get better

We shouldn’t be surprised if things get worse for the SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino before they get better.A $35.3 million net loss in the first quarter might be just the beginning.The SLS will mark its first full year of operation in August, and it’s clear the hotel-casino is having trouble finding its niche in the resurgent Strip market.The 1,600-room north Strip property, built from the bones of the Rat Pack-era Sahara, is an island, surrounded by empty land and closed developments that offer more promise than customer activity.SLS Las Vegas’ walk-in business is virtually nonexistent, an aspect that won’t change for years.A 33-acre festival grounds across the Strip is unused much of the year...read more

Las Vegas Sands allows employees to choose community philanthropy projects

Las Vegas Sands Corp. decided its employees should have a say in where the casino operator focuses its community philanthropy.After all, it’s the employees at the properties in Las Vegas, Macau, Singapore and Bethlehem, Pa., who have the best understanding of where the company’s contributions can have the most effect.For example, in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands employees volunteered more than 2,000 hours for a variety of services on the island nation...read more

Top 10 storylines to follow during the Main Event

It’s been an incredible summer at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. With 67 events down and just one to go, the 2015 World Series of Poker has seen record fields, huge side action and dozens of feel-good stories.Every year, from late May to mid-July, the poker world flocks to Las Vegas...read more