Featured Articles Archive - Page 207

Bally Technologies revenue up for quarter, fiscal year

LAS VEGAS -- Slot machine manufacturer Bally Technologies, Inc. increased its overall revenue in the fourth quarter and fiscal year, much of which was attributed to the company’s purchase of a rival gaming equipment provider last year.Bally, which announced last month it was being acquired by lottery giant Scientific Games Corporation for $5.1 billion, said Wednesday its profits in both the quarter that ended June 30 and the fiscal year fell slightly compared with its 2013 totals.Las Vegas-based Bally said its net income was $59.6 million for the quarter, or 31 cents per share...read more

Activist investors see real estate as key to Pinnacle, Boyd

LAS VEGAS -- Activist investors believe the real estate underneath casinos owned by Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. and Boyd Gaming Corporation is key to unlocking hidden value within the Las Vegas-based regional gaming operators.Two New York-based hedge funds want Pinnacle and Boyd to spin off their casinos into real estate investment trusts, referred to as REITs.Company officials aren’t sold on the idea.Or, they’re not tipping their hands.By law, REITs don’t pay federal income taxes...read more

Affinity Gaming announces new CEO

LAS VEGAS -- Affinity Gaming completed the remake of its corporate leadership Tuesday, naming a long-time Caesars Entertainment Corp. executive as CEO and appointing three new board members.The Las Vegas-based casino operator, which owns 11 properties in four states, selected Michael Silberling as CEO, replacing David Ross, who announced earlier this year he would leave the company at the end of July.Silberling will also take Ross’s position on the company’s board.Silberling spent two decades with Caesars, which included casino operation roles when the company was known as Harrah’s Entertainment...read more

Gaming attorney Clayton joins Greenberg Traurig law firm

LAS VEGAS -- Gaming attorney Mark Clayton, who represented several high-profile clients in their Nevada regulatory matters in the past year, has switched law firms.Clayton, 49, left Lionel Sawyer & Collins, one of the state’s oldest law firms, for a position with Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm with three dozen offices worldwide.He began work Monday with Greenberg Traurig’s global gaming practice in Las Vegas.Clayton was a member of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board from 2005 to 2009 and also has worked as the in-house general counsel for several gaming corporations.“It is this platform, along with the firm’s presence, culture and reputation that attracted me,” Clayton said in a statement...read more

Uniform provider an important part of resort industry

LAS VEGAS -- How important are the uniforms and outfits worn by casino industry cocktail servers, dealers, valets and other front-of-the-house resort personnel?Often, it’s a multi-million-dollar marketing decision.It’s not unusual to see some of the Strip’s top gaming executives visiting the Henderson offices and showroom of uniform provider Cintas.The company’s offices on Valle Verde Drive serve as a factory, warehouse and studio for Cintas’ gaming products.In 2013, Cintas split the casino business away from its hospitality operation and moved its gaming headquarters from Chicago to Henderson...read more

Top-10 bets for the 2014 NFL season

The NFL is back! The NFL is back! The NFL is back!Okay, so as of the time I'm writing this column, we still have another 10 days until the 2014 National Football League season *officially* begins. But damn it, I'm just too freakin' excited.The NFL is back!If you enjoy betting on sports, the NFL provides a smorgasbord of wagering opportunities every single week for 17 straight weeks...read more

Gaming Insider: Borgata may gain from shrinking market

LAS VEGAS -- Boyd Gaming Corp. told investors last month it planned to change out a few of the restaurants, nightlife spots and other nongaming attractions inside several of the company’s area casinos to boost overall revenue.This particular plan has been met with success along the Strip, but has been slow to be embraced by regional markets...read more

Inside Gaming: Titus's bill would repeal handle tax

LAS VEGAS -- CG Technology CEO Lee Amaitis wanted to know the whereabouts of about $9 million that Nevada sportsbook operators paid to the federal government last year through a tax on all sports wagers.It seemed like a simple question.Amaitis asked Rep Dina Titus, D-Nev., if she could find out.The Internal Revenue Service took several months to answer the query posed by Titus’s legislative director, David Rosenbaum.The question seemed to perplex the agency...read more

Capacity crowd packs opening of SLS Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Less than 30 minutes after opening to the public, the SLS Las Vegas Hotel Casino was packed.Every table inside the Griddle Cafe was filled. There wasn’t an empty seat in the lobby’s Monkey Bar. A line snaked through the casino for customers waiting to sign up for “The Code,” the SLS Las Vegas’ player loyalty program...read more

Nevadan at Work: Manufacturing CEO credits mentors over 20 years

LAS VEGAS -- Mike Dreitzer credits his success to the mentors he has had in 20 years as an attorney and gaming executive in Nevada.Folks such as former Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, ex-Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, former Gov...read more