Featured Articles Archive - Page 211

Moulin Rouge site open for gambling, if only temporarily

For a few hours Wednesday, the Moulin Rouge was open for gambling.Albeit, the action took place inside an air-conditioned trailer near a boarded-up dilapidated building on a corner of the nearly vacant 15-acre Bonanza Road site.Slot machine route operator United Coin managed 16 aging slot games for eight hours inside the trailer...read more

Upset of Cantor topples one of Adelson's closest Capitol Hill allies

The stunning primary election defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R- Va., Tuesday removed one of Sheldon Adelson’s closest Capitol Hill allies from office.Gaming and political analysts speculated Wednesday on the magnitude of Cantor’s defeat to a tea party-backed Republican and what it might mean for Adelson’s agenda in Washington, D.C...read more

Gavin Isaacs named CEO of Scientific Games

This was the gaming industry’s worst-kept secret.The appointment Tuesday of Gavin Isaacs as CEO of Scientific Games Corp. had long been expected.Isaacs, 49, who had more than 15 years experience in top-level executive positions with three gaming equipment providers, had been serving as a consultant to Scientific Games Chairman Ronald Perelman, the company’s largest stockholder.Last year, Isaacs helped engineer the $1.3 billion buyout of SHFL entertainment by Bally Technologies, leaving Isaacs on the sidelines with a noncompete clause in his contract agreement.Scientific Games, which is based in New York, is one of world’s leading lottery equipment and service providers...read more

Rudi Schiffer: Heard it on the river

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Harrah's passing June 2 is not the first time a Tunica casino has closed its doors but it is the most significant shutdown in 22 years. Who outside of Caesars Entertainment executive offices could have foreseen this event with its calamitous effects on the area through loss of jobs, tax revenue and tourism.We should have seen this coming as the signs were out there for some time...read more

IGT share price surges 15 percent on reports company is for sale

LAS VEGAS -- Reports that slot machine giant IGT - International Game Technology has been put up for sale didn’t surprise Wall Street.Investors reacted to the news by sending the company’s share price up almost 15 percent Monday.An IGT spokesman declined to comment on the report from Reuters, which said the company hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to field sales offers.Eilers Research founder Todd Eilers, however, said IGT, which has lost more than 31 percent of its stock value in the past year, could attract both strategic and financial buyer interest.“Investors have been looking for the company to do something to create shareholder value following disappointing financial results,” Eilers said.Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, said IGT has been preparing itself for a sale for at least two months.Reportedly, other slot manufacturers expressed interest in acquiring IGT.“It is IGT’s policy not to comment on rumors,” company spokesman Phil O’Shaughnessy said in an email...read more

Poll: Americans accept casinos as they would any other business

Americans view casinos as they would any other business in their communities, according to a nationwide survey conducted on behalf of the American Gaming Association (AGA).The results, in which public acceptance of gaming reached 57 percent, will be released today.Leaders of the Washington, D.C.-based trade organization and lobbying group are expected to use findings from the survey to help guide a planned public awareness campaign for the industry.The survey could be part of an effort to make the gaming regulatory process more uniform in states with casinos.The opinions might help in an effort to lower the tax burden casinos face in some markets.“There has never been a better time to go on the offensive,” American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman said...read more

GM Llambia's building: A better Bally's casino

TUNICA, Miss. -- General manager Eddie Llambias has been at the helm at Bally's Tunica for about a year and has made real and intangible progress with the property but now he is steering the casino to a higher level in a very competitive market.“We are launching new programs, bringing new and more slots and progressing with room upgrades in our hotel,” said Llambias, an executive with lot of first-hand experience over 30 years ranging from croupier overseas and on cruise ships, not to mention a casino perched atop a rock on the Mediterranean named Gibralter.Eddie was born and raised in London and speaks with a slight English accent, but he is from Spanish parents, which explains the name Llambias.“We are also reconfiguring our table game pit as well as the slot floor with an increased emphasis on table games,” he said...read more

Top-10 WSOP final tables at the Rio

The 2014 World Series of Poker has already seen its share of impressive final tables (Razz, 2-7, etc.).In the scheme of things, however, this year is no different from any other. With dozens of bracelets to be won, and hundreds of grinders vying for titles, there are bound to be some legendary lineups each and every year.With the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino celebrating its 10th year hosting the WSOP, it seemed like a good time to rank the top-10 final tables held at the Rio...read more

Gambling and the Law: Culture clash

It is not easy to do business in Asia. Or in the U.S.This is especially true of heavily regulated businesses, like legal gaming. And the problems are compounded when an individual who is a product of one culture wants to expand into a foreign market.Sometimes, the barriers are structural...read more

Penn National sees trouble on the horizon

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- The nearly empty poker room tells the story.Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino - Charles Town Races is feeling the brunt of neighboring Maryland’s gaming expansion, even though the state’s two newest casinos have yet to open.In summer 2013, the two-year-old Maryland Live!, attached to a 250-store outlet mall in suburban Anne Arundel County, added a 52-table poker room...read more