Featured Articles Archive - Page 224

Neither Strip nor Pacquiao can rescue state gaming figures in April

The Strip and Manny Pacquiao couldn’t bail out Nevada in April.Statewide gaming revenue fell less than 1 percent during the month, the third time in the first four months on 2014 that Nevada has reported a decline in results.The Strip, however, saw revenue grow almost 3.2 percent, thanks in large part of high-end baccarat play...read more

MGM Resorts takes cautious approach to actual real money Internet gaming

MGM Resorts International supports the legalization of online wagering in the U.S.The casino giant holds an interactive gaming license in Nevada.But the company’s Internet presence is devoted to a free-to-play casino site that allows customers of its M Life loyalty program to earn rewards, which can be redeemed at MGM properties in Las Vegas and Mississippi.MGM Resorts is taking a wait-and-see approach in regard to real money Internet gaming.The business model just isn’t there yet.Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon doesn’t blame MGM Resorts or any other casino company from sitting out the current Internet gambling effort in the U.S...read more

Push for bill draft to define restricted gaming locations fails

LAS VEGAS -- A legislative committee looking at technology and gaming spent roughly 95 percent of its final hearing Tuesday debating taverns and other restricted slot machine businesses and whether or not a litmus test was needed to determine whether gambling revenue was “incidental” to a location’s success.In the end, the committee decided to leave well enough alone.Despite several attempts by Assembly Majority Leader William Horne, D-Las Vegas, the committee’s chairman, to push forward a bill draft calling for a definition of traditional and non-traditional restricted gaming locations, the matter died.“I just don’t see us reaching consensus on a bill draft,” Sen...read more

Two downtown Boyd casinos reach deal with Culinary, Bartender unions

LAS VEGAS -- Two downtown Las Vegas casinos operated by Boyd Gaming Corporation reached tentative contract agreements with two unions, leaving seven properties unsettled and targets for a potential strike starting Sunday morning.Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 said Tuesday it reached agreements on new five-year contracts covering non-gaming workers at the Fremont Hotel & Casino and Main Street Station Casino Brewery and Hotel, which are are owned by Boyd Gaming...read more

Unions plan last-ditch talks to avert downtown strike

In a last-ditch effort to avert a planned Sunday walkout by downtown Las Vegas hotel workers, two unions have scheduled contract talks with several property representatives to try and reach a new agreement.In a statement, Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 said it would meet starting Monday with Fremont, Main Street Station, El Cortez, The D Las Vegas, Four Queens, Binion’s, The Plaza, and Las Vegas Club.The Golden Gate, which is part owned by D Las Vegas owners Derek Stevens, is the only unsettled casino that hasn’t scheduled a meeting.Workers at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas ratified a new 5-year contract on May 1...read more

New life being breathed into locals gaming market

You know things are on the upswing in the locals gaming market when the two Arizona Charlie’s casinos report a first-quarter net revenue increase.It’s been a while since that happened.It wasn’t a large bump — less than 1 percent credited to increased slot machine revenue, hotel occupancy and restaurant sales — but with the results coming just a few days after Station Casinos’ best first-quarter earnings in five years, analysts are starting to take notice.Union Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore pointed out that economic fundamentals in the locals market — housing, wage growth and employment — are all pointing in the right direction...read more

Inside Gaming: Beware gaming equipment investing

Save for a few small companies, Wall Street has thrown in the towel on slot machine manufacturers for 2014.Without new hotel-casino openings (other than The Cromwell and SLS Las Vegas) and a slot machine replacement market that analysts term “nonexistent,” the investment community has been advised to view the gaming equipment sector with caution.Janney Capital Markets gaming analyst Brian McGill came home from this month’s Southern Gaming Summit in Biloxi, Miss., with a sour opinion of the slot machine industry...read more

Dan Lee, after bicycle accident, resigns as Palms CEO

Gaming executive Daniel Lee, who took over as CEO of The Palms Casino Resort in October, has resigned, a spokesman for the off-Strip property said Friday.Lee, a former chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment and chief financial officer of Mirage Resorts, “resigned to pursue other business opportunities,” Palms spokesman Alex Acuna said in an email.In an text message, Lee said he had “a bicycle accident last weekend, which caused me to have a lot of thinking.”Lee said he resigned Monday.“I’m OK, but I’m looking forward to spending the summer with my family at our place in Wyoming,” Lee said.Palms President Todd Greenberg, along with the rest of the executive team, “will assume his responsibilities and continue to lead the luxury resort casino,” Acuna said.Lee, 56, was credited with expanding regional casino operator Pinnacle into several markets, including St...read more

Top-10 World Series of Poker prop bets

For several years, I have written a top-10 World Series of Poker prop bets column, scouring through online sportsbooks to find the best bets they had to offer. Unfortunately this year, for some reason, there aren't very many bets available...read more

Medical pot sales by gaming licensees? Nevada commission just says no

Here’s the latest word for Nevada gaming licensees who want to plunge into the state’s new medical marijuana marketplace: The answer is still no.The Nevada Gaming Commission voted Thursday to uphold the state Gaming Control Board’s edict earlier this month that keeps anyone with a gaming license from investing in or owning a medical marijuana dispensary or growing the plant for use in the budding industry.In a May 6 industry notice, the Control Board said license holders should stay away from state-sanctioned medical pot because the federal government still views distribution, possession and sale of the drug as a crime...read more