Featured Articles Archive - Page 224

Slot machine maker IGT says in statement company is exploring 'strategic alternatives'

Slot machine giant International Game Technology all but confirmed the company is up for sale Monday, saying in a statement it was “currently” exploring “a broad range of strategic alternatives.”In a one-paragraph comment, IGT said its board of directors and senior management are “currently engaged...read more

Inside Gaming: Gaming techies reaching for more

Lawmakers spent all of 15 seconds discussing technology at the final three-hour session of the Committee to Conduct an Interim Study Concerning the Impact of Technology Upon Gaming.The panel’s focus over four meetings seemed to be a renewed effort to kill off tavern operator Dotty’s.That idea failed — again.The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), however, thought the 15 seconds of committee attention to the topic for which it was created were golden.The Las Vegas-based trade organization, which counts more than 100 members and includes most of the industry’s major slot machine companies and associated businesses, wants Nevada to approve new games with a new twist on a skill-based element, which is often associated with video games.Some slot makers, such as International Game Technology, offer games that are considered skill-based...read more

Top-10 lessons I learned about poker playing cards with my non-gambler father

I had my first gambling experience when I was about seven or eight years old. My father and my grandfather owned a small hunting camp in the northern Adirondacks. I was too young to go there during the hunting season, but we often spent summer weekends up at camp, giving my mother a break from her three rambunctious boys and giving us a chance to spend some quality time with our father, grandfather and uncles.Thirty years ago, the camp lacked the niceties it has now...read more

Nevadan at Work: Executive's first Las Vegas visit came late in life

Anton Nikodemus never visited Las Vegas until he came to town for a job interview with the MGM Grand.That moment took place in 2005, when Nikodemus was well into his career as a hotel and hospitality executive.We say surprisingly because Nikodemus was born and raised in the Phoenix area...read more

PokerStars parent company acquired by Canadian firm in $4.9 billion transaction

A Canadian online gaming company has agreed to acquire the parent firm of PokerStars in a $4.9 billion transaction, but there are several hurdles to climb before Nevada gamblers could see the popular Internet wagering site on their computer screens.Amaya Gaming Group Inc...read more

Deal Me In: Shifty, this player isn't

Dear Mark: What are your thoughts on pulling your Player’s Card when dealt a natural royal flush? You would show money deposited, but not the money actually won. Because I use a win/loss statement for tax purposes, the natural royal flush wouldn’t show as a win, which in turn, should allow me to avoid paying taxes on it...read more

Speaker: Casino industry can take steps to trace high roller's bankroll

The head of the federal agency assigned to investigate money laundering crimes told a Las Vegas audience Thursday the casino industry can discover the origins of a high roller’s bankroll in the same way a casino host determines that customer’s favorite wine or music preferences.Jennifer Shasky Calvery, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, said the casino industry has the same responsibility as traditional financial institutions to police and report any suspicious customer activity, which includes investigating the source of large gambling funds.During her keynote address at the Bank Secrecy Act Conference at Red Rock Resort, Calvery said the casino industry can employ investigative measures used to determine the social needs and desires of a high-end customer to that same player’s large bankroll.“Casinos invest heavily in sophisticated monitoring tools to track a wide range of customer activities and to understand their customers’ preferences,” Calvery said...read more

Report: PokerStars to be purchased by Amaya

PokerStars may have found a way to get back into the U.S. online gaming market.Bloomberg News is reporting that Amaya Gaming is nearing a deal to purchase PokerStars, citing two sources with knowledge of the situation. And OnlinePokerReport.com reports an announcement is expected tomorrow .The potential deal was first reported by CalvinAyre.com on May 24, but talks of an acquisition ramped up Thursday morning, when Amaya's stock price surged nearly 30 percent before trading was halted.Blackstone Group's credit business, GSO Capital Partners, is providing Amaya more than $1 billion in financing for the deal, according to Bloomberg.The move opens the door for PokerStars to potentially enter the U.S., initially in New Jersey, where Amaya is already licensed to operate...read more

Stutz: Soccer won't fill Macau's cup

The high-end gamblers who frequent Macau’s ultraritzy private gaming rooms are more interested in whether Cristiano Ronaldo can lead Portugal into the World Cup finals than knowing the next card to come out of the dealing shoe.Maybe it has something to do with Macau’s 400 years as a Portuguese colony.Whatever the case, gaming analysts believe soccer will outweigh baccarat in Macau from Thursday to July 13.In other words, the Macau gaming market will crater as gamblers spend more time watching on TV the world’s best soccer players in Brazil than betting.Just kidding...read more

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