Featured Articles Archive - Page 244

Rebuilding of the Aliante may augur better times for North Las Vegas casino market

LAS VEGAS -- No one has to tell Terry Downey that North Las Vegas has been one tough casino market over the past few years.He’s lived it.Fourteen months after taking over as general manager of the Aliante Casino Hotel, Downey said the property is seeing positive signs after opening in the heart of the recession and going through a Bankruptcy Court-administered ownership change.“There is good feeling here among our team members and our guests,” said Downey, 58, who had retired as an executive with Station Casinos before being enticed back into the game by Aliante Gaming, the ownership group’s management company.“We see a good future ahead of us,” Downey said.After spending $2.8 million to refurbish and rebrand portions of the Aliante, including adding a second-floor spa area and opening a 24-hour restaurant last November, Downey said developments outside his realm could give the property another lift.Expansion of the 215 Beltway that connects Aliante with customers in Centennial Hills and portions of North Las Vegas, is expected to be finished in May...read more

Macau casinos report 7 percent increase in January, collect $3.6 billion

The Macau casino market ended 11 straight months of double-digit-percentage gaming revenue increases in January and recorded its lowest single month growth rate since October 2012 — but don’t think for one minute the region is crying poor.The Macao Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Thursday casinos in the Chinese enclave collected $3.6 billion in gaming revenue from customers during January, a 7 percent increase from January 2013.The figure comes in the first reporting period after Macau announced its casinos collected a record-shattering $45.2 billion in gaming revenue in 2013...read more

SLS Las Vegas, formerly the Sahara, will open Labor Day weekend

LAS VEGAS -- The $415 million SLS Las Vegas Hotel Casino will open Labor Day weekend, almost three years and three months after the hotel-casino, formerly known as the Sahara, was closed.SBE Entertainment Group, LLC CEO Sam Nazarian on Wednesday announced the opening plans for the weekend of Aug...read more

Coalition backed by AGA, MGM to fight any push to ban Internet gaming

The casino industry is officially split on Internet gaming.A new Washington, D.C.-based coalition, backed by MGM Resorts International and the American Gaming Association, on Wednesday launched an effort to halt any congressional move to ban online wagering.The Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection was formed in direct response to the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, which is backed by Las Vegas Sands Corp...read more

Wynn gets OK for online gambling in New Jersey but puts efforts on hold

LAS VEGAS -- New Jersey gaming regulators have given Wynn Resorts Ltd. approval to offer an Internet wagering website within the state’s boundaries, but a spokesman for the Las Vegas-based casino operator said the company’s online gambling efforts are on hold.Wynn Resorts spokesman Michael Weaver said Monday that the company, which is headed by Steve Wynn, doesn’t view online gaming “to be a good entrepreneurial opportunity...read more

Bally Technologies, Boyd Gaming enter slot machine agreement

LAS VEGAS -- Bally Technologies, Inc. announced a systems agreement Monday with Boyd Gaming Corporation to operate the casino company’s slot machines in 18 casinos in seven states.Financial details were not disclosed. Analysts, however, provided wide speculation on the value of the contract.The technology provided by Las Vegas-based Bally includes slot machine monitoring, marketing, player tracking and accounting...read more

Top-10 Sochi prop bets

I'm a sucker for the Winter Olympics. I grew up just a stone's throw from Lake Placid, N.Y., and while I was only two years old when the "Miracle on Ice" occurred, it was an event that people talked about with great pride throughout my childhood.My hometown is in fact even closer to Ottawa, and the best part of growing up near the Canadian border (besides weekly Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts) was watching the Canadian Winter Olympics coverage on CBC...read more

In talks over keeping National Finals Rodeo, Orlando, Dallas never had a chance

LAS VEGAS -- Did you seriously think Las Vegas was going to lose the National Finals Rodeo to Orlando, Fla., or Dallas?After six weeks of back-and-forth rhetoric, a new 10-year agreement was announced Jan. 24 to keep the NFR in Las Vegas — its home for 29 years — through 2024.Cowboys and stock contractors will get about $6 million more a year in prize and sponsorship money.The hotel-casino industry kept a firm grip on the 10-day event, considered the Super Bowl of professional rodeo, which this past December was worth almost $88 million to Las Vegas in nongaming economic impact...read more

The Cromwell latest name for former Barbary Coast on the Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS -- So long Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon and good riddance Gansevoort Las Vegas.Meet The Cromwell.Caesars Entertainment Corp.\oration Friday announced a third name in less than a year for the Strip casino that originally was opened as the Barbary Coast.The small hotel-casino at the northeast corner of the Strip and Flamingo Road, which closed a year ago for a $185 million remodeling, is expected to reopen later this year as a 188-room boutique-style luxury resort with a 40,000-square-foot casino, a restaurant from television chef Giada De Laurentiis, and day and nightlife venues created by Victor Drai.In a statement, Caesars said The Cromwell would begin accepting room reservations Feb...read more

Baccarat helps drive Nevada gaming revenue to $11 billion in 2013

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada’s casino industry cracked the $11 billion gaming revenue figure during 2013, the first time the benchmark had been reached since 2008.The Strip, where gaming revenues grew 4.8 percent, recorded its largest single-year percentage increase since 2011.All thanks to baccarat.The Gaming Control Board released the state’s calendar year-end and December gaming revenue totals Friday.Statewide, casinos collected $11.14 billion during 2013, a 2.6 percent increase over 2012...read more