Featured Articles Archive - Page 246

DoubleDown Casino founders leave IGT

The founders of the social gaming product DoubleDown Casino have left the company, two years after it was purchased by IGT - International Game Technology.The news follows IGT’s first-quarter earnings release, in which the slot machine giant said it could see a profit decline this year because of several “acquisition-related expenses” surrounding DoubleDown.Trade magazine Venturebeat.com first reported the departures of DoubleDown founders Greg Enell and Cooper DuBois from IGT...read more

Casinos in Japan? Bet your last yen on it

It’s game on, Japan.Word leaked out this past week that two Nevada casino companies have made inroads with Japanese officials to build a nearly $5 billion hotel-casino in Osaka. Now other gaming operators have their corporate jets pointed toward the east Asia island nation.The only thing missing is legislation authorizing casinos.Analysts and gaming leaders consider it a foregone conclusion that Japan, after years of toying with legalizing casinos, will finally approve a gaming bill this spring.Japan wants gaming taxes to fund construction of nearly $2 billion in venues and infrastructure for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.The casino industry considers Japan the next Macau, which produced a record $45.2 billion in gaming revenue last year, but Singapore is a much better comparison...read more

Gaming companies have lucrative deals operating Indian casinos

LAS VEGAS -- New casino development in Las Vegas is on lockdown.Gaming expansion into states beyond recently approved markets is virtually nonexistent.Those are two reasons regional casino giant and M Resort owner Penn National Gaming, Inc...read more

On the table at Southland

The table is the dealer and it never makes mistakes in blinds, dealing cards or payouts -- all of which happen quicker than in regular dealer-controlled poker games.I found this out first hand when I decided to take a shot in a satellite event for a free pass into the $10,000 Arkansas Poker Championship now underway Thursdays at 6 p.m...read more

Deal Me In: Progressives can offer winning opportunities

Dear Mark: I only play progressive video poker machines. You have stated in the past that a higher progressive jackpot will not make a machine any more likely to hit. That said, do you ever recommend playing on machines with lower jackpots? The best paying paytables on progressives where I play are 8/5 Jacks-or-Better machines...read more

Poker Player Tweets of the Week: Lame comparisons edition

Wow, it's been a while since I've written a Poker Player Tweets of the Week column! My last piece came on Dec. 13, or a whopping six weeks ago. Where have I been? Or a better question: Does anyone care? I'll preserve the multitude of excuses I could make for not having written one of these since before Christmas and just come up with one, all-encompassing reason. I've been busy. Well, sort of...read more

Gaming regulators accept fine of $125,000 for Bally Technologies Inc.

LAS VEGAS -- The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission on Thursday accepted slot machine maker Bally Technologies, Inc.’s $125,000 fine that settled a 28-count complaint with state gaming regulators, but at least one member of the panel thought the penalty wasn’t high enough.The Las Vegas-based company admitted to charges that it failed to register key employees with the Gaming Control Board.Gaming Commissioner John Moran Jr...read more

International Game Technology reports 21 percent rise in net income

LAS VEGAS -- Slot machine maker IGT - International Game Technology grew profits and revenue in the first quarter despite what company officials described as “market challenges.”IGT, which has headquarters in both Las Vegas and Reno, said Thursday its net income for the quarter ended Dec...read more

Gaming, Olympic officials on lookout for betting irregularities

LAS VEGAS -- The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission and the International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday the organizations will work together to ensure the integrity of the competition at the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia.In a statement, the regulatory agency and th...read more

Two downtown Las Vegas casinos will be first to accept Bitcoin

LAS VEGAS -- Derek Stevens has no idea what to expect when The D Las Vegas and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino begin accepting the digital currency Bitcoin for nongaming transactions starting today.The majority owner of the two downtown hotel-casinos, however, knows there is excitement surrounding the idea.When word of the plans leaked Tuesday, Stevens said several people showed up at the D Las Vegas’ American Coney Island, looking to pay for several of the restaurant’s signature hot dogs with Bitcoin.“There is a lot more excitement around the idea than I first thought,” said Stevens, who said he’s been looking into the Bitcoin concept over the past 18 months...read more