Featured Articles Archive - Page 254

Philippines casino removes management led by former Las Vegas Sands executives

A gaming management team headed by former executives of Las Vegas Sands Corp. was removed as operators of a $1.2 billion hotel-casino complex in the Philippines late Thursday.Owners of the Solaire Resort &Casino in Entertainment City along Manila Bay told the country’s stock exchange it terminated the services of Global Gaming Asset Management of Las Vegas because of a “material breach” of their agreement.Global Gaming is headed by former Las Vegas Sands President Bill Weidner and other ex-Las Vegas Sands officials...read more

Stardust Casino lives again on free-to-play social gaming site

LAS VEGAS -- The Stardust is coming back.Kind of.And, as far as we know, without the mob.The Strip casino, which was the center of organized crime’s skimming operations in the 1970s and 1980s, was imploded in 2007.Now, the resort is immortalized on the Internet as Stardust Casino, a free-to-play social gaming site accessible through Facebook...read more

Gaming sees opportunity in Japan Olympics

The gaming industry is ready to climb Japan’s Mount Fuji.Last week’s award of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games to Tokyo ignited more than the Olympic torch in the Japanese capital. The gaming industry hailed the announcement as the road to legalized casinos in Asia’s largest untapped gaming market.After all, Japan has to find a means to pay for an estimated $1.53 billion in Olympic venues before the world’s athletes descend upon Tokyo.Two large-scale resorts — one each in Tokyo and Osaka — could be worth $10 billion in annual gaming revenues, said Union Gaming Group Principal Grant Govertsen...read more

New head of AGA notes industry's competitiveness

It didn’t take long for American Gaming Association (AGA) CEO Geoff Freeman to comprehend one of the casino industry’s key dynamics.As the new face on Capitol Hill for gaming, Freeman works closely with representatives of the major casino operators and slot machine manufacturers to further the industry’s collective interests.The industry is relatively young by many standards; casinos have been infiltrating U.S...read more

Where do the casinos put the slots that pay the most?

Question: Casinos used to position "loose" slot machines near doors or at the ends of aisles to show passers-by that people were winning. Are these still where they put the best machines?Answer: Play wherever strikes your fancy. Clever placement of high-payout slots is a phony "secret casino bosses don't want you to know." Casinos may have tried such things occasionally in the remote past...read more

Deal Me In: The "L" bet cuts the house edge in half

Dear Mark: When I play roulette, I take your recommendation and search for a European wheel with the single zero. Single zero games are rare. While chatting over some different wagers with me on my last casino visit, the dealer mentioned a bet in roulette that begins with the letter "L." Do you know what wager he was talking about? Bruce S.The difference between "American" and "European" roulette seems subtle...read more

Poker Player Tweets of the Week: New rule sparks debate

Poker players are an analytical breed, and they love to argue. Lately, the big topic of controversy in the poker community has been the recently-implemented "First Card Off The Deck" (FCOTD) rule, which came to the forefront over the weekend in Barcelona...read more

Preliminary OK given to marketing agreement between Golden Gaming, Treasure Island

State gaming regulators gave preliminary approval Thursday to a marketing agreement between Golden Gaming and Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings in which the tavern operator could deliver its customers as online poker players to a website that includes Treasure Island.Under terms of the exclusive marketing agreement, Golden Gaming can sign up customers from its three Pahrump casinos and its 40 wholly owned statewide taverns operations to play online poker on a planned website that will be operated by 888 Holdings.Golden Gaming would share in a percentage of the gaming revenues with Treasure Island and 888 Holdings."It's unique and allows Golden Gaming to market 888's platform to its customers," Golden Gaming attorney Michael Alonso told the Gaming Control Board.Alonso said Golden Gaming does not have any role in the operation of the website, and is only a marketing vehicle to deliver players...read more

G2E will glow with glitz and glamour

LAS VEGAS -- This month’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) could easily be mistaken for CinemaCon.The casino industry’s annual trade show and conference is where slot machine makers unveil their new games and products. However, the Sands Expo and Convention Center is going to look a lot like Caesars Palace during the annual theater owners’ convention, where the movie industry uses star power to preview the year’s coming attractions.With slot machine companies going full-bore into games named for licensed brands and pop culture themes, last year’s G2E floor was overrun with members of the rock band Kiss, Stewie Griffin, Oompa Loompas, Judge Judy, the Pawn Stars and NASCAR drivers.This year, get ready for zombies, bridesmaids, time travel, David Copperfield, the original Batman and ZZ Top.The slot machine industry has gone Hollywood.Over the past few years manufacturers renewed an interest with licensed brands that began in the 1990s.The familiar names and themes — coupled with technology that allows for movie clips and music to be played as part of bonus-round features — is considered a vehicle to restart slot machine sales slowed by the recession and casino operator reluctance to spend money on new products.This year’s G2E is pushing all-in with the concept.IGT - International Game Technology will display slot machines themed after the movies “Back to the Future,” “Jurassic Park,” and “Bridesmaids.” Bally Technologies, in addition to an update of its “Michael Jackson: King of Pop” game, has new machines based on the “Magic of David Copperfield,” Texas rockers “ZZ Top,” and the Academy Award-winning film “Titanic.”Not to be outdone, Australian slot machine developer Aristocrat Technologies will unveil games using the movie “Flashdance,” the AMC television series “The Walking Dead,” and the TV “Batman” of the 1960s...read more

Report: Former U.S. Full Tilt pros, employees and affiliates won't get paid

Big-name U.S. pros and former Full Tilt Poker affiliates that have been waiting for a big payday when the Garden City Group begins accepting claims on Sept. 16 likely won't be eligible for a red cent, according to an e-mail message posted on a popular online poker forum.Rich Muny, the vice president of player relations for the Poker Players Alliance, posted an e-mail on the TwoPlusTwo message boards -- that appears to originate from the Garden City Group was forwarded to him -- outlining the parties that would be excluded from the remission process.Muny also said that he called the Garden City Group and they would neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the e-mail.Among those that would be excluded, according the post, are past or present Full Tilt Poker employees and affiliates, vendors that were paid through player accounts, Team Full Tilt players, officers and directors, shareholders of Full Tilt and its affiliate companies, and those defending themselves from civil or criminal charges related to Black Friday.Full Tilt affiliates outside the United States were not compensated for the balances in their accounts when PokerStars acquired the company as part of its settlement with the U.S...read more