Featured Articles Archive - Page 259

Affinity Gaming posts profitable second-quarter results

LAS VEGAS -- Casino operator Affinity Gaming said Tuesday it reversed a second quarter net loss, due in part to a full quarter of results from the Las Vegas-based company’s three casinos in Colorado.Affinity, which operates 12 casinos in Nevada, Colorado, Iowa and Missouri, said its net income in the quarter that ended June 30 was $1.1 million, compared with a net loss of $1.8 million in the same quarter a year ago.The company’s total revenues declined 2.7 percent to $100.3 million.“Continued economic weakness affected our top line results, however, through our cost control initiatives, we were able to increase our property adjusted (cash flow) from the prior-year quarter,” Affinity Chief Executive Officer David Ross said in a statement.The company has publicly owned debt.Affinity operates six casinos in Nevada, including the off-Strip Silver Sevens and the three Primm resorts...read more

Top-10 ways to add variety to your Hold'em home game

If you've read any of my previous home game columns, you know that I believe variety is the key to a good home poker game. It can be difficult, however, to get an established home game to make changes to a no-limit Hold'em game, whether you play tournaments or cash games...read more

Romance off: Caesars sells Macau land holdings for $438 million

Caesars Entertainment Inc. on Friday ended the company’s nearly six-year flirtation with Macau.The casino operator sold its 175-acre golf course near the Chinese gaming enclave’s Cotai Strip region for $438 million to an Asian developer.The deal, which was disclosed within the company’s quarterly report filing with the U.S...read more

Company owned in part by Agassi agrees to $15,000 gaming fine

LAS VEGAS -- A company owned in part by retired tennis star Andre Agassi has agreed to pay a $15,000 fine for violating state gaming regulations.The Gaming Control Board filed a three-count complaint on Wednesday against Agassi and Adam Corrigan...read more

Power restored at Flamingo after hotel construction causes outage

LAS VEGAS -- Power at portions of the Flamingo Las Vegas were out most of Friday in connection with construction of the neighboring $180 million Gansevoort Hotel.Electric power was interrupted to one of the six hotel towers at the Flamingo but restored just before 3 p.m.Caesars Entertainment Inc....read more

Rant by Adelson surprises Murren

LAS VEGAS -- Having navigated MGM Resorts International through almost four years of turbulent economic waters, Jim Murren has grown used to hearing negative comments from haters and detractors.What surprised Murren, however, were some recent vitriolic remarks directed at his company from a competing corporate office down the street.Las Vegas Sands Corp...read more

Q&A with Stacy Stagg, assistant general manager of Sunset Station

LAS VEGAS -- You can go home again.At least if you’re Stacy Stagg.A nearly 20-year employee of Station Casinos, Inc., Stagg helped open the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino in June 1997 as manager of the coffee shop.After gaining experience in other management roles with the company, including as assistant general manager at the Santa Fe Station and Red Rock Resort, Stagg returned to Sunset Station this year.“Generally, when you walk into a new role, you might be unfamiliar with the property,” said Stagg, the assistant general manager of Sunset Station...read more

What's the best strategy for doubling-down when it's offered at video poker?

Question: Some video poker machines offer "double down." If you win a hand, you can go for double-or-nothing and keep going as long as you keep winning. Are there rules about whether or not, when, and how many times to take this bet?Answer: You have a 50-50 chance, one out of two, to win even money on double down at video poker...read more

Deal Me In: Reader questions where lucky machine went

Dear Mark: I recently had the good fortune of hitting a sizable jackpot on a slot machine. It took over an hour to be paid, plus, they opened the machine, not once, but twice. Here is the funny part. I returned the following month, and the machine was gone...read more

Station Casinos sees double-digit growth in profits

Station Casinos, Inc. grew profits 11 percent in the second quarter but didn’t disclose what percentage of the company’s overall figures came from online poker.The casino operator, which has 16 large and small gaming properties in the Las Vegas Valley, said Wednesday that the quarter marked the company’s ninth consecutive three-month period of increased cash flow.Station Casinos-owned Fertitta Interactive, which includes online poker operator Ultimate Gaming, had $1.6 million in operating costs associated with the start-up of Ultimate Poker on April 30.The company’s adjusted cash flow for the quarter that ended June 30, including the loss from Fertitta Interactive, was $96.1 million, a 4.7 percent increase over the same quarter a year ago.Station Casinos’ net income was $7.3 million, compared with $6.5 million in the second quarter of 2012.Total revenues were $316.6 million, an increase of 1.4 percent.Station Casinos is not publicly traded but has publicly owned debt.Ultimate Gaming’s Ultimate Poker is the only regulated pay-to-play online gambling provider in Nevada.During the quarter, Ultimate Gaming announced a deal with the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to provide online gaming services.“Ultimate Gaming’s entrance into the New Jersey market is our next step in expanding our presence in the online gaming industry,” said Chief Financial Officer Marc Falcone.During the quarter, Ultimate Poker completed its field trial with Nevada gaming regulators on July 25...read more