Featured Articles Archive - Page 279

What happens to doubles and splits when dealers have blackjacks?

Question: At blackjack, you might split pairs, then double down on one or more of the hands when the dealer has an ace or 10 showing. This means you might have multiple bets on the table. If the dealer doesn’t check in advance for a blackjack and ends up getting one, you only lose some of this...read more

Macau gaming revenues increase 13.2 percent in April

Macau gaming revenues grew 13.2 percent during April for the market’s fourth straight double-digit increase this year.The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Thursday the region’s casinos collected more than $3.5 billion from gamblers in April...read more

MGM Resorts tops analysts, reports best quarter since 2008

LAS VEGAS -- A single penny turned out to be the difference between MGM Resorts International’s first profitable quarterly earnings since 2008 and another net loss.The Strip casino giant surprised Wall Street Thursday with a net profit of $6.5 million, or earnings per share of 1 cent, for the quarter that ended March 31.The figure might not seem earth-shattering...read more

Convicted slot cheat gets Black Book nomination

LAS VEGAS -- A convicted slot machine cheat on Thursday became the first nominee in almost four years to Nevada’s Excluded Person List, commonly referred to as the Black Book.The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission unanimously nominated Roderick William Dee II for inclusion on the list, which makes it a felony for that person to enter a Nevada casino...read more

Deal Me In: Mega this and Mega that

Dear Mark: My question concerns the big progressive slots, like the Wheel of Fortune and Megabucks. They are in casinos -- large and small -- in many states. Is each machine programmed to the same payout amount, or "looseness," or would a machine in a small, locals' casino, be more likely to pay off? Also, are ALL the machines, all over the country, tied in together, or is it state by state? Victoria W.Both Megabucks and the Wheel of Fortune are a statewide network of progressive slot carousels that are linked together to produce those humongous jackpots...read more

Regulators tentatively OK Pinnacle buyout of rival Ameristar

LAS VEGAS -- Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.’s planned $2.8 billion buyout of regional gaming rival Ameristar Casinos, Inc. was tentatively approved by Nevada gaming regulators Wednesday despite federal antitrust authorities still having to completely sign off on the deal.The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission took roughly 45 minutes to approve the merger in which Pinnacle would emerge more than double in size and controlling 17 gaming properties plus one resort complex currently under construction.Pinnacle, which has its corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, is acquiring two casinos in the Northern Nevada community of Jackpot near state’s border with Idaho as part of the transaction.If the Nevada Gaming Commission signs off on the control board’s recommendation on May 16, the deal would have its first regulatory approval of the nine states when the Pinnacle and Ameristar operate.Pinnacle CEO Anthony Sanfilippo said the company has made preliminary presentations on the transaction to several other states...read more

River Palms in Laughlin sold to M1 Gaming of Reno

Tropicana Entertainment LLC announced Wednesday it sold the River Palms Resort Casino in Laughlin to Reno-based M1 Gaming for $7 million.M1, which is headed by former Station Casinos gaming executive Dean DiLullo, owns the Boomtown Casino in Reno and the Reserve Casino in Central City, Colo...read more

Caesars suffers quarterly loss, blames visitation drop

LAS VEGAS -- Caesars Entertainment Inc. blamed reduced visitation at the company’s hotel-casinos nationwide, especially in Atlantic City, for a first-quarter decline in overall revenues and a net loss.The casino operator, which controls 10 resorts on or near the Strip, said Wednesday overall revenues fell 2.9 percent to $2.143 billion in the quarter that ended March 31...read more

Atlantic City mayor critical of Christie five-year program

ATLANTIC CITY -- As a former dealer and pit boss on the Boardwalk, Mayor Lorenzo Langford is committed to seeing the city’s casino industry recover, despite his well-publicized disputes with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over reforms implemented by the state that the mayor says cut him and other city leaders out of the process.Langford, Atlantic City’s mayor since 2002, was critical of Christie’s reform package that was passed by state lawmakers in 2011 and put authority over the city’s 12 casinos under the state through a newly created tourism district.In an interview Friday in his seventh-floor City Hall conference room, Langford said the first two years of Christie’s planned five-year program haven’t shown any notable improvements.“The numbers don’t lie,” Langford said, citing gaming revenue statistics that showed declines of 6.9 percent in 2011 and 8 percent in 2012...read more

Massachusetts city taps MGM, endorses casino plan

MGM Resorts International was selected by the leadership of Springfield, Mass., Tuesday to represent the state’s third-largest city in the race for a single casino project in western Massachusetts.Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno announced MGM Resorts’ selection and endorsed the company’s plans to build an $800 million hotel-casino on a 10-acre site that was damaged by a tornado in 2011.MGM Resorts beat out a competing proposal from Penn National Gaming.“Today is a great day for both MGM Resorts and the city of Springfield,” MGM Resorts President Bill Hornbuckle said in a statement...read more