Featured Articles Archive - Page 287

Profits for SHFL entertainment rise 22 percent

LAS VEGAS -- Gaming equipment supplier SHFL Entertainment grew profits 22 percent in the second quarter thanks in part of sales of products to casinos in Australia and Asia.Las Vegas based SHFL said Tuesday that its net income for the quarter that ended April 30 was $11.8 million, or 21 cents per share...read more

Macau gaming revenues up 13.5 percent in May

Macau gaming revenues grew 13.5 percent in May to $3.7 billion as the Chinese casino market recorded its second-largest single-month collection.Analysts said the improving Chinese economy and May holidays fueled the increase in the world’s largest gaming market.The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau released the figures Monday.In March, the Chinese gaming enclave shattered the region’s monthly gaming revenue mark with casinos collecting more than $3.92 billion from gamblers.Susquehanna International Group gaming analyst Rachael Rothman said a large amount of mass market play in Macau during April probably helped push the action from high-end customers into May.“The faster-growing mass market segment tends to peak during holiday periods, while VIP stays home or gambles elsewhere to avoid the crowds,” Rothman said.Union Gaming Group analyst Grant Govertsen said the May figure could have been higher if not for severe weather during the third week of the month, when Macau and nearby parts of Guangdong province recorded their heaviest rainfall in more than 30 years.Through May, Macau gaming revenues are up 14 percent over the same five months of 2012...read more

Top-10 predictions for this year's World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker is underway at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, and there have already been some great story lines. First, a guy brings his dog to the final table and wins. And then the "Millionaire Maker" draws 6,343 players, a record for a single-day entry event...read more

Ultimate Poker is laughing last - at least for now

LAS VEGAS -- Sometimes karma can bite you in the butt.World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart just experienced that pain.Recently, Stewart made light of early troubles that befell Ultimate Poker, the first legal pay-to-play online gambling website in the U.S., which launched April 30.First, Ultimate was caught using an unlicensed and much maligned service provider to identify new players...read more

European online titan moves ahead with licensing in Nevada

LAS VEGAS -- European online gaming giant bwin.party digital entertainment plc is moving forward with licensing in Nevada to operate Internet poker websites with MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corporation, despite comments to the contrary from the company’s chief executive, an attorney said.Gilbraltar-based Bwin.party is still awaiting approval from state gaming regulators after filing its application more than a year ago.In interviews with online gaming publications last month, Bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger said the company chose “not to operate in Nevada” and would focus its attention on New Jersey, which enacted Internet gaming laws earlier this year.Las Vegas gaming attorney Frank Schreck, who represents Bwin.party, said the New Jersey licensing process is being expedited time period by the state...read more

What are the chances of a jackpot at the slots?

Question: What are the chances of hitting a jackpot on a reel-type slot machine?Answer: There's no single answer to this question. Modern reel-type slots are controlled by computers. They can be programmed so the chances of jackpots are just about anything...read more

Deal Me In: What's next?

Dear Mark: I had not seen this subject mentioned in your column, and perhaps you know, but if not, I thought you would be interested in knowing about an "Ante" in the Indian casinos in Oklahoma.Before the dealing of each hand, the player must pay an "ante" fee, the minimum being fifty cents, and it escalates depending upon the size of one's bet...read more

Glitch that allowed WSOP gambling website to accept wagers corrected

LAS VEGAS -- An online gambling website based on the World Series of Poker that is awaiting final approval from Nevada gaming regulators accidentally went live Wednesday for a brief time but was shut down quickly when the glitch was discovered.Caesars Interactive Entertainment, which operates the World Series of Poker, informed gaming regulators of the error.Caesars wants to launch the Nevada-based pay-to-play website during the World Series of Poker, which began its six-week run at the Rio on Wednesday.Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G...read more

FTC questions Pinnacle Entertainment's bid for Ameristar Casinos

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.’s $2.8 billion buyout of Ameristar Casinos, Inc. is in jeopardy after the Federal Trade Commission said the deal violates U.S. antitrust law.In a 17-page administrative complaint issued Wednesday, the FTC said the merger between the two Las Vegas-based regional casino operators “would reduce competition” in St...read more

Gaming industry's indecision blamed for demise of federal Web poker measure

LAS VEGAS -- A former Nevada congressman turned lobbyist said Tuesday that the gaming industry’s indecisiveness toward online gambling a few years ago scuttled chances for passage of a federal bill to legalize and regulate Internet poker.Jon Porter, who represented Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District for three terms, said casino companies also were late in recognizing that American Indian tribes and state lotteries needed to be included in the discussion when the issue came up again in 2012.“Those are some powerful groups,” Porter, president of Porter Gordon Silver, said during a panel discussion at the International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking at Caesars Palace.“Each time the issue came up, the industry had a different perspective,” said Porter, who was joined on the panel by former Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli and Ultimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling...read more