Featured Articles Archive - Page 288

Why can't craps players take back their Pass and Come bets?

Question: Craps players may take any wagers they want out of action during a hand, except Pass and Come wagers. Why are these restricted?Answer: Bets on Pass and Come are two-stage wagers. The first stage is the "come-out." Bets win on the come-out if the shooter throws a seven or 11 and lose if the shooter throws a two, three, or 12...read more

Kerkorian may increase ownership stake in MGM Resorts

LAS VEGAS -- He’s back.Less than two years after saying it was exploring the sale of its stake in MGM Resorts International, the private investment arm of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian said in a regulatory filing Thursday it might reverse course.Los Angeles-based Tracinda Corp., which is the largest shareholder of the Strip casino giant with an 18.6 percent ownership stake, said in a 13-D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it might increase its ownership to 25 percent.The announcement comes a little more than a year after Tracinda sold 20 million shares of MGM Resorts for $268 million.A year earlier, Kerkorian said Tracinda might divest itself of its entire MGM Resorts stake.Tracinda owns almost 91.2 million shares in the company that operates 10 Strip resorts — including the MGM Grand, Bellagio and The Mirage — and has a half-interest ownership in the CityCenter development.The company also is the majority owner of the MGM Grand Macau and is building a second hotel-casino in the Cotai Strip region.On Thursday, Tracinda said in the filing it might explore purchases of MGM Resorts shares either on the open market or directly from third parties.Tracinda said it would purchase the stock during “trading windows” established by MGM Resorts.The next such window is expected to open on the third day after the issuance of the company’s first quarter earnings, which wouldn’t take place until sometime in April at the earliest.“No decision has been made as to the number of shares which may be acquired,” Tracinda said in the filing.Kerkorian, 95, is the founder of MGM Grand Corp., the company that preceded MGM Resorts...read more

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas begins player-sharing program with Hard Rock Biloxi

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi in Mississippi have agreed on a player-sharing program in which top customers at each casino can visit the other property.According to the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Gulf Coast players can earn trips to the Las Vegas Strip while Cosmopolitan players can try their luck in southern Mississippi.Hard Rock Senior Vice President of Marketing Vince Lentini told the newspaper Gulf Coast customers have taken golf trips to Las Vegas and stayed at The Cosmopolitan.Players at both casinos can earn concert tickets, food credits and airfare based on their gambling...read more

PokerStars-AGA showdown in Atlantic City postponed

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission postponed a vote Wednesday that could allow the American Gaming Association (AGA) to participate in the licensing case of PokerStars’ purchase of a failing Atlantic City casino.PokerStars’ parent company, The Rational Group of Isle of Man, wants to buy The Atlantic Club in a move that would allow the online gaming giant to enter New Jersey’s Internet gambling market.Commission spokesman Daniel Heneghan said the matter would be taken up at a later date.“The American Gaming Association’s petition to participate in a hearing on the Rational Group’s application for interim casino authorization has been adjourned,” Casino Control Commission Chairman Matthew Levinson said in a statement...read more

PokerStars attorneys ridicule AGA move

LAS VEGAS -- Attorneys for online gaming giant PokerStars.eu said an attempt by the American Gaming Association (AGA) to block the company from buying a failing Atlantic City casino was a “thinly veiled anti-competitive campaign” to keep new ownership out of the market.In a lengthy letter to New Jersey gaming regulators, attorneys for PokerStars’ ownership, The Rational Group, said the American Gaming Association lacks standing in the matter.Attorneys also raised a reported offer by Caesars Entertainment Inc...read more

I was wrong about Echelon

LAS VEGAS -- I admit when I'm wrong.It's not like I've never made a mistake.My wife and daughter - primarily my daughter - remind me I'm wrong all the time. My brother Craig has his day made when he catches me in an error, especially when it comes to sports trivia.But no one took more pleasure in correcting my judgment recently than Boyd Gaming Corporation CEO Keith Smith.I can't really blame him.In July, Boyd said it would spend $4 million to landscape and beautify the 87-acre Echelon on the Strip to hide the unfinished steel and concrete structures.Boyd halted work on Echelon in 2008 and told the Clark County Commission it wouldn't revisit the project until 2018 at the earliest.I wrote in this space that Boyd should just demolish the stalled development - the company was never going to finish Echelon...read more

Analysts give mixed reviews for Genting's Strip plans

LAS VEGAS -- Last week's news that Genting Group had bought the moribund Echelon property and would build out a $2 billion to $7 billion Strip hotel-casino complex was hailed as good news for recession-weary Las Vegas.But not all analysts are sanguine about adding another 3,500 hotel rooms to an already saturated resort destination...read more

FTC approves Scientific Games Corp. acquisition of WMS Industries

LAS VEGAS -- The Federal Trade Commission signed off Monday on the Scientific Games Corporation's $1.5 billion acquisition of slot machine maker WMS Industries Incorporated.In a joint statement, the companies announced they have been notified by the FTC of "early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act."The termination satisfied one of the conditions required for completion of the merger...read more

Top-10 heads up poker matches actually worth watching

Yesterday, my Twitter feed blew up with tweets about the Team PokerStars win over the "The Professionals" at Full Tilt Poker in their heads-up matchup showdown. Of course, when I say it blew up, what I really mean is that @PokerStars and @FullTiltPoker blew it up with ridiculous trash talk.A few years ago, when PokerStars and Full Tilt were owned by different people and the two online poker titans were competing against each other, this may have been at least a little interesting...read more

Nevada gaming revenues fall 12.4 percent in January

LAS VEGAS -- Gaming revenues in January fell 12.4 percent statewide and 18.7 percent on the Strip based on a challenging comparison to figures produced by Nevada's resort industry a year ago.The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission said Friday that Nevada casinos collected $909.2 million from customers during January, down from $1.038 billion a year ago...read more