Featured Articles Archive - Page 295

IGT leaders: Proxy fight would be step in wrong direction

Allowing a former chairman of IGT - International Game Technology to win three seats on the slot machine manufacturer's board in a proxy fight "would be a step in the wrong direction," the company's top executives told the company's shareholders Monday.In a letter to shareholders, IGT Chairman Phil Satre and Chief Executive Officer Patti Hart outlined the company's financial performance over the past four years...read more

Analysts go radio-silent as proxy fight roils IGT

Wall Street sang the praises of IGT - International Game Technology and Chief Executive Officer Patti Hart in December following a daylong meeting with investors to discuss the slot machine manufacturer's 2013 business prospects.Last week, after news surfaced of a proxy fight over control of IGT, the only sound heard from the equity and high-yield research community concerning the company was the chirping of crickets.Analysts went radio-silent.Finally, late Friday, Morgan Stanley gaming analyst Mark Strawn addressed a preliminary proxy statement Ader Investment Management had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The New York-based firm, headed by ex-analyst Jason Ader, wants to place three directors on IGT's board to change the company's direction.Ader said IGT should focus more on slot machine development and gaming systems, rather than recent high-cost forays into social gaming and the acquisition of an overseas online gaming operator."Overall, we believe the group's requests are in line with investor expectations," Strawn wrote...read more

National Heads-Up Poker Championship returns to Caesars Palace

LAS VEGAS -- After a one-year hiatus, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship will return to Caesars Palace this spring and will be televised on the both NBC and the NBC Sports Network.The tournament features 64 players competing in one-on-one games of No Limit Hold’em and styled is after the NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket...read more

Investor files preliminary proxy, says IGT has lost value

An investor in IGT - International Game Technology, who is now pushing a proxy fight to win three seats on the company's board of directors, said Friday he has tried since last summer to "engage in a constructive dialogue" with management to discuss the challenges facing the casino industry's largest slot machine manufacturer.In a preliminary proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jason Ader, the principal in New York-based Ader Investment Management, said he was denied several in-person meetings with IGT's board of directors.Ader, who controls more than 8 million shares of IGT, was also forced to prove he was a stockholder in the worldwide gaming company, which has corporate headquarters in Las Vegas and manufacturing headquarters in Reno, employing some 2,900 workers statewide.Ader said he will support the election of three independent nominees to the IGT board of directors in an effort make changes in the company's direction.Ader Investment will nominate former IGT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Mathewson, Daniel Silvers of Ader Investment, and Raymond Brooks Jr., principal of R.J...read more

Why does the casino charge a commission on winning Banker bets at Baccarat?

Question: I've noticed that bets on Player and Banker at baccarat get paid full value. But, if you win on Banker, they keep tabs of a commission, which you refund before leaving the game. Is this fee charged because you're betting with, not against, the house?Answer: That's a good way to look at it...read more

Deal Me In: Just another truth-is-better-than-fiction call

Dear Mark: I was at the craps table at Caesars in Canada. My established point to make was nine. I threw the dice and they hit the backboard with the six landing on the table and the three landing on top of the six. It was not leaning on one side or the other...read more

Ader disputes statement from IGT in proxy fight

LAS VEGAS -- Former Wall Street analyst Jason Ader, who is heading a proxy fight with IGT - International Game Technology, disputed a brief statement released by the slot machine manufacturer Thursday afternoon.In a one-paragraph statement, IGT said Ader informed the company he had withdrawn his intent to nominate himself for a seat on the board of directors, but was still planning to nominate a slate of three candidates, including former IGT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Mathewson.A few hours later, 5WPR, a public relations firm that represents New York-based Ader Investment Management, released the following terse statement:"A press release by IGT tonight contains inaccurate information concerning Jason Ader and the Ader Group's proxy fight...read more

Nevada gaming revenues decline 11.1 percent in November

LAS VEGAS -- There is no way to sugarcoat November's gaming revenue totals in Nevada.However, an 11.1 percent statewide gaming revenue decline during month, coupled with a 12.8 percent drop on the Strip, were not a total surprise.One reason for the decline? Analysts said the Strip hold figures - the amount of money from wagers that casinos earned versus the percentage collected by customers - were lower than a year ago at both gaming tables and slot machines.Also, because November ended on a weekend, accounting rules for slot machine collections pushed some revenue totals into December.Lower baccarat volumes and a 145 percent downward swing in casino revenues from sports wagering also figured in the decline."While we do believe there was some softness in the month, we think headline numbers overstate the declines," Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told investors Wednesday.Statewide, casinos collected $782.6 million from gamblers during the month, compared with $880.1 million collected in November 2011...read more

MGM Resorts passes second hurdle for Macau development

LAS VEGAS -- MGM Resorts International has cleared a second hurdle in the company's quest to build a $2.5 billion hotel-casino project on the Cotai Strip region of Macau.Notice of the Las Vegas-based casino operator's plan was published Wednesday in Macau's official government gazette.MGM Resorts operates the MGM Grand Macau and has been working toward a second hotel-casino in the region, which produced an industry-high $38\u2007billion in gaming revenue in 2012.In November, MGM Resorts said it received a long-awaited land concession for the project, which will involve a 1,600-room hotel and a casino with 500 table games and 2,500 slot machines.The site is almost 18 acres and carries an initial 25-year lease with the government of Macau."Now that the official transfer of real estate in Cotai has occurred, we will focus our full energies on the commencement of construction of our Cotai resort and casino," MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said in a statement...read more

MGM Resorts offers free Wi-Fi service at Las Vegas Strip casinos

LAS VEGAS -- MGM Resorts International has unveiled a free Wi-Fi network at its Strip casinos, allowing guests free wireless Internet in public areas throughout the company's resorts.In a statement, MGM Resorts said the system is currently live at Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage...read more