Featured Articles Archive - Page 296

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

Crews top off structure for Northern California Indian Casino being developed by Station Casinos

Construction crews topped off the structure Tuesday for the $800 million Graton Resort and Casino near Santa Rosa, Calif., which is being developed and managed by Station Casinos, Inc.The project, which is owned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, is expected to open later this year...read more

IGT facing proxy fight from company's former chairman

The former chairman and chief executive of IGT - International Game Technology is challenging the slot machine maker's current leadership and has launched a proxy fight to regain a seat on the company's board of directors.Charles Mathewson, IGT's chairman from 1986 until retirement in 2003, is working with New York-based Ader Investment Management, which is headed by former gaming industry Wall Street analyst Jason Ader.Mathewson, 83, was IGT's "chairman emeritus" until his ties with the company were severed in 2010...read more

Proposed gaming bill would allow interstate agreements for online poker

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada's budding Internet poker market could eventually accept wagers from players in other states under a proposed legislative change in the Silver State's interactive gambling regulations.In a bill draft submitted to the Legislature, the Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission wants to amend interactive gaming regulatory language that would allow Nevada's governor to enter agreements with other states that legalize Internet poker.Conceivably, the interstate gaming compacts would allow Nevada-based Internet poker websites to accept bets from gamblers from states with similar interactive gaming laws, considerably growing the size of the potential player pool.Under Nevada's interactive gaming regulations, websites in the state can accept wagers only from players gambling on computers or mobile devices within the state's borders.The suggested changes, proposed in Assembly Bill 5, were drafted by the control board in consultation with the governor's office.Control Board Chairman A.G...read more

Top-10 betting stories in Cheers

There's no question that more bets take place in casinos and race tracks and locations where gambling is regulated than any other place in the world. But if you're looking for a place where you might make a friendly wager between friends, you local sports bar might be your best bet.As a child of the 1980s and '90s, I remember spending a good number of afternoons watching syndicated re-runs of Cheers, the beloved sitcom starring Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson and Kirstie Alley (among others) that took place in a Boston bar.Growing up in upstate New York, I couldn't relate much to the setting, especially as I was still well below drinking age...read more

Lone Star State gaming expansion faces Texas-size hurdle

Texas lawmakers will again take up the issue of gaming expansion during the state's biannual legislative session that begins next week.And, as in previous years, a gaming bill has as much chance of passing through both Lone Star State legislative houses as the Dallas Cowboys have of winning the Super Bowl with Tony Romo at quarterback.Slim and none."There are a host of detractors and hurdles standing in the way of Texas passing gaming expansion anytime soon, from religious groups, out-of-state gaming interests, a conservative Legislature, and animal rights groups," Union Gaming Group managing director Bill Lerner told investors.National gaming expansion talks always focus on Texas when that state's Legislature convenes for roughly five months in odd-numbered years.Texas is the nation's second-most-populous state with more than 26 million residents...read more

More challenges lie ahead for gaming board chairman

LAS VEGAS -- It's not like A.G. Burnett has a huge learning curve in his new position as chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission.For more than a decade, Burnett, 43, played a behind-the-scenes but active role in many of the agency's decisions and rulings concerning the industry.Burnett has offered legal advice and regulatory opinions on gaming company consolidation, federal antitrust issues, casino expansion into Macau þother foreign markets, the emergence of private equity ownership, and advances in gaming technology.He spent nine years as deputy chief of the agency's corporate securities division, four years as a deputy attorney general for gaming and nearly a year as a state gaming agent.In January 2011, Gov...read more

Why do some roulette wheels have a 0 but no 00?

Question: Roulette tables where I've played have green 0 and 00 positions as well as red and black numbers. I've heard some wheels have 0 but no 00, and are better for players. Is this true?Answer: There are "double zero" or American and "single zero" or European wheels...read more

Some $7 million in upgrades a pleasant turn of events for Terrible's

LAS VEGAS -- The off-Strip Terrible's Hotel and Casino doesn't have movie theaters, high-end restaurants and bowling centers like other local gaming properties.That's not what customers of the casino are seeking."We have a solid 70 percent local customer base that is loyal," said Chris Angelo, the casino's marketing manager.Terrible's, at the corner of Paradise and East Flamingo roads near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and just north of the Hard Rock Hotel, is completing $7 million in renovations.The 60,000-square-foot casino was upgraded with nearly 1,000 new slot machines and a William Hill Race and Sports Book.The table game pit area was reconfigured for better access, new carpeting was installed and a wall near the sports book was torn out to create a center bar area, with seating that allows views of the sports book television monitors.The front desk area was combined with the casino's players club reception area, freeing additional space on the casino floor.Terrible's also renovated the property's 327 hotel rooms with new furniture and furnishings...read more