Featured Articles Archive - Page 301

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

Why do some casinos make you wait until after a shuffle to enter a blackjack game?

Question: At some blackjack tables, players aren't allowed to enter the game except during the first round after the cards are shuffled. Why do the casinos do this?Answer: Casinos with "no mid-shoe entry" policies normally have this rule at some or all of their highest-limit tables...read more

MGM Resorts ends agreement to manage hotel-casino in Vietnam

LAS VEGAS -- MGM Resorts International terminated its agreement to manage a hotel-casino development in Vietnam that is partially owned by Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.In a filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Pinnacle disclosed that MGM Resorts exercised its right to end the agreement because the project did not achieve certain pre-opening milestones before March 1.In an e-mailed statement, MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said the company would work with the project's developers to "ensure a smooth transition" of the resort's management.Asian Coast Development Ltd., which is 26 percent owned by Pinnacle, is the developer of the Ho Tram Strip integrated resort complex in Vietnam...read more

European online gamer recommended for Nevada interactive gaming license

The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission spent almost two hours Wednesday delving into the background of European online gaming operator 888 Holdings Plc, which is seeking an interactive Nevada gaming license.After recommending that Gibraltar-based 888 be approved for the state's 20th interactive license, the three control board members spent all of five minutes discussing Treasure Island's request to hold the state's 21st interactive license."I don't have any questions, unless you want me to make some up," Control Board Chairman A.G...read more