Featured Articles Archive - Page 310

Gaming needs due diligence in Russia

The Russian government has wagered $18 billion in infrastructure projects for the southern port city of Vladivostok on a gamble that American casino giants will turn the area into the next Macau.Vladivostok may also become known for something more than just its proximity to northeastern Asia, a minuscule gaming tax and a market hungry for casinos.Russian mobsters.We're not talking the drug lords that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi chased down in the 1988 film "Red Heat." Nor do they resemble the arms dealer portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 movie "Lord of War."Today's organized crime in Russia is disguised as legitimate business operations."They are not the guys with the tattoos and the bull necks...read more

Bwin.Party's online poker celebration will have to wait

LAS VEGAS -- Earlier this year, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment plc co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan was asked to deliver a Global Gaming Expo keynote address.He thought the event would be a victory lap.At the time, chances seemed to favor Congress voting to legalize Internet poker.Gibraltar-based bwin.party had three partnership agreements in place to jump into the U.S...read more

Penn National getting its bucks in a row to battle gaming expansion in Maryland

The chief financial officer of Penn National Gaming promises the regional casino giant will continue to spend aggressively to defeat a gaming expansion initiative in Maryland.The company may even set a new benchmark for political spending in Maryland.The most expensive political campaign in Maryland was the state's governor's race in 2006, when candidates and parties spent more than $34 million...read more

Companies shop cautiously at Global Gaming Expo

LAS VEGAS -- David Brake, general manager of the StoneWolf Casino in central Oklahoma, ignored high-priced themed slot machines at last week's Global Gaming Expo (G2E) and focused on video poker.Jack Fabre, director of gaming operations at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minn., checked out games offered at every slot machine manufacturer's G2E booth...read more

Moody's: Gaming company high yield bonds offer investors increased protection

LAS VEGAS -- High-yield bonds issued by gaming companies, including the CityCenter developers, offer more investor protection than those of nonfinancial companies, an analyst for Moody's Investor Service said Tuesday.In a report issued by the debt advisory service, Moody's Senior Vice President Keith Foley said the covenants of the gaming sector bonds offer more safeguards for the investment than in any sector covered in the company's high-yield covenant database."The covenants of high-yield gaming company bonds are strongest in terms of minimizing cash leakage through restricted payments, preventing structural and lien subordination and limiting the amount of debt an issuer can take on," Foley said.Moody's analyzed the covenant packages of 17 high-yield bonds issued by 15 U.S...read more

Former MGM Resorts exec Creighton rejoins company

LAS VEGAS -- Former MGM Resorts International executive Lorenzo Creighton has rejoined the casino operator and will focus on the company's efforts to develop hotel-casinos in potential eastern U.S. gaming markets.Creighton, who has more than two decades of experience in government affairs, gaming regulation and casino operations, was the first African-American to be named president of a major Strip resort.Creighton was president of the Flamingo before joining MGM Resorts and taking over a similar role with New York-New York...read more

Top-10 Phil Hellmuth moments

Phil Hellmuth's win in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event added to an already long list of accomplishments. I've been lucky enough to witness a few amazing Hellmuth moments in person, and his win got me thinking about his career. While a number of moments could be considered "top moments" because of his oh-so-memorable tirades, Hellmuth's accomplishments also deserve to be considered on their own merit...read more

The power of "Pawn"

LAS VEGAS -- A few years ago, Rick Harrison was basically "a nerd running a pawn shop" when television cameras from the History Channel turned his family business into an internationally recognized product.So why not put the whole group from the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on a slot machine?"It's definitely pretty cool, especially living in Vegas," said Harrison, who stars in the reality series with his father, Richard Harrison, son Corey Harrison and Adam "Chumlee" Russell.The slot machine, developed by G2 Game Design and produced and distributed by Bally Technologies, Inc., was unveiled last week at the Global Gaming Expo...read more

What Conditional Expectations Say About Betting the Odds at Craps

Many casino games proceed in stages. Bets on Pass at craps are illustrations. Prospects involve the chance of 1) winning or losing immediately – on the come-out roll – or establishing one or another of the box numbers as the point, and 2) subsequently winning or losing on the point...read more

Shuffle Master changing name to incorporate multiple products

LAS VEGAS -- Good-bye, Shuffle Master. Hello, SHFL Entertainment.The gaming equipment provider told investors Monday morning it was changing its name to reflect the company's products, including nontraditional table games, automated playing card shufflers and other casino management systems, electronic gaming tables and Internet gaming technology.The name incorporates the company's stock symbol...read more