Featured Articles Archive - Page 338

WMS files for Nevada online gaming license

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Slot machine maker WMS Industries said Tuesday it has applied for an interactive gaming license with Nevada. WMS joins the more than two-dozen casino operators and gaming equipment manufacturers that have filed applications with the state Gaming Control Board. WMS Preside...read more

Top-10 things to look forward to at Revel

Atlantic City is getting ready to celebrate is first new casino opening in since The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa opened in 2003. Revel Casino Resort, which suffered from construction delays due to the recent recession, will open its doors on April 2, assuming the New Jersey Casino Control Commission grants the property a license later today.Located at the northern end of the Boardwalk, the resort property has 1,898 hotel rooms and takes a nontraditional approach to the casino floor...read more

Hard Rock Las Vegas launches loyalty program

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino launched a rewards program this week with a name that describes what its music-loving customers most covet: a Backstage Pass.The new system lets Hard Rock customers earn points for every dollar spent -- gaming and nongaming -- at the 1,500-room off-Strip hotel-casino...read more

The pros and cons of concentrating and spreading your bets

Some casino games offer bettors opportunities to select wagers from along a spectrum between those in which each decision has a strong probability of winning a relatively small amount, and a remote chance of making a fairly substantial score...read more

Deal Me In: Never and always are princes among slippery terms

Dear Mark: Why do some players on a blackjack table get all hot and bothered when I split 10s? I don’t do it every time, nor do I get a 20 hand very often. I never correct their play, like when the dealer is showing a six, and they hit a 12-16...read more

Stratosphere parent trims net loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Officials for the company that operates the Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower and the two Arizona Charlie's casinos reduced their net loss in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31.American Casino & Entertainment Properties, which also owns the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $7 million, compared with a net loss of $17.4 million in the same quarter a year ago.Net revenues in the quarter grew to $81.3 million, compared with $79 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.The Stratosphere's net revenue increased 8.1 percent on a 7.3 percent increase in casino revenue and a 22.1 percent increase in hotel revenue during the quarter.The company said renovated hotel rooms and a new player rewards program helped the resort increase average daily room rates and occupancy, casino revenues and food and beverage revenues.Net revenue at the Arizona Charlie's Boulder and Arizona Charlie's Decatur properties fell 24 percent in the quarter with most of the declines coming from decreased casino, and food and beverage revenues at the Boulder Highway property.Company officials said heavy promotional activity from competitors dominates the Las Vegas local market, which continues to be affected by high unemployment and declining home values.The Aquarius was hurt by construction along Laughlin's Casino Drive during 2011, the main road through the resort corridor...read more

Moody's: Las Vegas Strip gaining traction in recovery

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The Strip is "gaining traction" in its economic recovery, but rising fuel costs could set back any financial healing in the market, an analyst for bond rating agency Moody's Investors Service said. In a report released Monday, Moody's gaming analyst Peggy Holloway said increased visitor volume and improving gaming revenues during 2011 have improved the prospects for casino companies that rely on the Strip for the bulk of their gaming revenues, including MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp. Last year, Las Vegas drew 38.9 million visitors, which neared the city's record of 39.2 million visitors in 2007...read more

Ameristar Casinos acquires Louisiana project

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The acquisition of a proposed hotel-casino project in Lake Charles, La., by Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos all but assures the estimated $500 million development will be completed, analysts said Wednesday.The regional casino operator announced it had bought all of the equity interests of Creative Casinos, a company owned by longtime gaming executive Dan Lee, for $32.5 million.Lee was moving forward with Mojito Pointe, a hotel-casino complex on a 242-acre site under a lease from the Lake Charles Harbor & Terminal District adjacent to the existing L'Auberge du Lac, which is owned by rival regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment.Ameristar announced it would increase the scope of the development to 700 hotel rooms, expand the deadline to start construction by 120 days, to July 20.Analysts speculated Lee was having trouble securing financing for the Mojito Pointe, which had a $400 million budget...read more

Top-10 innovations that changed casino gambling

I started writing about the gambling industry in 2006, and over the last six years, there have been a number of developments that have revolutionized the industry, changing the way gamblers bet and the way games are played.But many of the industry's biggest changes and innovations came before I started writing about the industry...read more

Why not all unresolved craps bets can be changed once they've been at risk

Most casino bets are resolved by winning, losing, or pushing in every coup or round. After a push, money that’s been at risk can be recovered as well as increased, left the same, or decreased and bet again. Even-money “flat” bets on Don’t Pass, Don’t Come, Pass, and Come at craps may not be settled after a roll, yet are restricted as to what can be done with them once they’ve been up for grabs...read more