Featured Articles Archive - Page 355

Gaming figure Dennis Gomes dies at 68

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Dennis Gomes had a 40-year gaming industry career worthy of a screenplay.So it made perfect sense that when Gomes sat down with author Nicholas Pileggi to relate stories about his dealings in gaming enforcement and casino management in Las Vegas, they ended up in the 1995 Martin Scorsese film, "Casino."Gomes, who died Thursday in Philadelphia of complications from kidney dialysis at age 68, was still carrying out scene-stealing events in Atlantic City, where he had served as chief executive officer and co-owner of Resorts Casino Hotel since December 2010.Gomes and his partner, New York real estate mogul Morris Bailey, purchased the run-down Resorts Atlantic City for $31.5 million and vowed to return the property to profitability...read more

MGM Resorts shrinks fourth quarter net loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- At the conclusion of his company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday, MGM Resorts International Chairman Jim Murren made some remarks Las Vegas tourism officials might want to bottle and use in their next promotional campaign."Gaming is coming back in Las Vegas," Murren told analysts and investors.The proof, he said, is showing up in the drop boxes at the company's 10 Strip resorts.Murren said several properties had seen increased table game play and slot machine wagering in the fourth quarter and throughout 2011, which bodes well when accompanied by marked increases in revenue per available room on the Strip, a nontraditional reporting figure analysts use to gage profitability.He also predicted that Las Vegas, which drew 38.9 million visitors in 2011, would hit a single-year record for tourists in 2012."We've said for Las Vegas to come back, convention business must lead the way," Murren said...read more

Deal Me In: Slot tournaments 101

Dear Mark: Like many of your readers, I also enjoy slot tournaments. Does the casino ever leave the tournament chips in after the tournament, giving the player a real shot at taking down some serious cash? Gus R.No need to back up the F150 pickup truck to haul off 20,000 pounds of quarters on tournament machines left on, Gus, as once a tournament is over, machines go dark, chips are swapped out for normal play, then reactivated so that the casino can go about their usual predation of holding a much higher percentage on their one-armed bandits...read more

MGM to build nongaming hotel in China

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Resorts International will build a nongaming luxury hotel in Shanghai, as part of its growing MGM Hospitality division. In a deal announced Tuesday, MGM Resorts said it will build and operate a 200-room hotel with retail and entertainment through a joint venture with Dia...read more

Industry spent over $11 million in lobbying Massachusetts

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The casino industry -- including several companies with ties to the Strip -- spent roughly $11.4 million over the past five years in lobbying Massachusetts lawmakers to approve casinos, according a review of records by the Associated Press.A Las Vegas-based subsidiary of Wynn Resorts Ltd., Development Associates LLC, spent more than $863,000 on lobbying in the past three years, the records showed...read more

Top-10 televised poker bad beats

This Saturday, the Epic Poker Mix Max event final table will be broadcast by CBS. Like any other final table, it had its share of bad beats, but none were as interesting as the bad beat Joe Tehan put on Faraz Jaka and Vanessa Rousso on Day 3.While the beat was bad, it's hardly the worst one I've seen.There are several factors that contribute to how bad a bad beat is...read more

Florida casino supporters vow to continue fight

SUNISE, Florida -- Supporters of legislation that could land three destination-style casinos in South Florida weren't overly disappointed Feb. 3 when state lawmakers canceled a planned vote on the controversial bill.The move seemingly ended the Sunshine State's gaming expansion talks for 2012 after 18 months of heated debate, but many said the battle is just beginning.Analysts predict that full-scale casinos would eventually propel Florida past New Jersey and Pennsylvania as the nation's No...read more

Federal online poker not a good bet in 2012

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A Wall Street gaming analyst told investors Friday that debate over federal legislation that would legalize Internet poker has most likely been pushed into 2013 after lawmakers didn't attach an online gaming bill to the payroll tax cut extension.However, Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said in a research report that Nevada stands to benefit from the inaction because it may be the only state that allows Americans to gamble online this year.Earlier this week, Nevada gaming regulators finalized the state's minimum internal control standards for interactive gaming, which could become effective in a month."We think the standards were written in a way that will allow for small adjustments as the process moves forward," Beynon told investors...read more

Is the optimum strategy the same for 9-6 and 8-5 video poker?

Video poker is a casino favorite. For many reasons. One of these is the participatory nature of the game. Players have to make decisions during the course of a round – which of the dealt cards to hold or dump. If folks were unfamiliar with poker, in general, this would be mind-boggling...read more

MGM Resorts reaches marketing deal with Ameristar Casinos

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A gaming expert said a strategic marketing relationship announced Wednesday between MGM Resorts International and Ameristar Casinos to share player data systems signifies the wave of the future.Under the agreement, customers of MGM Resorts, which has 10 casinos on the Strip, and customers of Ameristar, which operates regional casinos in six markets, can use their points and rewards at either companies' properties.For example, a loyal customer at Ameristar Casino - St...read more