Featured Articles Archive - Page 359

WSOP final table to be shown "almost live"

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Every hand of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event final table will be shown on television in a modified live format.The final table of nine players in the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em World Championship will revise its format to accommodate the expanded television coverage by ESPN.Play will begin at 11:30 a.m., Sunday, Nov...read more

How does edge affect your chances of winning at blackjack?

Conventional wisdom among civilians not inducted into the rites of the casino realm is that the house always wins. The ostensible rationale involves the bosses having an edge in the games they run. The part about having an edge is true – except, of course, in instances like blackjack with card counting where diligent enough players can get an advantage...read more

Help me Harry Reid, you're my only hope

Last week, while my wife was at one of her colleague's weddings, I stayed home with the kids. It was the classic "Dad's in charge" night; after getting our six-month-old twins down for the night I watched Return of the Jedi with our four-year old son (minus the opening sequence where Luke Skywalker defeats Jabba the Hutt's rancor beast) over pizza.With order restored to the galaxy and the four-year-old off to bed, I was left to my own devices with three hours to kill before my wife returned.And that was the moment I realized how much I missed online poker...read more

Deal Me In: A little deeper into the comps topic

Dear Mark: If one casino offers cash back for my video poker play, but another offers just free play instead, both offerings are of equal value, is there any difference in playing at Casino A over B? Charles P. A free play offering is somewhat like a cash reward for your action, Charles, but the compensation must be used within the casino...read more

Massachusetts gambling bill takes major step forward

BOSTON, Massachusetts -- The Massachusetts State Senate on Thursday approved a gaming bill that could lead to three Las Vegas-style casinos in that state. The bill passed by a 24-14 vote in the Senate. It authorizes three full-scale casinos with slot machines and table games and one slot machine-only casino. The Massachusetts House passed a similar version of the bill last month. The measure now goes to a joint House-Senate conference committee, where lawmakers will reconcile differences in the two versions before sending it to Gov...read more

NBC axes National Heads-Up Poker Championship

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The National Heads-Up Poker Championship has become a casualty of the government’s crackdown on Internet Poker.NBC confirmed the event, held at Caesars Palace in the spring, is not on the television network’s weekend sports calendar for next year.The poker blog, Wicked Chops, first reported the cancellation Thursday.NBC Sports Senior Director of Communications Adam Freifeld told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the tournament, which matches 64 poker professionals and celebrities in heads-up format of no limit hold’em, might return in 2013.“We will continue to evaluate our poker programming,” Freifeld said.Telecasts of this year’s event began on the weekend following the U.S...read more

Nevada regulators approve more WSOP prop bets

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- During Super Bowl week, Nevada sports books post hundreds of proposition bets on the professional football championship.The wagers add to the game's overall betting total, which hit $87.4 million this year.There is only so much you can do, however, with the world's most famous poker game.Nevada gaming regulators are allowing sports books to accept five additional wagers on the World Series of Poker's Main Event in November, beyond who gamblers think will win the game's most prestigious title.The request to the Gaming Control Board was made by Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns the World Series of Poker...read more

Nevada gaming revenues drop 6.1 percent in August

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Take baccarat out of the picture and August would have been a pretty good month for Strip casinos. Wagers on the game by high-end Strip customers declined almost 59 percent from a year ago, sending the casinos' baccarat take down by almost 41 percent. The result? Strip casinos suffered a nearly 9 percent decline in gaming revenues during August, ending three straight monthly increases...read more

Top-10 observations from the Epic Poker League's first televised tournament

The Epic Poker League made its debut on CBS on Saturday with the final table of the inaugural six-max $20,000 event, which took place at The Palms Casino Resort in August. Previously, coverage of the tournament had aired on Velocity.The first event was a star-studded affair, virtually guaranteed by the fact that players could only get into the tournament if they had qualified for a league card or by making the final table of a $1,500 satellite.The tournament coverage wasn’t groundbreaking...read more

Games with thrilling new twists shine at G2E

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The Global Gaming Expo's trade show in Las Vegas last week seemed more like Disneyland than Bellagio.The technology available to slot machine manufacturers has allowed developers and designers to create games that are a combination of amusement park rides and gambling devices.WMS Industries, for example, displayed "Aladdin & The Magic Quest," which has a jackpot bonus system simulating a magic carpet ride...read more