Featured Articles Archive - Page 375

Heard it on the River: Flooding hurts Mississippi casinos

The water and mud that flooded casino jurisdictions up and down the Mississippi River in April failed to wash away the buildings but did swallow up revenue leaving behind a 60 per cent drop for May compared with the number last year for Riverfront operations, according to the state department of revenue. Some 17 casinos from Tunica down to Natchez started to shut their doors last April and during the closure period they collected only $41 million in May compared with $107.8 million a year ago and $101.8 in April this year. It was a bad hit worsened by the bad economy and credit to the casinos that mustered their forces as soon as they had access to their buildings and re-opened a lot quicker than anticipated...read more

Juanda riding high at WSOP

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- When John Juanda denied Phil Hellmuth an unprecedented 12th World Series of Poker championship bracelet in the Deuce-to-Seven Lowball event, about a third of the audience for the heads-up match was solidly in Juanda's corner...read more

Moody's upgrades Las Vegas Sands rating

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Moody's Investors Service on Friday revised Las Vegas Sands Corp's rating outlook to positive from stable and affirmed its Ba3 corporate rating. The revision reflects greater confidence that Las Vegas Sands will be able to reduce its debt ratio, which is required for a one-notch ratings upgrade. "Las Vegas Sands would also need to adhere to a conservative long-term financial policy in order to achieve a Ba2 corporate family rating," said Keith Foley, a Moody's senior vice president. The positive outlook also incorporates Moody's favorable view of Las Vegas Sands refinancing...read more

Match play promotions are better than you may think

Make believe your friendly neighborhood casino wants to boost its minibaccarat action. So the joint sends you and some other specially-selected solid citizens $100 in “match play” coupons. The coupons are good only for $10 or higher bets on Player at minibaccarat. In case you’re foggy about the fine points, match play is funny money the casino gives you to bet along with equal face value of your own wampum...read more

Deal Me In: Hot news on roulette voodoo

Dear Mark: I enjoyed your response to a question column roulette wheel bias. I was wondering if an experienced roulette dealer could make the ball land where he or she pleases? Josh G.What you’re asking, Josh, is whether a dealer can deliberately target and pocket a particular number when the wheel is spinning east, the ball west, with frets impeding a descending bouncing ball as it finds its way to a particular pocket...read more

Wynn, Adelson smooth over contentious relationship

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Hostilities have subsided somewhat between two warring factions.Not basketball fans and LeBron James.Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson have buried their animosity after years of open antagonism. In recent weeks, they have publicly said nice things about each other and their respective casino companies.But let's not get ahead of ourselves...read more

Top-10 games that should be played at the WSOP

When I heard that Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce was recently spotted at the World Series of Poker, it reminded me that there have been a smattering of NBA players who have jumped into poker tournaments in the past. But there's never been a stampede.To be honest, it's surprising there haven't been more...read more

Pinnacle gamble pays off in Ohio

RIVER DOWNS, Ohio -- It appears Pinnacle Entertainment's $45 million gamble on a racetrack in Ohio is about to pay off.The Las Vegas-based regional casino operator stands to benefit from Ohio Gov. John Kasich's announcement Wednesday that will allow the state's seven racetracks to add casinos with slot machinelike video lottery terminals.Pinnacle bought the River Downs Racetrack in Cincinnati last year, betting that the casino additions would be approved...read more

What's the edge on Buy bets at craps?

Casinos mint money by paying proportionately less to winners win than they collect from losers. The usual mechanism is the “edge” – a function of what few players realize is a ubiquitous offset between payoff ratio and odds against winning...read more

H2 predicts slow growth for online gaming in 2011

After analyzing the first five months of data and taking into account recent developments in the United States and Japan, H2 Gambling Capital has revised its forecast for revenues for the online gambling sector down from €25.0 billion to €23.76 billion...read more