Featured Articles Archive - Page 408

Duhamel proving he has what it takes to be the champ

It's been almost 100 days since Jonathan Duhamel won the Main Event at the 2010 World Series of Poker, and yet he says he's been home for just over a week since winning the $8.9 million first-place prize. Instead of relaxing at home, Duhamel has been travelling to make television appearances, film commercials for PokerStars, and play on the tournament circuit."I was home for a week over the holidays, and that's all," says Duhamel...read more

Union Gaming Group opens Macau office

MACAU -- Las Vegas-based Union Gaming Group has opened a subsidiary in Macau. The firm, which publishes equity research and analysis on the casino industry, placed an office on the Macau peninsula. The special administrative region of China had gaming revenues of $25.4 billion in 2010, making it the world's largest gambling jurisdiction. Nevada-based gaming companies Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd...read more

Nevada sees first yearly revenue increase in two years

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nevada ended two straight years of declining gaming revenues by the slightest of margins. The Gaming Control Board said Thursday that casinos statewide collected $10.4 billion in gaming revenues in 2010, an increase of 0.1 percent, or roughly $12 million, compared with $10.39 billion in gaming revenues reported in 2009. On the Strip, casinos reported gaming revenues of $5.77 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent compared with $5.55 billion collected in 2009...read more

November Nine reunited for "historic" event

MASHANTUCKET, Connecticut -- The 2010 November Nine reunited at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut on Tuesday for a one-day, one-of-a-kind freeroll tournament.The 30-person freeroll consisted of the November Nine, 18 Foxwoods players – selected via raffle -- and three "wild cards" (Bernard Lee, ESPN commentator Lon McEachern and ALL IN Magazine publisher Kasey Thompson).A reunion of the previous World Series of Poker Main Event final tables had never happened in the history of modern poker...read more

Kyl will not seek re-election in 2012

Sen. Jon Kyl announced today that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Kyl was one of the chief architects of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which prohibits financial institutions from processing transactions related to online gambling. The Arizona senator is the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, just behind Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and the leading opponent to online gambling in Congress...read more

Foxwoods poker players get the experience of a lifetime against the November Nine

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — When Springfield, Mass., resident Phil Jackson showed up for a 30-person freeroll poker tournament at Foxwoods Resort and Casino on Tuesday, he didn't really know what he was getting himself into. He thought he was going to be up against 29 random Foxwoods players."I never turn down a chance to win money for free," he said laughing about 30 minutes before the tournament.What Jackson didn't know at the time was he and 17 others were selected in a random drawing from a list of all the tournament players who cashed in events at Foxwoods over several weeks in January and February...read more

Sportsbooks split on how to handle Aguilera anthem

DALLAS, Texas -- Nevada's sports books posted hundreds of unusual and unique proposition wagers on Sunday's Super Bowl, won by the Green Bay Packers, 35-21 over the Pittsburgh Steelers.One wager that wasn't posted was an over/under on how long it would take four-time Grammy Award winning singer Christina Aguilera to perform the National Anthem.Nevada sports books didn't take the action because official statistics aren't kept on the song's length.Online/offshore sports wagering website, however, took bets on the performance...read more

Top-10 lessons from a marathon online poker session

Last week I wrote about what I learned when I four-tabled Rush Poker on Full Tilt Poker in an attempt to earn 500 Full Tilt Points in one day. And while the overall lesson is important, I also wanted to take a closer look at my play and discover what I could about leaks in my game and areas to improve on...read more

Las Vegas Sands cuts comps for middle-tier gamblers

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. has eliminated free hotel rooms and other complimentary offerings for middle-tier customers at its two Strip resorts, a move one gambling expert called "a terrible thing."High-end gamblers still receive benefits, such as show tickets and meals.Company officials said the move was taken to drive the bookings of hotel rooms through group sales and Las Vegas Sands' alliance with InterContinental Hotels, which began marketing The Venetian and Palazzo through its 52 million-member rewards program last fall.During Las Vegas Sands' fourth-quarter earnings conference call, company Chairman Sheldon Adelson said the elimination of comps has helped sell hotel rooms at The Venetian and Palazzo, resulting in a substantial increase in cash income."We know that the subject of comps has been played out all across Las Vegas, but we've taken a different position," Adelson said...read more

Questions remain over stopped-in-progress Nevada projects

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- In Laughlin, a few miles up Casino Drive from the cluster of the town's resorts, sits the hulking shell of what was to have been the Emerald River, an $800 million hotel, casino, golf and resort complex.Fourteen floors of one hotel tower and seven floors of a second were completed before the money ran out, the project went bankrupt and construction stopped.That was more than 20 years ago.The concrete and steel towers still remain near the edge of the Colorado River, rising above overgrown weeds and desert foliage.Some people wonder whether this could be the future of several land parcels along the Strip.Construction of Echelon, a $4.8 billion development by Boyd Gaming Corp...read more