Featured Articles Archive - Page 411

Why blackjacks are more significant than most bettors realize

Blackjack buffs all know the joy attending an ace-10 duo showing at their spot on the table. Ask bettors why blackjacks are important, though. You're almost sure to hear it's mainly because they can't lose -- they win, or they push against dealers' blackjacks unless you buy insurance and "take even money." Secondarily, it's because they pay a nice little bonus. Few gamblers realize how much the no-lose and bonus features pull the house edge in the game down as low as it is...read more

Top-10 lowest house edge casino bets

Savvy gamblers know that the best way to preserve a bankroll is to make bets with the lowest house edge. If you're looking to get the most bang for your buck at the casino, look for any of our top-10 low house-edge bets. (All data provided by wizardofodds.com)10...read more

Childhood friends finally see slot design on casino floors

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- As teenagers, Terry Gold and Jeremy Zarowitz would sneak into local convenience stores to play video poker.Fast-forward two decades and the childhood friends now watch as Strip slot machine customers are playing 2nd Chance Royal, the video poker game they designed.Getting the game onto casino floors was a much more formidable challenge than the pair ever dreamed.Patenting took four years...read more

Casinos selling for bargains in Nevada, Atlantic City

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Let's recap recent headlines.M Resort, which cost $1 billion, was essentially acquired by Penn National Gaming, which picked up the property's $860 million debt load for $230.5 million.MGM Resorts International's 50 percent stake in Atlantic City's Borgata was sold to a yet-to-be-named buyer for just above $250 million -- almost half the figure analysts expected.CityCenter, which had an $8.5 billion budget, has an equity value of $2.65 billion...read more

Deal Me In: Putting a pal in the sand trap

Dear Mark: I was going to Las Vegas and a friend gave me $265 (the cost of a driving range season pass for golf he wanted to win) for a pass line bet on the crap table. Since I was playing blackjack previous to making his bet, I used my own chips instead of his cash money...read more

Station Casinos to hire 164 workers in Nevada

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- In its first post-bankruptcy move, Station Casinos will hire 164 workers to staff customer service positions at the company's Las Vegas properties. Of the jobs, more than 40 are manager-supervisor roles and the majority of the positions are full time. Station Casinos Chief Operating Officer Kevin Kelley said Thursday its corporate financial reorganization cast a cloud over operations, even while business continued at the company's 18 area casinos. Kelley said the company decided to fill positions that deal directly with hotel and casino guests as a way of boosting customer service...read more

Poker controller lets players relax while raising

One of the most common mistakes made in online poker is the classic "misclick," when a player clicks on a button indicating an action that is in fact the opposite of what that player intended to do. (I made that mistake earlier this week, in fact, calling a half-pot bet in a pot-limit Omaha cash game on the river with bottom pair — it had been checked on the flop and turn — after my opponent made a full house).The makers of the hand-held controller made by PokerControls, however, believe that their product can help players avoid costly misclicks.The controller is compatible with most of the major online poker rooms, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Party Poker, UB.com, Cake Poker, Ladbrokes Poker, Paradise Poker, Everest Poker, Absolute Poker and Titan Poker...read more

Pinnacle ponders sale of Nevada casino

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment is considering a sale of its only casino in Nevada.A spokesman for the regional casino operator said the company has asked CB Richard Ellis of Las Vegas to see whether there is interest from potential buyers for the company's Boomtown property near Reno.Richard Land, a spokesman for Pinnacle, said the company has not formally put the 318-room hotel-casino on the market, but has asked the real estate company to evaluate any possible interest."It's not a sale process," Land said...read more

Two gamblers lose combined $115 million in Singapore

SINGAPORE -- Singapore, which opened its first casino in February, has already earned its place in gaming lore.Two gamblers lost a combined $115 million in American dollars during baccarat sessions at the island nation's two casinos, including the Marina Bay Sands, which is operated by Las Vegas Sands Corp.According to Singapore media, it was unclear how long the session lasted for the two gamblers, which included a Singapore businessman who appeared on the latest Forbes list of Singapore's 40 richest people.It was unclear how the split went between the two casinos...read more

MGM hopes to raise over $500 million through stock sale

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Resorts International said this morning it hopes to raise almost $517.4 million through a stock offering that was announced yesterday. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the casino operator said it priced the 40.9 million shares it has released to the open market at $12.65 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of MGM Resorts opened down more than 9 percent this morning in early trading. Los Angeles billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, the company's founder and largest shareholder, is placing almost 28 million shares of MGM Resorts that he owns through Tracinda, his private investment arm, on the open market. Tracinda currently holds more than 163 million shares of MGM Resorts, or 37 percent of the company's outstanding shares. Kerkorian could raise more than $351.4 million through the proposed sale. Barclays Capital Inc...read more