Featured Articles Archive - Page 427

Deal Me In: Getting, and betting, sloshed

Dear Mark: Enjoyed your most recent column where you talked about comps. One thing you might want to mention to your readers is that when ordering drinks at table games, ask for shelf liquor, otherwise you get your drinks from the well. Where I play, you can order Maker's Mark all night long...read more

Matt Affleck's latest bad beat: PokerStars cuts off Washington residents

Matt Affleck has had his share of bad beats in 2010, but believe it or not, a decision by PokerStars announced today might be the worst.The world's largest online poker room has banned Affleck and the rest of the 6.66 million people who live in the state of Washington from playing real-money games...read more

Pinnacle to learn Missouri fate by end of year

ST. LOUIS, Missouri -- By the end of the year, Pinnacle Entertainment will know whether its decision to abandon a third gaming license in Missouri was a smart wager or a bad beat on the river card. The Las Vegas-based regional casino operator folded its permit for the President in downtown St...read more

Vdara visitor says "death ray" scorched hair

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The tall, sleek, curving Vdara Hotel at CityCenter on the Strip is a thing of beauty.But the south-facing tower is also a collector and bouncer of sun rays, which -- if you're at the hotel's swimming pool at the wrong time of day and season -- can singe your hair and melt your plastic drink cups and shopping bags.Hotel pool employees call the phenomenon the "Vdara death ray."A spokesman for MGM Resorts International, which owns Vdara, said he prefers the term "hot spot" or "solar convergence" to describe it...read more

Budget raised for Louisiana casino

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment, which scaled back development plans in several markets, upped the ante in Baton Rouge, La.The Las Vegas-based company announced late Monday it increased the construction budget for a riverboat gaming development in Baton Rouge by more than $100 million...read more

Analysts see tough times for slot makers

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- It's becoming vogue for Wall Street to have a negative view about slot machine manufacturers' financial prospects. In the past few weeks, analysts from three investment firms offered research reports to investors that discussed the gaming equipment sector...read more

MGM Resorts moves towards Hong Kong IPO

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Resorts International took its first steps toward an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by filing a proposed listing application this morning. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, MGM Resorts said that MGM China Holdings Ltd., a Cayman Islands company formed by MGM Resorts and Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho, the company's joint venture partner in the MGM Grand Macau. The company said that if the proposed listing occurs, MGM China Holdings would control MGM Grand Macau. "There have not been any decisions made regarding the timing or terms of any such listing or whether MGM China Holdings Limited will ultimately proceed with such a transaction or whether the proposed transaction will ultimately be approved by the Hong Kong Exchange," the company said in its SEC filing. MGM Resorts has been contemplating an IPO on the Hong Kong exchange...read more

Top-10 most well-known pros never to win a WSOP bracelet

Golf fans are familiar with the moniker "Best player to never win a major." For years Phil Mickelson held that dubious distinction, until he finally broke through and won the 2004 Masters.A select number of poker players have held the distinction of "Best player to never win a World Series of Poker bracelet." Michael Mizrachi, Gavin Smith, Phil Laak and Gus Hansen were on that list...read more

Despite tough times, casinos bullish on expansion in New England

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The running joke at the first New England Gaming Summit last week was the front-page headline announcing that the recession was over in that morning's USA Today.With the gaming industry still reeling from revenues far below numbers seen a few years ago, and the announcement a week earlier that the summit's host casino, Mohegan Sun, was laying off 475 people, it hardly seemed that the economy was growing again to most of the 200 people in attendance .But in spite of the rough patch that the industry is facing, speakers at the summit generally seemed very bullish on expansion of the industry, most notably in Massachusetts."We strongly believe that the current setbacks in our industry not withstanding, we need to continue to plan for growth that will occur as the economy eventually rebounds and spending increases," said Mitchell Grossinger Etess, president and CEO of Mohegan Sun.While the Massachusetts House, Senate and Governor Deval Patrick were unable to reconcile differences in proposed gaming legislation before the legislature went on recess prior to the November elections, all three were on board to expand gaming — including resort casinos."In 2011 we will revisit the issue because we have to revisit the issue," said Sen...read more

Elaine Wynn lands spot of Forbes list

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Divorce was profitable for Elaine Wynn. The ex-wife of Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman Steve Wynn landed a spot on the Forbes 400 List of Wealthiest Americans, due in large part to the monetary settlement that ended her marriage earlier this year. Elaine Wynn is one of eight Nevadans listed on the annual ranking...read more