Featured Articles Archive - Page 431

McCarran passenger count declines yet again

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Passenger counts at McCarran International Airport declined for the sixth straight month in July while airline upheaval helped Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air crack the airport's top five air carrier list for the first time. According to figures released Monday by the Clark County Department of Aviation, 3,518,217 passengers came through the airport during July, a 1.1 percent decline compared with 3,557,509 passengers who used McCarran in July 2009. For the first seven months of 2010, more than 23.1 million passengers traveled through McCarran, a decline of 2.7 percent compared with almost 23.8 million passengers who came through the airport in the same time frame in 2009. Wall Street has been watching the passenger numbers out of McCarran for the past year, analyzing how declines could impact visitation into Las Vegas. Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett, in a recent report to the firm's investors, said airline rates have risen 10 percent this year, which could hurt the number of tourists coming to the Strip. Zarnett is concerned higher fees, along with fees on services and baggage, will force leisure travelers to hold off vacation plans or choose cheaper alternatives closer to home. "Given that approximately 50 percent of Las Vegas revenues come from visitors that arrive by air, we believe that the higher cost of flying will be yet another impediment to the Las Vegas recovery," Zarnett wrote in the report. "Consumers choosing to travel to Las Vegas will spend less at the casino floor, given that the higher cost of flying will reduce their discretionary budgets," Zarnett said. Allegiant, which connects Las Vegas with smaller regional markets, as well as Los Angeles, the Phoenix area and Florida, carried 202,314 passengers to and from Las Vegas in July, a 10.8 percent increase compared with a year ago when the airline carried 182,586. For the first seven months of the year, Allegiant has flown almost 1.2 million passengers in and out of McCarran, an increase of 3.6 percent compared with the same seven months of 2009. Allegiant flew 171 flights per week in and out of McCarran during July, but that figure is expected to drop to 159 flights per week in August. Earlier this month, Allegiant announced plans to begin nonstop service between McCarran and two additional markets in October. On Oct...read more

Dennis Gomes acquires Resorts in Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Longtime gaming figure Dennis Gomes has entered into an agreement to acquire the financially troubled Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.Gomes, who ran casinos in Las Vegas in 1980s and 1990s before returning to his roots in Atlantic City, acquired the aging property through his privately held Gomes Gaming Inc., which he operates with his son, Aaron.In Las Vegas, Gomes worked for the Hilton Corp., operated the distressed Dunes Hotel, and ran the Golden Nugget for Steve Wynn.When Gomes left Wynn to run Donald Trump's Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City in the early 1990s, he became the pawn in the volatile legal battle between Wynn and Trump...read more

Top-10 NFL prop bets for the 2010 season

The NFL season is right around the corner and there are plenty of betting opportunities for those who are fans of American football. Here are Casino City's Top-10 NFL prop bets.10. Raiders 3/1 to reach the playoffsLast year, the Oakland Raiders were a competitive team in spite of their quarterbacks and coaches...read more

Top-10 NFL prop bets for the 2010 season

The NFL season is right around the corner and there are plenty of betting opportunities for those who are fans of American football. Here are Casino City's Top-10 NFL prop bets.10. Raiders 3/1 to reach the playoffsLast year, the Oakland Raiders were a competitive team in spite of their quarterbacks and coaches...read more

Top-10 NFL prop bets for the 2010 season

The NFL season is right around the corner and there are plenty of betting opportunities for those who are fans of American football. Here are Casino City's Top-10 NFL prop bets.10. Raiders 3/1 to reach the playoffsLast year, the Oakland Raiders were a competitive team in spite of their quarterbacks and coaches...read more

Top-10 NFL prop bets for the 2010 season

The NFL season is right around the corner and there are plenty of betting opportunities for those who are fans of American football. Here are Casino City's Top-10 NFL prop bets.10. Raiders 3/1 to reach the playoffsLast year, the Oakland Raiders were a competitive team in spite of their quarterbacks and coaches...read more

Moody's boosts ratings for Las Vegas Sands

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Moody's Investors Service boosted its ratings on bonds covering Las Vegas Sands Corp., two days after the casino operator announced plans to repay $1 billion in debt and extend the due dates of 75 percent of its loans. In a report, Moody's said Las Vegas Sands took steps to that would allow the company to restart stalled construction projects in Macau and take advantage of gaming expansion opportunities worldwide. Moody's moved Las Vegas Sands' corporate family rating to B2 from B3, despite lowered earnings from the company's Strip casinos it operates the Venetian and Palazzo resorts...read more

Aqueduct long shot looks golden

NEW YORK, New York -- If this were a horse race, long shot Genting would have come from the back of the pack for a six-length victory with New York holding the winning ticket.Ten days ago, New York gave the subsidiary of Malaysian-based Genting, operators of Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, the right to run a potentially lucrative casino at New York City's famous but aging Aqueduct Race Track.The award culminated a decade-long, oftentimes tumultuous, search.New York's governor and legislative leaders followed the suggestion of the state's lottery division and approved Genting, based on the company's promise to pay a $380 million licensing fee and willingness to spend $1.3 billion to upgrade Aqueduct, in New York City's borough of Queens.Genting was a surprise entry as cash-strapped New York sought an operator for 4,525 slot machinelike video lottery terminals at Aqueduct.The state has wanted to add a casino at the track since 2001...read more

How much do Buys at craps improve, paying the vig only on wins?

Buy bets on four through six and eight through 10 at craps are of two types. Most commonly by far, the house collects a "vigorish" or "vig" up-front, when players make their wagers. A few casinos, regularly or as special promotions, take the fee out of the payoff only if and when the wager wins...read more

Deal Me In: A better deal? Well, not really

Dear Mark: On a multi-line/multi-coin nickel machine, is it still considered a nickel machine in terms of payout percentage, or does it become a quarter machine payout because I'm playing more money per spin? Jason A.You would think, Jason, that when you are betting an abundant crop of nickels per spin, you should be getting at least a quarter-slot payback...read more

PokerStars pays $2 million to players affected by Chinese collusion ring

The revelation of a Chinese collusion ring on PokerStars has resulted in a decision by the world's largest Internet poker room to refund players affected by the cheaters to the tune of $2 million, according to online forum posters at twoplustwo.com.According to several threads on the forum, several Chinese players on the site were joining the same "Double or Nothing" (DoN) sit-and-go tournaments, typically at the $52 or $104 buy-in level...read more

Online gambling payment processor forfeits more than $13 million

The owner of two payment processors linked to PokerStars forfeited more than $13 million in a New York federal court Tuesday to settle a money laundering case.The money forfeited by Ahmad Khawaja's Allied Wallet and Allied Systems was originally seized by authorities last June.According to court documents, PokerStars and other online gambling companies deposited more than more than $13,335,248.91 in a bank account at Goldwater Bank held by Allied Wallet between January and May of 2009."Some of the funds deposited in the Goldwater Bank account were transferred, directly or indirectly, into seven different bank accounts held, or otherwise controlled, by Allied Wallet Inc., Allied Systems Inc., and Ahmad Khawaja," court documents said...read more