Featured Articles Archive - Page 432

Sands attorney says businessman did "nothing" in Macau

CARSON CITY, Nevada -- An attorney representing Las Vegas Sands Corp. told the Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday that a Hong Kong businessman "did virtually nothing" to help the casino operator win a lucrative gaming license in Macau. In seeking to overturn the 2-year-old nearly $60 million landmark verdict, attorney David Frederick told the seven justices that a Clark County District Court jury relied on three levels of conjecture when it ruled against the casino operator following a 29-day trial. The Supreme Court heard nearly an hour of arguments from attorneys representing Las Vegas Sands and Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen before taking the matter under advisement...read more

Washington Supreme Court rules against Betcha.com

Nick Jenkins' long court battle with the state of Washington is finally over, and the Betcha.com founder didn't get what he was hoping for. "The Washington State Supreme Court issued its opinion today, and we got creamed," Jenkins' wrote in his family's blog. The state Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that Betcha.com operated as an illegal bookmaker, allowing users to make bets against each other and generating revenue by taking a percentage of the bet as a fee. Jenkins launched the online betting exchange in the summer of 2007, and the Washington State Gambling Commission raided his offices and shut the site down just 13 days later. Jenkins' contention, which was supported by the Washington State Court of Appeals in February 2009, was that his site did not constitute gambling since losing players had the opportunity to back out of bets by refusing to pay up...read more

Gambling and the Law: In defense of lobbysts

"Okay, you've convinced me. Now go out there and bring pressure on me." --- President Franklin D. Roosevelt Lobbyists, and their clients, "special interests," often get a bum rap. Lobbyists rarely give bundles of cash to corrupt politicians...read more

G2E moving to October starting next year

The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) is changing homes and dates starting in 2011. The gambling industry's largest conference will be moving from the Las Vegas Convention Center in November to the Sands Expo and Convention Center in the first week of October. The calendar shift is permanent, says American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf. "The show has been happening after companies have submitted annual budgets," Fahrenkopf said...read more

Top-10 things to look for in televised poker shows

The World Series of Poker on ESPN, High Stakes Poker on GSN, and The PokerStars.net Big Game on Fox represent just a fraction of the televised poker menu available to the viewing public. That wasn't true 10 years ago when you had to struggle to find poker on TV...read more

Judge approves Station Casinos reorganization plan

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A federal bankruptcy judge in Reno confirmed Station Casinos' plan of reorganization Friday after 90 percent of the company's secured and unsecured creditors signed off on the deal, which will wipe some $4 billion in debt from the company's books. The plan will give creditors an ownership stake in the reconfigured operation, with the Fertitta family remaining in control of the company. The hearing in front of U.S...read more

Atlantic City outlook stays cloudy

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Add another nail to Atlantic City's coffin. Table games, which were operational for just part of July at Pennsylvania's nine casinos, brought in more than $17.5 million in gaming revenue during the month. The initial results led gaming analysts to believe that dire days await Atlantic City, where the city's 11 casinos are in direct competition with full-fledged gaming in a neighboring state. With Delaware's racetrack casinos also adding table games, the outlook is not promising. "In our opinion, Atlantic City revenues will continue to be cannibalized by Delaware and Pennsylvania as table games continue to be added and revenues at the properties continue to ramp up," Union Gaming Group principal Bill Lerner said. He estimated that Atlantic City's annual gaming revenues, which were $3.9 billion in 2009, could drop 8 percent to $3.6 billion in 2010. Shawn McCloud, director of analysis for New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group, went a step further, telling the Press of Atlantic City that table games in Pennsylvania's casinos could develop into a $400 million annual market. Atlantic City's 11 casinos now have 1,600 blackjack, roulette, craps and other gaming tables...read more

Gomes optimistic about Resorts Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Maybe they should anoint Dennis Gomes mayor of Atlantic City.Clearly, Gomes has way too much exuberance and optimism to handle just the ownership of the city's oldest hotel-casino. The Boardwalk, he said, is poised for an epic turnaround.Gomes, 65, acquired Resorts Casino Hotel last week through his privately held Gomes Gaming Inc.Resorts ushered legalized gaming into Atlantic City more three decades ago...read more

How vulnerable are blackjack dealers with fives- or sixes-up?

Most blackjack buffs breathe a sigh of relief when the dealer pulls a five- or six-up. These are, indeed, the weakest dealer upcards. If nothing else, sophisticated solid citizens know that proper Basic Strategy is to stand against them on any non-paired hard total of 12 or above, waiting out the dealer's actions and not risking a premature bust by hitting a feeble 16 or below. Many bettors, however, start counting their money when they see these cards, then find they have the short end of the stick after the dust finally settles...read more

Cosmopolitan to be part of Marriott's luxury hotels

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Operators of the soon-to-open Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas found a 32 million-plus answer to questions surrounding the independent Strip resort's lack of a database.Cosmopolitan operators announced a deal Wednesday with Marriott International to market the $3.9 billion hotel-casino as part of the international lodging chain's Autograph Collection, a portfolio of luxury independent hotels and resorts.The move gives the long-delayed Cosmopolitan access to Marriott's rewards program, considered one of the lodging industry's largest database of customers...read more