Featured Articles Archive - Page 444

Deal Me In: Payment in installments or lump sum?

Dear Mark: When a slot player hits a big one, for instance a 10-million-dollar jackpot, is it paid in installments or in its entirety? Jan S. It depends, Jan, on the machine, although the majority, like Megabucks, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, The Price is Right, etc., are "annuity games" where you do NOT receive your total winnings up front but are paid instead in annual installments...read more

Singapore resort ready for grand opening

SINGAPORE -- The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore opened at the end of April, but the $5.7 billion, 2,560-room hotel-casino officially celebrates its grand opening Wednesday.The three-towered, 55-story resort was built and is owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp.The focus of Marina Bay Sands' grand opening festivities will be centered on the property's nearly 3-acre SkyPark, which was built atop the three hotel towers and includes an observation deck, gardens, pools, restaurant and nightclub.The SkyPark will open to the public for the first time.To celebrate, Las Vegas Sands will sponsor a climb to the Sands SkyPark...read more

PokerStars "Big Game" debut is a winner

"The PokerStars.net Big Game" premiered this week in the early morning hours on Fox in select states. The show combines some of the most successful elements of other poker shows and adds a few new wrinkles to create what just might be the best poker show on television today."The Big Game" is a six-handed cash game ($200/$400 blinds with $100 antes) with five well-known pros and an online freeroll qualifier, called the "Loose Cannon." The pros put up their own money and the online qualifier is given $100,000 by PokerStars to use in the game...read more

Field set for WSOP Tournament of Champions event

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The 27-player field for the 2010 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is set.More than 355,000 votes were cast between March 15 and Tuesday to determine 20 players who will take part in the free-roll tournament and a chance to win a share of the $1 million prize pool.Seven-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Ivey garnered the most overall votes of any of the eligible players, out-distancing runner-up Daniel Negreanu by just 28 votes.To be eligible for voting, players had to have won at least one World Series of Poker individual event champion's bracelet prior to the 2010 tournament.Phil Hellmuth Jr., who holds a record 11 bracelets, was voted into the event along with 10-time bracelet winners Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan.Five automatic entries into the tournament were given to Annie Duke, Mike Matusow and Mike Sexton (the previous Tournament of Champions winners), Joe Cada (the 2009 World Series of Poker champion) and Barry Shulman (the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe champion).Frenchman Bertrand Grospellier won a seat into the tournament through a qualifying table sponsored by the World Series of Poker Academy...read more

Atlantic City casinos reject proposed online gambling legislation in New Jersey

On June 3, legislation that would give Atlantic City casinos the ability to offer Internet gambling services within the state of New Jersey cleared a big hurdle when S490 was reported from the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee by a 3-1 vote with relatively few amendments. One week later, that same legislation faces a new hurdle...read more

Shareholders approve of MGM Mirage name change

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Mirage is now MGM Resorts International after a company name change was approved Tuesday by shareholders at the annual meeting. The name change will take place immediately. Securities and Exchange Commission approval is not required because the company's stock symbol, MGM, will not change on the New York Stock Exchange. Company officials said the new name better reflects the resort developer's global presence and will also help the casino operator launch an improved customer loyalty and rewards program later this year. In an interview following the shareholders meeting and a lengthy board of directors meeting at Aria, MGM Resorts International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said he personally knew and had spoken with John Paulson, the head of New York hedge fund Paulson & Co., which acquired 40 million shares of MGM Resorts International last month to become the casino operator's second-largest shareholder. Paulson also made substantial investments in Harrah's Entertainment and Boyd Gaming Corp. While Murren doesn't know if the investments are long term, he said Paulson's interest speaks well for the recovery of the gaming industry. "John is a fundamental analyst, which I can relate to," said Murren, a former Wall Street analyst...read more

Vegas company withdraws from Detroit casino

DETROIT, Michigan -- Detroit's Greektown Casino can't seem to find a management team.Warner Gaming, which is operated by former Station Casinos executive Bill Warner, told Michigan gaming regulators it has withdrawn its application to manage Greektown.The casino, one of three in Detroit, had been expected to emerge from bankruptcy on June 30...read more

Monopolies provide no antidote to World Cup fever

The World Cup is finally underway and predictions are that the tournament will be the biggest ever betting event. Spectators across Europe and the world will be looking to back their favourite team and players to excel in South Africa, though somewhat ironically, as the world marvels over what high-level competition can achieve, millions of Europeans will have their enjoyment stunted this summer, by gambling legislation which strives to keep the competition at arm's length. At right2bet, we're keen to use the World Cup as an opportunity to highlight how those consumers being forced to use a state monopoly provider are being short-changed. We've commissioned a study that will analyze the odds offered on every single World Cup match by Europe's monopolies, and will then compare them to those offered by private operators...read more

Top-10 World Cup trends

The 2010 World Cup is only four days old, but some trends are already emerging that bettors need to account for. 10. Vuvuzelas are really loud OK. That's not really a betting trend. But if you're going to watch a game you bet on, be prepared for some serious background noise...read more

Buchman wins first WSOP bracelet

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Eric Buchman, one of the final table contestants from last year's World Series of Poker's Main event, won his first champion's bracelet over the weekend.Buchman, 30, from from Hewlett, NY, topped a field of 476 entries to win the $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold'em tournament at the 2010 World Series of Poker...read more