Featured Articles Archive - Page 454

Wynn deal could doom Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Steve Wynn single-handedly saved struggling Atlantic City in the 1980s. He opened the Golden Nugget, considered at the time to be the Boardwalk's most opulent hotel-casino. On Tuesday, Wynn saved gaming in Philadelphia...read more

How long are "cycles" in craps, and what do they really mean?

Almost everybody who plays craps knows that a pair of dice can land 36 different ways. A die has six sides and can come to rest with one of six faces on top. For each of the six results on one die, the other also has six outcomes. That's six times six or 36. Within the 36 combinations: * one totals 2 (1-1), * two total 3 (1-2, 2-1), * three total 4 (1-3, 2-2, 3-1), * four total 5 (1-4, 2-3, 3-2, 4-1), * five total 6 (1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-1) * six total 7 (1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1) * five total 8 (2-6, 3-5, 4-4, 5-3, 6-2) * four total 9 (3-6, 4-5, 5-4, 6-3) * three total 10 (4-6, 5-5, 6-4) * two total 11 (5-6, 6-5) * one totals 12 (6-6) It's accordingly a convenient artifice to picture statistically-correct "cycles" of 36 throws...read more

Hawaii won't be a gambling hotspot

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- So much for Hawaii becoming the next gambling hotspot. State lawmakers killed a bill on Wednesday that would have allowed casinos along Waikiki Beach. The fact that a public hearing was held on the bill was victory in some ways for casino proponents. Hawa...read more

Macau helps lessen Wynn loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Casino developer Steve Wynn summed up the current status of Wynn Resorts Ltd. in a few sentences in the company's hourlong fourth-quarter earnings conference call Thursday. "We're more of a Chinese company than American company today as we're having this call," Wynn said...read more

Deal Me In: Ah, sweet surrender

Dear Mark: I have been counseled that a "surrender" bet is a bet that favors the house in blackjack. I have played blackjack for a long time, and understand the basic strategy. It seems to me that in selected situations, a surrender move is an advantage...read more

Analyst worried Nevada budget fixes will hurt casinos

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Wall Street is watching how the events unfold during this week's special session of the Nevada Legislature. Mainly, analysts are concerned how the gaming industry will be impacted as lawmakers work to fix a nearly $900 million state budget deficit. Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett told investors a proposal where the state's gaming industry would fund the operating budget of the Gaming Control Board — about $32 million annually — wouldn't have a large financial impact on major casino operators. Zarnett is concerned the proposal could lead to gaming tax increase...read more

Casino MonteLago workers feeling fleeced

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Owners of the soon-to-close Casino MonteLago are using an exception under federal law to slice in half the amount of pay owed their 177 workers. The only gaming location at the bankrupt Lake Las Vegas resort shuts down in three weeks. Under the U.S...read more

Sands to open part of Singapore resort in April

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. said Tuesday it will open a portion of the $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on April 27. The project's nearly 3-acre SkyPark, which sits atop the hotel-casino's three 55-story hotel towers, will open June 23 as part of the overall grand opening celebration. The Marina Bay Sands, which will house 2,500 hotel rooms, a casino, restaurants, convention and meeting space, and a shopping mall, will be Singapore's second gaming resort following the opening earlier this month of the $4.7 billion Resorts World Sentosa. Singapore's government granted approval for two casino projects on the island-nation in 2005 as a way to boost tourism...read more

Wynn Resorts to operate Philadelphia casino

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Wynn Resorts Ltd. announced a deal Tuesday to operate a planned casino in Philadelphia. The company reached an agreement with Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners in which Wynn will become the manager and managing general partner in a casino project. The project was originally called Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia because the partnership included the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which operates the Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut. However, the project had been delayed because Foxwoods was unable to complete the financing for the resort. In January, Pennsylvania gaming regulators told the partnership it had until March 3 to come up with a new design and financing or else it could lose the license for the 16-acre waterfront casino site in south Philadelphia. Details of the agreement were not been made public but Wynn Resorts is expected to manage the casino and control more than 51 percent of the investment, sources told the Philadelphia Inquirer. The agreement, which is subject to approval by the Pennsylvania Gaming Board, would give Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn his first East Coast gaming venture since he sold the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City in the 1980s. In the past year, Wynn had bid to operate a planned casino at the Aqueduct Race Track in New York City, and was rumored to be exploring possible Atlantic City opportunities. "We're pretty sure he was looking at parts of Pennsylvania as well," Union Gaming Group principal Bill Lerner said...read more

Top-10 heads-up poker strategy tips from Mike Sexton

The NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship begins next weekend (March 4-7) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. So as we prepare for one of the most popular events on the poker calendar each year, we thought we would get you in the mood for some "one-and-done" style of poker by talking heads-up strategy with the "Ambassador of Poker," Mike Sexton. Sexton, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame last summer, will be making his third appearance in the NBC Heads-Up event next week and told us he is very much looking forward to the challenge. "It's a great event because it's always fun and always a great challenge to go head-to-head with some of the best players in the world," said Sexton, who made it to the final eight of the event in 2005, but was bounced in the first round last year when his pocket Queens were cracked by Phil Hellmuth's Ace-Jack. Mike Sexton says that sizing up your opponent and being aggressive are two keys to being an effective heads-up player...read more