Featured Articles Archive - Page 455

Las Vegas stock index up in April

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Bad news coming from some gaming industry companies during April didn't faze investors. Six casino operators and three slot machine manufacturers all showed marked upticks in their average daily stock prices during the month with seven of the nine showing double-digit increases. The stocks are followed by Las Vegas-based business advisory firm Applied Analysis...read more

Who says players can't have an edge at the slots?

Cash-back incentives for slot buffs are popular on both sides of the casino fence. The appeal to solid citizens seems obvious: extra dough to pump through the machines, moolah they didn't need to scrape together and never actually had, which translates into longer gambling time and more shots at a big payday on their own recreation budgets...read more

Bally Technologies reports lower earnings

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Slot machine maker Bally Technologies, which told Wall Street earlier this month its third-quarter earnings would be off due to slower-than-expected slot machine sales, confirmed those predictions Thursday. Las Vegas-based Bally reported net income of $23 million, or 39 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, down from net income of $30.6 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier...read more

Gambling and the Law: Loan Called for Playing Poker

A federal District Court in New York has ruled in favor of a lender against a borrower, who happens to be a lawyer. The borrower's offense? He played poker. Actually, the lawyer did more than just play poker – he used his law firm's loan to finance high-stakes games...read more

Three companies seek St. Louis gaming license

ST. LOUIS, Missouri -- Isle of Capri Casinos, which is based in St. Louis, is one of three parties seeking the Missouri gaming license being abandoned by Pinnacle Entertainment. The Las Vegas-based regional casino operator will surrender the license when it shuts down the President Casino in July. The President is located on the Mississippi River in downtown St...read more

Wynn has major plans for Macau

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn didn't back away from the idea of moving the casino operator's corporate headquarters from Las Vegas to Macau, and he said Thursday that he and the company's chief financial officer would spend more time in China. During a question-and-answer session with analysts and investors to discuss Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s first-quarter earnings, Wynn said he would be adjusting his schedule to increase his presence in Macau, where the bulk of the company's quarterly revenues are being produced. Because Wynn Resorts is now listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the company is making plans to build a third casino in Macau, Wynn said his activities need to reflect and show respect for the company's dependence on Asia. "I don't intend to uproot everybody who works for me, but it's becoming appropriate that I spend more of my time in Macau," Wynn said...read more

Right2Bet calls out Poland

In November last year, members of the Polish cabinet were implicated in a scandal involving the country's land-based casinos. The accused were deemed to have been opposing tax hikes on the casinos based on their connections with the owners. Fearful of the public's response to the revelations, the government spasmed into a knee-jerk reaction of farcical proportions, choosing to rush through legislation which imposed a blanket ban on all forms of online gambling. Incredulously, in an attempt to show stern commitment to integrity and corruption-prevention, instead of focusing their attention on the politicians in question, the authorities decided to punish the innocent consumers, who would no longer able to bet freely at their own discretion. Unsurprisingly, the European Commission took a dim view of the proposed legislation, and despite the Poles amending the bill to allow pari-mutual sports betting, it is widely accepted that the powers at be in Brussels will reprimand Poland for the bill and demand changes are made. Blaming an open and regulated gambling market for gambling addiction and crime has been a favourite past-time of several governments looking after their own agenda...read more

Pinnacle posts first quarter profit

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment posted a profit for the first quarter, surprising Wall Street, which had predicted a net loss after the company's upheaval following a management shake-up and direction changes. The Las Vegas-based company, which operates casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri and Argentina, said Tuesday its earnings jumped to $36.7 million, or 60 cents per share for the quarter that ended March 31, compared with $931,000, or 2 cents per share, a year ago. The results surprised analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a loss of 11 cents per share. Revenue for quarter gained 3 percent to $267.4 million from $259.2 million. Pinnacle said the company's results were helped by a substantial gain related to some property sales as well as an insurance claim settlement. The company also said its Lumiere Place resort in downtown St...read more

Sands opens first phase of Singapore complex

SINGAPORE -- At 165,000 square feet, the casino inside Singapore's Marina Bay Sands resort isn't the project's overwhelming feature. In fact, the casino makes up about 1 percent of the building's total square footage.When government leaders for the island nation in 2005 approved two casinos for Singapore in an effort to grow tourism, the edict was passed that gambling was not to be the facilities' primary purpose."The casino is not the overriding element of the project, but it allows us to do everything else," Las Vegas Sands Corp...read more

Vin's Top-10 dreams for 2010

10. California licenses online pokerIf licensing and regulating online gambling at the state level in the U.S. is going to be successful, California needs to lead the way. It is one of the few states that has the player liquidity needed for successful poker rooms...read more