Featured Articles Archive - Page 462

Macau curtailing new casino construction

MACAU -- Macau will continue to regulate the number of casinos constructed in the Special Administrative Region of China. Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui, in a public policy address Tuesday, said the entity would only allow new casinos to be built as long as construction plans had already been approved. For some casino development projects, the government may seek to repeal the land from operators that have not submitted specific project plans. "Apart from those we have agreed in principle in the past, in construction and those already approved, we will regulate (the building of new casinos) in the future," Chui said at a news conference. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Gary Pinge, who is based in Hong Kong, told investors the Macau government may use repossessed land to build smaller sized residential developments targeted at mid to lower end of the property market. "Other than those casino developments already approved, any further applications for casinos will be tightly controlled," Pinge said in a research note...read more

Top-10 reasons to visit the M Resort in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Making a list of New Year's resolutions is easy. Actually completing your list is where the difficulty usually comes in. But thanks to a trip to Las Vegas last week, I managed to knock off one of my 2010 "To-Do" items when I spent two nights at the M Resort. Back in January, the Casino City editorial team -- consisting of Vin Narayanan, Dan Igo and myself -- compiled our list of Must Visit Casinos in 2010...read more

Contractor plans liens against CityCenter owners

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Mirage and Perini Building Co. are disputing payment of almost $500 million from the total construction budget of $8.5 billion for the CityCenter development. In a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the casino operator said the project's primary contractor intends to file mechanic's liens to collect on $492 million in construction bills. In the filing, MGM Mirage and Dubai World, its 50-50 joint venture partner in CityCenter, said the amount owed is far less, primarily due to construction defects that halted building of the Harmon Hotel. The Harmon tower was delayed and reduced in size because county officials said reinforcing steel wasn't spaced at intervals to support it as designed. "While CityCenter's investigation into the general contractor's potential liability regarding the Harmon Hotel is continuing, there can be no assurance at this point as to the ultimate outcome of any action CityCenter may undertake," according to a company statement in the SEC filing. MGM Mirage said the amount being claimed against Perini may exceed the amount of CityCenter's estimated remaining liability to the general contractor. A message left with Perini Building Co...read more

Pinnacle Entertainment names new CEO

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Former Harrah's Entertainment executive Anthony Sanfilippo has been named president and chief executive officer of regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment, the company announced Monday. Sanfilippo, 51, replaces interim CEO John Giovenco, who had been operating the Las Vegas-based company since November...read more

MGM Mirage to sell stake in Borgata

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Gaming analysts believe MGM Mirage's 50 percent stake in Atlantic City's Borgata could fetch between $400 million and $500 million when the company goes to sell its portion of the casino over the next 18 months. Market conditions, however, could drive down the price. The casino operator announced Friday it reached a settlement with New Jersey gaming regulators over its relationship with Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho, MGM Mirage's joint venture partner in Macau...read more

Nevada may clamp relationships between casinos and Net

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nevada gaming regulators may clamp down on contractual relationships between the state's casino operators and nongambling arms of the Internet gaming industry. The move, which the Gaming Control Board is exploring, could shut off revenue streams for the World Series of Poker and other similar events. Several years ago, the World Series Poker, which is owned by Harrah's Entertainment, set self-imposed guidelines prohibiting online gamblers from qualifying to the tournament through the Internet...read more

Shuffle Master reverses net loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming equipment provider Shuffle Master reversed a quarterly net loss from a year ago but disappointed analysts who expected stronger profits. The Las Vegas-based company, which provides casinos with table games and casino management equipment, said Thursday its net income was $3.7 million, or 7 cents a share, in the first quarter ended Jan...read more

Deal Me In: A negative-expectation game like craps can't be beat

Dear Mark: Some time ago, you mentioned a bet on the craps table that I had never heard of. It seemed like a "no lose" proposition. Could you explain what it was? Frank H. If your question really means, is there any absolute way of beating the game of craps, the answer is, yes, DON'T PLAY...read more

Plan to build Aqueduct casino rejected

NEW YORK, New York -- A partnership that includes Las Vegas-based Navegante Group was rejected Thursday by New York licensing authorities to build and operate a lucrative slot machine casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack. The move comes six weeks after the group won a contentious bidding process and was selected by Gov...read more

Vegas visitor volume climbs four percent

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas visitor volume climbed 4 percent in January, the fifth straight year-over-year monthly increase in tourism numbers. But Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority officials said Wednesday they are still not ready to claim the market has turned. In January, 2.877 million tourists came through Las Vegas compared with 2.765 million visitors a year ago, a monthly report released by the tourism agency shows. However, citywide room occupancy was down from 71.9 percent in January 2009 to 71.1 percent this year with the average daily room rate falling 4.9 percent to $99.75 a night. Las Vegas had 148,891 hotel rooms in January -- 8,100 more than it did a year ago, including almost 6,000 from MGM Mirage's $8.5 billion CityCenter project, which opened in December. "What we're seeing is encouraging," convention authority research manager Kris Tibbs said...read more