Featured Articles Archive - Page 463

McCarran numbers drop 6.2 percent in February

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Passenger counts at McCarran International Airport fell 6.2 percent in February as the full impact of cutbacks by US Airways were felt. The Clark County Department of Aviation said Monday 2,848,833 passengers came through the airport in February, down from 3,036,715 passengers in the same month a year ago. US Airways, which said in the fall it was cutting its service into Las Vegas in half, suffered a 52 percent decrease in passenger counts during February, dropping the airline one notch to become McCarran's third-busiest air carrier. United Airlines is now No...read more

Study finds Las Vegas visitors spent less in 2009

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Visitors to Las Vegas spent significantly less on gambling during 2009 than in previous years, according to a study released over the weekend by Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. A person's average gaming budget per trip was $481.57, according to the Las Vegas Visitor Profile, down significantly from $531.98 a year ago...read more

WSOP Tournament of Champions getting big response

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Allowing fans to select 20 of the 27 participants to take part in the World Series of Poker's Tournament of Champions initially drew a mixed response. Message-board junkies trashed the idea as a made-for-television sell-out by the World Series of Poker. After 40,000 poker fans registered their votes on the first day of online balloting, the naysayers quieted. Harrah's Entertainment, which operates the World Series of Poker, decided to let poker fans choose the bulk of the game's field, similar to how fans select players in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Harrah's Interactive Vice President Ty Stewart said the event has gained a following...read more

Wynns adjust living arrangements at Wynn Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Here's an "Only in Las Vegas" story. Following the finalization of their divorce in January, the living arrangements for Steve Wynn and Elaine Wynn at the Wynn Las Vegas resort were adjusted. Wynn Resorts Ltd., where Steve Wynn is chairman and Elaine Wynn continues to serve as a board member, had to disclose those details in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under terms of arrangement, Elaine Wynn signed a lease agreement to pay $350,000 annually for a Villa Suite at Wynn Las Vegas as her personal residence. Meanwhile, Steve Wynn leased two of the property's Fairway Villas as his personal residence...read more

Top-10 sporting events to witness while in Las Vegas

For a sports fan, there's nothing like being at a big event, in person. Sure, some sports are better served by watching them on TV, but nothing can replace actually sitting in the arena of a big game, eating up the atmosphere and reveling along with the rest of the crowd. But if you can't score a ticket to the big game – or if you're an avid sports bettor – the next best place to be for an important sporting event is Las Vegas...read more

Deal Me In: Bonus games and bonus multipliers

Dear Mark: On a slot machine that offers a "bonus," is there any rule of thumb as to how long or how much you should invest in that machine if you have not been given a bonus? John M. Most new machines today offer some sort of bonus round which is usually triggered by getting a certain combination of symbols...read more

Would Pansy Ho get a Nevada gaming license?

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- New Jersey and Nevada gaming regulators disagree on the suitability of Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho, MGM Mirage's joint venture partner in the MGM Grand Macau. New Jersey said Pansy Ho is tainted by allegations the Macau casinos operated by her father, Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho, are influenced by Chinese organized crime triads. Nevada believes there are enough safeguards in the joint venture documents that protect MGM Grand Macau from outside influences...read more

Trump Vegas project gets long-term financing

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Trump International Las Vegas has secured long-term financing for the condominium-hotel project that fell victim to the collapsing economy and is now operating primarily as a nongaming Strip hotel. The undisclosed amount of financing, secured by the privately held Trump Organization with a group of banks, lowers the property's mortgage payments. "I think this says something positive about Las Vegas and is a good sign," New York billionaire and Trump Organization Chairman Donald Trump said Thursday...read more

Kentucky Supreme Court overturns online gambling ruling

The Kentucky Supreme Court Thursday ruled against the owners of 141 seized online gambling domain names, overturning an earlier decision by the Court of Appeals that said the domain names aren't gambling devices under Kentucky law. The Court said that the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming...read more

N.J. says Asian casino boss has mob ties

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nevada's top gaming regulator defended his agency's 3-year-old approval of MGM Mirage's business partner in Macau despite Wednesday's finding by his New Jersey counterparts that Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho was unsuitable and under the influence of her Asian casino magnate father, who has extensive ties to Chinese organized crime triads. Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said Wednesday there were "sufficient" protections in the joint venture documents governing MGM Mirage's and Pansy Ho's 50-50 ownership of the MGM Grand Macau to keep a third party from influencing the operation. New Jersey's suspicions led MGM Mirage to agree last week to sell its half of Atlantic City's top casino, rather than abandon the lucrative Chinese market. Under Nevada's Foreign Gaming Act, regulators need to determine if a business relationship would be detrimental or damage the reputation of the state...read more