Featured Articles Archive - Page 467

Are you confused by Basic Strategy for Spanish 21?

Author's note: I recently found an unauthorized translation of one of my blackjack articles on a Spanish Internet website. Google offered to show it in Spanish, or to translate the Spanish back to English using an automated program of some sort...read more

Penn National secures Ohio location

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The courts may still weigh in, but Penn National Gaming is moving forward on one of two planned casino projects in Ohio. The Wyomissing, Pa.-based regional casino operator purchased a 44-acre site in East Toledo, Ohio for a planned $250 million casino...read more

Indiana bridge closing could hurt Ameristar Casinos

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A bridge closing in Indiana has implications for investors in Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos. The shut down of the Cline Avenue Bridge (Indiana State Route 912) will force customers of Ameristar East Chicago to find a new access to the riverboat casino. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins said the disruption could impact cash flow at the property, which was expected to account for 21 percent of Ameristar's revenues and 18 percent of its cash flow next year. "While we believe that Ameristar will work with state and local officials on alternate traffic routes and signage to redirect gamblers to the casino, primarily coming eastbound from Chicago, we believe the property could experience reduced ingress-egress for a number of years," Simkins warned investors. The Indiana Department of Transportation said it was closing the bridge permanently...read more

Top-10 WSOP Main Event champions of the decade

It was a remarkable decade for the game of poker and, more specifically, the World Series of Poker. To put it into perspective just how far the game's grandest tournament has come in 10 short years, log onto YouTube and watch the highlights of a young Chris Ferguson winning the 2000 Main Event over T.J...read more

Deal Me In: Start off 2010 by making smart bets exclusively

Dear Mark: I'm new to casino gambling but like everyone else, I'd like to increase my chances of winning. What are the best games and strategies for me? Tami L. Essential to every newbie's success is understanding two fundamentals that increase their chances of winning: They are 1) sticking to bets that have a casino advantage of less than 2%, and 2) developing competence in games like blackjack or video poker and in selecting the right wager or slot machine...read more

IGT boss has plenty on to-do list

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Overseeing the day-to-day operations of slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology was not on Patti Hart's to-do list. Four years earlier, Hart had left her chief executive officer duties with technology company Pinnacle Systems and was elected to the boards of four public companies, including IGT. She wasn't looking for anything permanent. "I convinced myself I wasn't going to work full time again," Hart said. Until last spring. Following an IGT board of directors meeting and dinner, Hart was approached about becoming the company's CEO. Now, more than eight months into the job, Hart has gained a handle on the gaming industry's largest slot machine manufacturer, which has gone through financial woes and a major management and employee shake-up in the past year-and-a-half. Along the way, she picked up an education on the gaming industry. "Given the transition of where the slot machine industry is going, I thought this would be an appropriate position for me," Hart said...read more

Megamyth shadows Nevada casino openings

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- We can all blame Elmer Sherwin for one of the greatest urban myths in Nevada gaming. On Nov. 22, 1989, the 76-year-old retiree won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot at The Mirage. The slot machine pull came about 10 hours after the resort opened. Sherwin's jackpot is the basis for a prevailing legend: Megabucks will hit on a casino's opening night."Unfortunately, no...read more

Are taking and laying Odds at craps equivalent bets?

Dice devotees endlessly argue the merits of Pass and Don't Pass or, correspondingly, Come and Don't Come. Ignoring the psychology of betting "right" or "wrong" – "with" or "against" the shooter – these alternatives give the casinos an edge that differs only in the hundredths of a percent...read more

Fitch Ratings says recovery not in cards in 2010

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The impact the recession had on the casino industry in 2009 has not been completely accounted for, but by all measures the year will go down as the worst on record. Through October, gaming revenues have declined more than 12 percent both on the Strip and throughout Nevada...read more

Pennsylvania market could unlock gaming profits

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The approval of table games in one West Virginia county may be just a prelude to Pennsylvania. If the Keystone State follows suit, Las Vegas-based table game providers could be doubling down. Jefferson County voters this month gave their OK for live table games to be added to the casino at the Charles Town Racetrack, which Penn National Gaming operates...read more