Featured Articles Archive - Page 470

Strip high-rise market might be improving

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Wall Street analysts and Las Vegas real estate professionals say a slight thawing in the frozen Strip high-rise residential market might be taking place. A very slight thawing. We're not talking global warming, folks. A comprehensive report by a Las Vegas-based gaming industry advisory firm said sales of high-rise condominiums and hotel-condo units within the Strip residential market increased over the last three months of 2009. Real estate professionals agreed that the market picked up a bit. However, the bulk of the sales were either bank-owned or foreclosed-upon condominium units at prices far below the stratospheric figures sought at the market's peak a few years ago. "I really doubt we have seen the bottom of the price market," said Grant Govertsen, a principal with Union Gaming Group and the primary researcher behind "High-Rise Blues II: From Bad to Worse," which was written for the firm's clients. Govertsen said Strip condominium projects would need to experience several more months of increased sales before observers would commit to endorsing a market rebound. "I don't think anyone is willing to say that we have reached a floor on pricing," Govertsen said. June Stark, a Las Vegas Realtor specializing in the Strip's high-rise condominium market, agreed...read more

Vegas readies for Chinese New Year celebrations

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- At Bellagio and other Strip resorts, preparation for the potentially lucrative two-week Chinese New Year celebration is a yearlong event. "We might take a week off when it's all over," said Greg Shulman, vice president of international marketing for Bellagio...read more

Station-Boyd rivalry heading to Midwest

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Boyd Gaming Corp. and Station Casinos have been competing for decades over each other's slice of the Las Vegas locals market. That competition may expand into the Midwest. Station Casinos is working the Gun Lake Tribe of the Potawatomi Indians to build and operate a casino in Wayland Township, Mich., which a Gary, Ind., newspaper speculated could poach customers from Boyd Gaming's Blue Chip riverboat casino, 147 miles away in Michigan City, Ind. "Certainly there is room in the Midwest market for more gaming...read more

All news is bad news for Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- Atlantic City gaming revenues fell 8.5 percent in January to $294.2 million, the New Jersey city's 17th straight monthly decline. That was the good news. In the past five weeks, Atlantic City's 11 casinos saw new competition emerge (table games in Pennsylvania and Delaware, slot machines in Maryland and New York) and two casino operators (MGM Mirage and Pinnacle Entertainment) begin planning their exit from the market. Atlantic City's gaming revenues fell 13.2 percent in 2009, the third straight year of declining revenue and the first time in its history that casino winnings fell by double digits. Atlantic City is like the corpse in the movie "Weekend at Bernie's." It's being carted around in an effort to fool everyone that it's still alive. And the news gets worse. Gov...read more

Penn National approved for Kansas casino

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A joint venture casino project between Penn National Gaming and the owners of the Kansas Speedway was given final approval last week by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission. The move will allow construction to begin later this year on a Hollywood-themed casino overlooking Turn 2 at the Kansas Speedway, which is located outside Kansas City in Wyandotte County...read more

Deal Me In: Be one of the very few — use expert play

Dear Mark: I appreciate what you mean by distinguishing the good from the bad video poker pay tables, but you also say "expert play" to go along with those machines. Isn't picking the correct machine enough? Kenny F. When writing about video poker pay tables or payback percentages, I always add the cautionary phrase "with expert play." So when you see a statement from me like, "A 9/6 Jacks or Better machine will return 99.5% over the long haul with expert play," note that "expert play" means, that on any given hand, you weigh every possible outcome based on what you were dealt and then choose to hold...read more

Nevada gaming revenues fall by biggest percentage ever

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- It could have been a whole lot worse. Gaming revenues in Nevada fell 10.4 percent in 2009, the largest single-year decline in state history. Casinos statewide collected $10.392 billion from gamblers last year, the lowest one-year total since 2003 when gaming revenues totaled $9.62 billion, according to figures released Thursday by the Gaming Control Board. But the declines lessened in the latter half of the year. Control Board Tax and License Division Chief Frank Streshley said gaming revenues in the first six months of 2009 were down 13.4 percent compared with the same period in 2008...read more

IGT closing down Japan operations

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Slot machine giant International Game Technology said Thursday it will close its operations in Japan later this year. In a brief statement, the Reno-based company said the closure would include severance charges of about $20 million...read more

New analysis: California online poker faces many obstacles

The California Senate Governmental Organization Committee held an informational hearing on Internet poker Tuesday and three facts clearly emerged from the full-day session: California's budget problems are so severe that legislators are seriously considering online poker as potential new revenue stream. There are huge political and legal hurdles that need to be cleared before regulated online poker becomes a reality in California...read more

Aqueduct casino soap opera continues

QUEENS, New York -- In today's episode "As Aqueduct Turns," two New York media outlets are reporting that state investigators are considering opening a preliminary investigation into the awarding of the casino franchise for the Aqueduct Racetrack. Winning bidder Aqueduct Entertainment Group, the consortium that includes Las Vegas-based casino operator Navegante Group, quickly issued a statement through its New York City public relations firm discounting any potential investigation. "Aqueduct Entertainment Group won because our bid offered the best value for New York's taxpayers and the best plan for the residents of Queens," said Jeffrey Levine, chief executive officer of Levine Builders and a partner in Aqueduct Entertainment Group...read more