Featured Articles Archive - Page 472

New Rush Tower makes an already good Golden Nugget even better

On my usual trips to Vegas, I usually stay near or on the Strip and make sure I hit downtown/Fremont Street one night before I leave. But the next time I visit, I might change things up and spend a couple of nights at the Golden Nugget. The Golden Nugget is the hidden jewel of Las Vegas...read more

Make like a Vegas regular at The Gold Coast

In almost every destination city, there are establishments that cater to tourists, and establishments that cater to locals. In Las Vegas, the big hotels on the Strip -- Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Wynn, Venetian, Mandalay Bay -- are tourist destinations...read more

Top-10 poker pros who could be WSOP Commissioner

When Jeffrey Pollack stepped down as commissioner of the World Series of Poker after the 2009 Main Event came to close, Harrah's released a statement saying, in part, that it had "no intention at this time to replace the Commissioner role." We think that's a serious mistake...read more

The Mirage celebrates 20th anniversary

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Twenty years ago, The Mirage was the CityCenter of its time. Built by Steve Wynn's Golden Nugget Corp. for a then unheard of cost of $620 million, The Mirage was the first new resort added to the Strip's skyline in more than 15 years. But with the city still recovering from the economic doldrums of the early 1980s, many financial experts didn't think The Mirage would succeed...read more

Is jackpot size your criterion for choosing a video poker machine?

Make believe you're at a casino and notice something strange. Five double joker video poker machines in a row. They all look essentially alike but have different jackpots for natural royals. You figure they're progressive games, where payoffs rise as action proceeds and nobody hits the biggie...read more

Aria casino gets license approval

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- There was never any doubt Thursday whether Nevada gaming regulators would approve a casino license for the centerpiece resort inside the $8.5 billion CityCenter development. However, all five members of the Nevada Gaming Commission said they had reviewed a 10-inch thick notebook of background information prepared by state gaming agents, as well as the transcript from last week's Gaming Control Board hearing into CityCenter...read more

Slot machines center of attention at G2E

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Slot machine manufacturers didn't hold back at the Global Gaming Expo. Games with high-definition animated characters and 3-D graphics, touch-screen technology and Xbox-type or similar video game features were on display in the booths of the major slot machine makers. Slot machines built around familiar themes and popular culture took up a large chunk of G2E's 258,000 square feet of exhibit space inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. International Game Technology highlighted a slot machine based on the television series "Sex and the City" while WMS Industries displayed a game based on the movie trilogy, "Lord of the Rings." Bally Technologies focused on its games with new cabinet designs, liquid-crystal-display screen displays and games with new bonus-round features to enhance a player's interest. Companies even trotted out slot-machine chairs with movie-theater-quality audio systems built into the seat backs that played sounds incorporated into the games. Equipment manufacturers were more positive about the 2009 G2E than they've been about recent shows. "There is that sense of energy and anticipation this year," International Game Technology Chief Executive Officer Patti Hart said before the opening of G2E...read more

Pinnacle seeks to hire CEO in 90 days

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment hopes to have a new chief executive officer in place "within the next 90 days" company officials said this week. Interim CEO John Giovenco, a member of the casino operator's board of directors and the former president of Hilton Gaming Corp., told Morgan Joseph gaming analyst Justin Sebastiano that his roll was "very temporary." Sebastiano met with Pinnacle management this week at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. Pinnacle is looking for a new CEO after , who stepped down after a public incident at a St...read more

Deal Me In: Those thinking machines have still not arrived

Dear Mark: If a machine has just paid out a jackpot, would you recommend moving to another machine being that the machine now has to recoup its losses? Dale M. Far too many players erroneously believe that any machine that has just hit a jackpot won't hit another anytime soon because the machine has to re-prime the pump and win back the money it just forked out...read more

'American Casino Guide' super value; 'Beating the Odds' revealing

The American Casino Guide (2010 edition), written and edited by Steve Bourie, could be the biggest bargain of the year in regards to a book that's guaranteed to pay for itself immediately. The 496-page tome (paperbound, $18.95), which is really three books in one, does a remarkable job of explaining positive strategies for playing casino games, telling you where casinos are state by state and how to contact them and offering more than $1,000 in discount coupons for food, lodging, car rentals and for use in match play situations.Bourie's book is a new arrival as is Brandon Lang's biography (co-authored by Stanley Cohen), titled Beating the Odds: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of a Sports Handicapper(hardbound, 249 pages, $24.95).The American Casino Guide's arrival is perfect, in time for a holiday gift item, for occasional or first-time Las Vegas visitors or for use by anyone who loves a bargain (show tickets, extra slot play, two-for-one buffet, free drinks and of course, the match play coupons)...read more