Featured Articles Archive - Page 476

Deal Me In: Should you split 10s in blackjack?

Dear Mark: When my ex-girlfriend and I used to go to Vegas, every once in a while we would have someone at our blackjack table split 10s. This used to drive my ex absolutely crazy and there were times when I thought that I actually saw steam come out of her ears when someone did that...read more

Shuffle Master turns fourth quarter profit

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Shuffle Master Gaming turned a healthy profit in the fourth quarter, reversing a net loss from a year ago. Management and analysts Thursday signaled the company could be poised for a healthy rebound in 2010 thanks to gaming expansion in Pennsylvania and other states. Shuffle Master, which makes table games, automated card shufflers and table game management systems, said its fourth-quarter profit was helped by strong growth of its lease business and higher revenue from its electronic dealerless table games. For the fourth quarter that ended Oct...read more

Penn won't bid on Fontainebleau project

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Penn National Gaming will not submit a bid for next week's planned bankruptcy court auction of the shuttered Fontainebleau project, a company spokesman said Thursday. The regional casino operator made a lowball offer for the Strip development in November but was outbid a week later by billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn. The former owner of the Stratosphere and the Arizona Charlie's hotel-casinos has offered $156.6 million for the Fontainebleau to become the stalking horse bidder for the project, which once had a construction budget of almost $3 billion. The U.S Bankruptcy Court in Miami has scheduled an auction for the Fontainebleau for Thursday and bids are due by today. Penn National spokesman Joe Jaffoni said the company would not participate in the auction. "That's all we have to say on the matter," Jaffoni said. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins said investors weren't happy with Penn's interest in Fontainebleau. "We believe the company will continue to keep an open eye toward alternatives that might become available from other distressed sellers or those looking to shake loose noncore assets," Simkins said. On Nov...read more

Marketing books aim for attracting new customers

You can own or operate the grandest, most expensive casino in the world, but flash doesn't always translate into cash. You need to get people in, keep them in, and keep them returning. There's an art to attracting regular, content, loyal customers, no matter what part of this country or any other country, and often, management misses the target...read more

Las Vegas Sands expands Macau ferry service

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. will increase the operations of its CotaiJet high-speed ferry service between Hong Kong and Macau. The company has been awarded a new 10-year license by the Macau Special Administrative Region to add stops at the main Macau Ferry Terminal. Originally, the casino operator began the ferry service to connect Hong Kong with the Taipa Ferry Terminal -- which is located just minutes from the Cotai Strip, where the company operates the Venetian Macau and is in the process of restarting construction efforts on four additional hotels. High-speed ferry service is a major means of transportation between Macau from Hong Kong...read more

Heartland Poker Tour heads to Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Five years ago, Fargo, N.D., residents Todd Anderson and Greg Lang were lamenting the state of televised poker. They could tune into ESPN or any number of cable television channels and see well-known professionals like Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson playing high stakes, $10,000 buy-in events. A poker show for guys like them seemed to be missing. "The idea we had in mind was sort of like a fishing trip, where you're sitting around drinking beer and playing poker," Anderson said. That simple notion evolved into the Heartland Poker Tour, which is entering its sixth season of televised poker...read more

Heard it on the River: Fitz Casino holding major blackjack tournament

Fitz Casino Vice President ADOLPH LEPRE has planned and run hundreds of blackjack tournaments over his long casino career but the format he likes the best, and which players respond in like, is the "win your table" format. "There is an element of 'man to man' competition in this particular format that can't be emulated in other tournaments, "said Lepre...read more

Boyd's Keith Smith elected AGA chairman

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Boyd Gaming Corp. Chief Executive Officer Keith Smith has been elected chairman of the American Gaming Association, the industry's Washington D.C. based lobbying organization. Smith joined the association's board in 2007 and has been vice chairman for past year...read more

Analyst upbeat on MGM Mirage

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- One gaming analyst believes MGM Mirage has turned the corner. In a report to investors this morning, Steven Kent of Goldman Sachs said, "the lion will roar again." The research note was released before Nevada reported November's 4.35 percent gaming revenue increase. Kent said the trends in Las Vegas have gotten "less bad" and that MGM Mirage has a strong upside to earnings...read more

Nevada gaming revenues increase for the first time in 23 months

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- For the first time in 23 months, Nevada gaming revenues increased with casinos statewide collecting $873.2 million in November, a 4.35 percent climb compared to the same month a year ago. On the Strip, gaming revenues were also up for the first time in almost two years...read more