Featured Articles Archive - Page 479

Aqueduct casino decision may be near

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- We've heard this before: New York Gov. David Paterson hopes to select a casino operator for the Aqueduct Race Track "in the next week or so." According to New York media, the state is nearing a deadline if hopes to have a contract in place with the operator of a planned slot machine-only casino at the New York City raceway by March 31. The racino operator is expected to pay the state up-front fees of $200 million. Paterson said he may be forced to announce his choice sooner rather than later if legislative leaders can't come up with a preferred candidate. The process has been in the works for almost a year. Five groups, all partnered with different casino operators, are in the running to operate an Aqueduct racino with 4,500 slot machine-like video lottery terminals. Casino operators still in the mix are Harrah's Entertainment, Hard Rock, Navegante Group, MGM Mirage and Penn National Gaming...read more

Gazing ahead at gaming in 2010

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming news in 2009 wasn't boring. It also wasn't positive. Other than the opening of the $8.5 billion CityCenter -- which remains an ongoing story in 2010 -- the industry struggled with the economy, diminished revenues and bankruptcies. So what does 2010 hold? Certain stories that unfolded last year will continue to play out over the next 12 months. It will be several quarters before we have a grasp on how the 4,004-room Aria inside the MGM Mirage-owned CityCenter impacts the Strip and the company's other casinos. One measure of CityCenter's progress, however, will be MGM Mirage's success in closing condominium sales starting in this month. We may get a handle on the future of the bankrupt Fontainebleau this month. The 3,889-room unfinished project will be auctioned off in a Miami courtroom in three weeks...read more

Gaming stocks down for the month, up for 2009

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- December wasn't the best of months for the publicly traded gaming companies. But compared to where their stock prices stood a year ago, 2009 turned out to be a rebound year for most of the sector. The average daily stock prices of the seven casino companies and three slot machine manufacturers charted by Las Vegas-based financial consultant Applied Analysis all fell in value during December when compared to November. However, when looking at the average daily prices at the end of 2008, eight of the nine companies significantly increased their price per share. Three companies -- Bally Technologies, Ameristar Casinos and Las Vegas Sands Corp...read more

Station Casinos sets odds on Tiger win

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- It took all of a few hours for the strangest proposition wager of 2010 to be offered at a Las Vegas sports book. Station Casinos has placed odds on golfer Tiger Woods winning a PGA tournament this year. Woods, the world's top golfer, has said he is taking a break from the sport to focus on his marriage after his admitted infidelity made him the subject of tabloid news and cost him lucrative sponsorships. Station Casinos Vice President of Sports Book Operations Art Manteris doesn't think Woods will stay away for long...read more

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