Featured Articles Archive - Page 485

Wynn a longshot for Aqueduct casino

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A New York business publication handicapped the bidding for a potentially lucrative casino complex at New York's historic Aqueduct Race Track that has attracted interest by several of the top casino operators. A proposal by Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts Ltd., was made the longest of long-shots to win the bid by Crain's New York Business, but not before the publication wrote a glowing profile on company Chairman Steve Wynn. The article's author called Wynn a "debonair 67-year-old with a toothy 150-watt smile and a perma-tan." For his part, Wynn touted the Mobile five-star and Michelin five-star rating earned by his company's Wynn Las Vegas. "I make people feel good and special...read more

Making the call for the Poker Hall of Fame

Considering I have been a life-long, certifiable sports nut, Hall of Fame arguments are second nature for me. In fact, I've spent more time than I care to admit debating the merits of certain players and whether or not they deserve plaques of their own hanging on the sacred walls of their respective Halls of Fame. That's what's great about Hall of Fame discussions...read more

Top-10 players to watch at WSOPE

The World Series of Poker Europe gets underway from London later this week and while the event still doesn't garner the attention that its sister WSOP event in Las Vegas gets each summer, it still manages to draw the biggest names in the game...read more

Gambling and the Law: Can Everyone Win In Florida?

Sometimes the most important part of a legal document are the words that are not there. Gov. Charlie Crist, for example, just signed a new compact with the Seminole Tribe. It expressly allows the Tribe to have slot machines and banking card games, like blackjack. What the compact doesn't mention is limits...read more

Analyst not impressed by MGM Mirage

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- It doesn't appear the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certifications the company is announcing today for the $8.5 billion CityCenter development will impress Susquehanna gaming analyst Robert LaFleur. In fact, LaFleur doesn't have much of a belief in MGM Mirage right now...read more

Playing It Smart: Why you'll probably bite the dust if your gambling budget is $100

The majority of casino patrons who gamble with modest budgets go belly-up. Stakes under $100, especially, court disaster. Matters improve, albeit slowly, as bankrolls increase. House advantage plays a role, but has less impact than is commonly believed...read more

Russ Hamilton and 31 accomplices are fingered in UB cheating scandal

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) confirmed today through the release of an 11-page document that cheating occurred at online poker room UltimateBet and that the point man for the incident -- former World Series of Poker Main Event champion Russ Hamilton -- did not act alone...read more

Detroit MGM and Beau Rivage not for sale

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- In April, MGM Mirage hired Wall Street investment house Morgan Stanley to evaluate sales offers the company had received for MGM Grand Detroit and the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss. At the time the company was busy restructuring both its corporate finances and the $8.5 billion CityCenter development to keep both entities out of bankruptcy. By spring, the company had resolved its immediate financial problems, and the MGM Grand Detroit and Beau Rivage are off the market. Well, sort of. Technically, they never really were on the market, MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said Thursday. "It's one of these cases where you are kind of splitting hairs," Feldman said...read more

Vegas visitor count slips 1.3 percent in July

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- July recorded the smallest year-over-year decline for Las Vegas visitor volume in 2009. But it was still a drop -- the 14th straight monthly decline and the 17th time in the past 19 months that a smaller number of tourists have made a trip to Southern Nevada than in the same month a year ago. More than 3.1 million tourists visited Las Vegas during the month, 1.3 percent fewer than the 3.2 million who came to Southern Nevada a year ago, figures released Thursday by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show. For the first seven months of 2009, visitor volume is down 6 percent with 21.3 million coming to Las Vegas through July, compared with 22.7 million for the same period a year earlier. People making the trek are paying less for rooms and spending less, the convention and visitors authority said. The average daily room rate during July was $86.23, down 18.6 percent from $105.97 in July 2008...read more

Deal Me In: Slot players butter casino's bread

Dear Mark: The casino where I play has curtailed not only the amount of blackjack games now available, but also the comps they give to their blackjack players. I've inquired to as why this is so, and their response is that we are now catering more to slot players than we have in the past, and he said it was at the expense of the table games...read more