Featured Articles Archive - Page 487

Deal Me In: The RNG neither frowns nor smiles

Dear Mark: Please explain the frequency of wins on a slot machine. For instance, sometimes the machine will give away money, spin after spin, and then it comes to a complete halt. I could hit that spin button 20 times in a row, and not a winner will appear...read more

Vegas rolls out Labor Day deals

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas resort operators aren't expecting Labor Day weekend to be the tourism market's savior. They'll be satisfied if business associated with the traditional four-day, end-of-the-summer holiday mirrors the weekend business climate the casino industry has experienced in recent months despite the soft economy that has zapped room rates and sent gaming revenues to historic lows. Tourism leaders are hoping that a mix of low hotel prices, special offers and other deals are enough to entice Las Vegas visitors to end the summer on a high note. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is predicting some 273,000 will come to Las Vegas this weekend, down slightly from the 275,000 who flocked to Southern Nevada over Labor Day a year ago. he economic impact is expected to be about $158.9 million, down 9.6 percent from the economic impact of $175.8 million last year...read more

Top-10 football betting commandments

Right around the start of December, my kids start singing the classic song, "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." But for dear old Dad, the humming of this classic holiday tune begins right around Labor Day. Because like most sports gamblers, to me football season is indeed the most wonderful and exciting time of the year. There's just something about football that makes it so much more compelling to wager on than any of the other sports...read more

Case against UIGEA shot down by appeals court

A U.S. appeals court upheld the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in a unanimous 3-0 ruling Tuesday. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected both iMEGA's argument that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was too vague and that it violated privacy rights. The ruling didn't come as a surprise to legal experts following the case. "Anytime you challenge an act of Congress that doesn't involve pure political speech, you've got an awfully large hill to climb," explained Buffalo State business law professor Joe Kelly...read more

LV Sands secures $600 million in financing

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. took another step toward restarting its stalled projects on Macau's Cotai Strip. The company announced this morning it had secured commitments for up to $600 million of cash through the sale of exchangeable bonds...read more

Gaming stocks rise in August

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- Gaming stocks took an upward spin in August, and the trend had nothing to do with revenues or results. Investors agreed that casino operators and slot machine makers had taken proper steps to control costs in light of the challenging economy. Publicly traded gaming companies reported second-quarter earnings during August, with many operators such as MGM Mirage, Wynn Resorts Ltd...read more

Delaware sports betting will be limited to NFL parlays

The only legal sports betting to take place in the state of Delaware this fall will be on NFL games and the only type of wager available to bettors will be parlays. That's what the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately decided on Monday in a 23-page opinion that said the state can "institute multigame (parlay) betting on at least three NFL games" without violating federal statutes aimed at restricting the expansion of gambling...read more

Top-10 ideas to spice up your fantasy football season

As you read this, more than 27 million Americans are gearing up for their 2009 fantasy football draft. That's right, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population will be entered in some sort of a fantasy league this football season...read more

Aqueduct bidding fast and furious

QUEENS, New York –- The bidding for a casino at New York's Aqueduct racetrack has turned into an old-fashioned Wild West shootout. The stakes are high for gaming's biggest players. In an industry that has seen few expansion opportunities in the past 18 months sits the historic Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, less than 15 miles from Manhattan...read more

Gaming sector latest target of shareholder lawsuits

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- Casino industry stockholders who collectively lost millions of dollars in investments when Wall Street tanked over the last 18 months are asking the courts to remedy their losses. Federal class action lawsuits have been filed in recent weeks against slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology and casino operator MGM Mirage, alleging that two of Nevada's largest publicly traded gaming companies made false statements about their financial prospects as stock prices sank to historic lows. Earlier this year, shareholders filed similar claims against Las Vegas Sands Corp. Experts wouldn't be surprised if other publicly traded casino operators and slot machine manufacturers are also targeted. The jury is still out, however, on whether the legal system will restore shareholders' bank accounts. "People have a natural tendency to say they didn't make a bad choice," said Duke University School of Law professor James Cox, who specializes in corporate and securities law...read more