Featured Articles Archive - Page 492

Slot giant IGT completes makeover

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The appointment of Philip Satre on Thursday as chairman of International Game Technology's board of directors completes a corporate makeover of the slot machine manufacturing giant that began last year. Satre, 60, who retired in 2005 from Harrah's Entertainment after 25 years with the casino operator, will take over as Reno-based IGT's chairman Dec...read more

Former MGM CEO Lanni diagnosed with cancer

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Former MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Lanni reportedly has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo surgery and chemotherapy treatments. Lanni, 66, who retired from MGM Mirage nearly a year ago, confirmed the diagnosis to Gaming Today, a casino industry publication...read more

Palazzo has sports bets at your fingertips

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Kelly Allbright of Atlanta quickly became a fan of In-Running Wagering, a mobile gambling system offered at Lagasse's Stadium sports book inside Palazzo. After a weekend of wagering on college and professional football, Allbright had made so many wagers using the hand-held device that he lost count. Prior to the kickoff of Sunday's NFL afternoon action, Allbright still had $900 of his original $1,000 bankroll. "If I'm losing, it allows me to cover my wagers and bet the other side," Allbright said of the device, which is a little larger than an iPhone...read more

Wynn, Sands shares fall after Macau limits

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. fell in trading Monday following a published report that Macau may be exploring changes in its gambling limits. The Wall Street Journal, reporting from Hong Kong, said Macau government officials met with the city's six casino operators to discuss limiting the size of casinos and changing the legal gambling age from 18 to 21. Shares of Wynn Resorts, traded on the Nasdaq National Market, fell $1.94 or 2.86 percent, to close at $65.88...read more

Choctaw spirit and leadership bode well for Pearl River

CHOCTAW, Mississippi -- Making difficult on-the- job decisions is not anything new for him. He made tougher calls while flying 160 combat missions as a command pilot over Viet Nam and Southeast Asia. Meeting Major General Paul A. Harvey (USAF Ret.) for the first time, one would never guess that this quiet gentleman put in 5,000 flying hours, many of them under deep duress. In all General Harvey spent 32 years on active duty for his country and held numerous command positions in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East before serving as the commander for Keesler Air Force Base, retiring in 1991. That experience helped in his appointment as Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission from 1993 to 1998...read more

In casino math, does 60 minus 50 equal 10?

Mollie and Ollie have been pooling their pin money and playing $10 minibaccarat. They've found that a $300 stake is usually enough to outride the inevitable downswings of the game. They enjoy the thrills and chills, and typically finish slightly ahead or not far behind after a few hours...read more

Top-10 tidbits for the NFL bettor

Parity has long been the goal of the NFL, but five weeks into the 2009 season things haven't gone exactly as planned. "Parity is a non-existent word right now," says John Avello, the Director of Race and Sports at Wynn Las Vegas. "We've played about 30 percent of the season and we have a whole bunch of teams with just one win and four teams with no wins...read more

Vegas visitor volume dips in August

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas visitor volume fell 3.7 percent in August, the 15th straight month the number of tourists coming into the region has decreased. Almost 3.1 million travelers came to Las Vegas during the month, compared with 3.2 million in August 2008, figures released Friday by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show...read more

Deal Me In: Slots just don't work like that

Dear Mark: My stepmother likes to play the slots, and she does quite well at times. She believes starting off the day by putting in a $100 bill in her favorite slot machine — rather than several $20s — produces more, larger payouts. Any truth to this? Jeff J. In the book "The Gambler," Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote; "Can one even as much as touch a gambling table without becoming immediately infected with superstition?" Seems your stepmother is tainted with the groundless belief in a supernatural agency — a belief, Jeff, held without reason. Though I don't challenge Mom's right to believe in the tooth fairy, Jeff, slot machines do not operate by artificial intelligence, improving your stepmother's payouts in light of her $100 prime-the-machine hunch...read more

Wall Street sees hope despite drop

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Maybe Monty Python was correct. Despite August becoming the 20th straight month that Nevada's gaming revenues have declined, Wall Street discovered a few "bright side of life" moments in what has become a steady pattern of continually dismal numbers. "We are encouraged by the August results after a somewhat disappointing July," CB Richard Ellis research analyst Jacob Oberman told the real estate firm's investors. Casinos collected $847 million from gamblers during August, a 9.3 percent decline compared with the $934.1 million won in August 2008, numbers reported Thursday by the Gaming Control Board show. On the Strip, results were equally depressing...read more