Featured Articles Archive - Page 495

Penn National applies for Nevada gaming license

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- Casino operator Penn National Gaming, one of the Strip's most widely rumored suitors, has applied for a Nevada gaming license after acquiring 1 percent of a small slot machine distributor. The move allows Penn National, which operates 19 casinos and racetracks in regional markets, to gain Nevada licensing approval before buying a Strip casino...read more

Poker's biggest stars still alive in WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS -- My mission this afternoon when play resumed at the World Series of Poker Main Event was to hunker down in the stands and watch the ESPN featured table, enjoying the same experience as the rest of the poker fans in the Amazon Room in the Rio...read more

Top-10 milestones reached and records broken at the 2009 WSOP

Much of the talk surrounding the 2009 World Series of Poker before it began was about the economy and how it might affect purses and field sizes. Predictions of doom were coming from all angles and it was difficult to argue with the naysayers...read more

Planet Hollywood fined for Prive nightclub's actions

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Planet Hollywood has agreed to pay a $750,000 fine to Nevada gaming regulators, admitting that resort officials were lax in policing illegal activity inside the Privé nightclub. The Gaming Control Board has told the resort industry that properties need to control actions inside the nightclubs that traditionally lease space in casinos and are operated independently. Planet Hollywood is the first hotel-casino to acknowledge it was at fault for the problems inside a nightclub that it doesn't own. "We didn't execute proper supervision and we're the message being sent to the rest of the industry," gaming attorney Frank Schreck, who represents Planet Hollywood, said Friday. Gaming authorities could be investigating as many as nine hotel-casinos about activities inside their nightclubs, which could lead to six-figure fines and other punishments. Schreck, who represents several hotel-casinos and gaming companies, said he has advised clients they need to pay attention to what is happening inside their nightclubs. "It can't be ignored...read more

Banks say Fontainebleau faces huge liabilities

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The $656 million that Fontainebleau Las Vegas wants a group of banks to release won't be anywhere near enough to complete the project, the banks argue in motions filed with the bankruptcy court in Florida. The banks, which are being sued by Fontainebleau Las Vegas for backing out of a loan agreement, also believe the Strip resort's debt levels would far exceed its market value if it opens next year. The developer told its lenders in April that it would cost nearly $1.5 billion to complete the project, according to a court declaration filed in bankruptcy court by Henry Yu, senior vice president of Bank of America. The project already carries nearly $1.7 billion in debt, which would push the project's debt to $3.2 billion upon opening, Yu said. "It is clear that the project at completion will have liabilities far exceeding its assets" unless the $1.7 billion in existing debt is "compromised," Yu said in the filing. The banks' arguments will be at issue Monday when Bankruptcy Judge A...read more

Mandarin adds swank to Strip

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Guests checking into the Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter will actually go down to their rooms. The check-in lobby inside the boutique-size nongaming hotel is on the building's 23rd floor, offering customers a panoramic view of the Strip and the rest of the $8.5 billion CityCenter through floor-to-ceiling windows inside the property's Sky Lobby. "The position of the Mandarin Oriental, literally at the entrance of CityCenter, allowed our architects to capitalize on a broad canvas and take advantage of our spectacular views," said Rajesh Jhingon, the property's general manager. "The Sky Lobby has worked well for us in New York and Tokyo and allows us to offer our guests two dramatic moments; once when they are greeted and escorted up to the lobby and the second when they get off the elevator and are enthralled by the view," Jhingon said. After years of planning, Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental is removing the wrapping from the company's first luxury resort in Las Vegas...read more

Phil Ivey still alive as WSOP Main Event waves good bye to Lou Diamond Phillips

LAS VEGAS -- It's amazing how much the mood of a tournament can shift in one day. On Saturday, tension, drama and finally relief filled the Amazon Room as 648 players finally made the money at the World Series of Poker Main Event. On Sunday, the Amazon Room was filled with pure joy...read more

Playing It Smart: Doubling down in blackjack: is it the edge or the volatility?

Edge is what makes casinos win. But, is it what makes players lose? Collectively, yes, gambling being an instance of what the economists call a zero-sum game. For punters individually, no. People may indeed lose exactly, or close to, the product of edge times their gross wagers during a session...read more

Money bubble bursts at WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS -- When you watch the World Series of Poker Main Event on TV, the most intriguing days are when the field has narrowed down to about 27 players and the chances a player might win or lose the entire tournament turn a on a single hand...read more

Elky, Hellmuth chip up as WSOP Main Event bubble nears

LAS VEGAS -- For the first time in this year's World Series of Poker Main Event, there were no split fields. There was no dodging Phil Ivey or Phil Hellmuth because they were on the "other side" of the draw. Everyone was playing together now, as the 2,044 survivors from Days 2A and 2B merged to form one field Friday at the Main Event...read more