Featured Articles Archive - Page 509

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

Deal Me In: When not to be on the phone

Dear Mark: I was recently at a casino in Las Vegas and cashed out my winnings at the cashier's cage. Upon giving the cashier my chips, my cell phone rang and so I answered it not paying attention to the cashier counting out my money. I got to my car and realized that the cashier did not give me the right amount...read more

Nevada gaming win has upside, downside

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- First, the good news: Statewide gaming revenues fell 8.3 percent in May, ending seven straight months of double-digit declines. Now, the bad news: Statewide gaming revenues fell 8.3 percent in May, Nevada's 17th straight monthly decline in the amount of money casinos collected from gamblers. "It's disappointing because with the number of special events in May, coupled with a soft monthly comparison from a year ago, we thought the results would be much better than what was reported," said Frank Streshley, the Gaming Control Board's chief of the tax and licensing division...read more

LV Sands says Macau still in play

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- Las Vegas Sands Corp. executives used Wednesday's topping-off ceremony for the casino operator's $5.5 billion resort in Singapore to announce intentions to restart development of the company's projects in Macau. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson said the company was exploring alternatives to raise between $3 billion and $4 billion to restart construction of several hotel-casinos on Macau's Cotai Strip...read more

Ivey provides WSOP Main Event drama while Wayans delivers fun

LAS VEGAS -- When action began at the World Series of Poker Main Event Wednesday, the Rio was stuffed to the gills with poker players and tables. More than 2,900 players had descended on the tournament site to participate in Day 2B of the Main Event -- two days after tournament officials had to close registration for Day 1D because they had reached a "capacity" field of 2,809 players...read more

Moods shifts at World Series of Poker Main Event

LAS VEGAS -- Depending on your vantage, Day 2A at the World Series of Poker Main Event was either carnage, moving day, or a complete and total grind. But no matter what your viewpoint, the mood of the tournament had shifted. The excitement, joking and laughter that permeated the air during the four Day 1s of the tournament gave way to a more competitive edge Tuesday...read more