Featured Articles Archive - Page 511

Net gambling advocates may have to wait

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Online gambling proponents may have to wait a little longer for the passage of federal legislation that would legalize betting on the Internet. Congress is tied up with other pressing issues. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins told investors not to bet the house on Internet gambling becoming legal anytime soon. His prognosis comes despite a White House that is seemingly friendlier toward Internet gamblers and the support of Rep...read more

Deal Me In: Alert player sounds the alarm

Dear Mark: I just finished reading your most recent column. You mentioned that it's best for a player to play at a casino with liberal rules, but the number one thing you failed to mention to your readers is to play at tables that pay 3:2 on a blackjack, and not to play any table that pays 6:5 or less...read more

Playing It Smart: Look beyond the payoffs before making side bets

Bonus or "side bets" are busting out all over tables in casinos across our great country. The double entendre is intended. These bets typically dangle the carrot of high payoffs for small wagers, overcoming players' need in the underlying games to risk a lot to win a lot...read more

Amsterdam Part 1: CAC- quality not quantity

My beloved partner in crime Ok, ok, so maybe CAC Amsterdam was quiet, perhaps the affiliates were far and few between, its true there were very few sponsored parties, and worst of all, the nightlife in Amsterdam is non-existent on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the three nights of the conference...read more

Nevada gaming revenues down more than 18 percent

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming revenues fell more than 18 percent statewide during February and more than 23 percent on the Strip, according to figures released this morning by the Gaming Control Board. Statewide, casinos won almost $839.5 million from gamblers, down from almost $1.145 billion won a year ago...read more

Crown denies CityCenter report

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Australia-based Crown Ltd. denied Monday it was planning to invest in the $8.7 billion CityCenter development, but MGM Mirage's talks with private equity firm Colony Capital appear to be moving forward. Bloomberg News reported that Colony, which owns the Las Vegas Hilton and owns 75.9 percent of Station Casinos, might invest in MGM Mirage's corporate-level debt secured by taking out a lien on one or more of the company's casinos. Joe Fath, a gaming analyst with fund manager T...read more

Greek Isles files for bankruptcy

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The majority owner of the Greek Isles blamed "greedy hedge-fund guys" interested in wiping out the current owners' equity stake for pushing the property into Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday. Harold Rothstein said the Greek Isles' creditors have already taken $14 million in fees and interest out of the property since the financial markets collapsed. "The ownership of the property was negotiating in good faith to reorganize and reposition the property," Rothstein said...read more

MGM Mirage to sell Biloxi, Detroit resorts

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Mirage has officially put the company's resorts in Detroit and Biloxi, Miss., on the market. The casino operator hired Wall Street investment firm Morgan Stanley to evaluate sales offers for the MGM Grand Detroit and the Beau Rivage, which could fetch the company between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, according to analysts. The potential sales, if completed, would help MGM Mirage resolve some of the company's liquidity issues surrounding some $13.5 billion in long-term debt, which is looming over the casino operator's balance sheet. One gaming analyst believes MGM Mirage is under pressure from its lenders, who gave the company a two-month stay from meeting covenants on its debt obligations, to sell the two resorts. "The May 15th date is looming and the banks may be pushing this," Joe Fath, a gaming analyst for fund manager T...read more

Gambling and the Law: Of Course It's A Depression

"Buy when there is blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own." Baron Nathan Rothschild There is a generally accepted definition of an economic recession – a decline in gross domestic product for two consecutive quarters...read more

Exec says strip resorts too pricey

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Financially strapped casino operators may be asking too steep a price for Strip resorts that are potentially on the market, according to a high- ranking executive with Penn National Gaming, the company most often linked to possible purchases. However, a spokesman for Penn National, a regional casino operator located in Wyomissing, Pa., said the company continues to be interested in acquiring a Strip resort. During an investors conference in New York this week, Penn National Chief Financial Officer Bill Clifford hinted at a strategy shift in which the company was adjusting its focus from buying something on the Strip to investing in new gambling jurisdictions. Penn National has about $1.5 billion in cash available for casino purchases through money the company received last summer in breakup fees after a private equity firm aborted a buyout attempt...read more