Featured Articles Archive - Page 516

Heavyweights duke it out at $40,000 WSOP event

One of the World Series of Poker's most anticipated events kicked off yesterday, as poker heavyweights battled it out in a $40,000 no-limit Hold'em tournament. At the end of the day only 89 players remained out of a field of 201. The tournament is the largest no-limit Hold'em event ever held in the U.S., and the winner will earn $1,891,012. The $40,000 tournament is in honor of the WSOP 40th anniversary...read more

Vegas casino companies look to Massachusetts

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- A few Las Vegas-based casino companies are poking around Massachusetts as the commonwealth's government prepares to take another look at legalized gambling, the Boston Globe reported this morning. Steve Wynn and Boyd Gaming Corp., have hired lobbyists and sent representative...read more

Palms Place condo buyers offered financing

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- In an effort to jump-start sales in the otherwise nonexistent high-rise condominium market, the Palms has begun offering seller-backed financing to some 150 potential purchasers in the 599-unit Palms Place development. Palms President George Maloof said Thursday the offer targets buyers who have already made at least a 20 percent down payment on their units, but have been unable to get financing through traditional avenues. Maloof said the West Flamingo Road project might be the only high-rise within the Strip corridor to offer this type of financing. "The problem is nobody seems to be lending," Maloof said...read more

Bodog.com is back...and Alwyn Morris is ready for the ride. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group style.

Everyone has heard of Bodog.com. The online gambling community certainly remembers the Bodog parties, the red and black Bodog swag, the TV commercials on ESPN, Bodog Fight and Bodog Music, the Forbes billionaire issue, the Bodog booth with a bar and pillow-fighting babes, and of course, Bodog.com's original face and personality, Calvin Ayre...read more

Problem gambling books -- they can help before it's too late

Too often, families with a problem gambler or individuals who lose control have nowhere to turn until it's too late. There's denial or avoidance, and when individuals hit rock bottom many wonder if something could have been done sooner. Sadly, there are few books out there to help individuals or families but some do exist...read more

Odds against a repeat WSOP Main Event champ

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- Peter Eastgate did the math. The odds aren't in his favor. In November, the Danish-born Eastgate became the World Series of Poker's youngest-ever champion, besting a field of 6,844 players to win $9.15 million in the tournament's No-limit Hold'em Main Event. World Series of Poker officials expect at least the same number of entries to ante up $10,000 when this year's Main Event begins July 3. Even at 22, with his poker career in its infancy, Eastgate knows winning the game's ultimate prize for a second time is a long shot. "Say I play (in the event) every year for the next 50 years, the chances of me winning it one more time is a 100-to-1 shot," Eastgate said in an e-mail interview from his home in Odense, Denmark. ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad said a repeat World Series of Poker Main Event champion might be an extinct species. "I think the odds are better of landing a Kia on Mars," Chad said...read more

Microgaming and Intertops end longtime partnership

Following a partnership that lasted nearly 11 years, Intertops and Microgaming have parted ways. Microgaming – which made the decision to begin denying U.S. players last November as a result of the Kentucky domain seizure case – made the announcement last week after Intertops decided to reenter the U.S...read more

Companies may be hired to run sold-off properties

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- Randall Fine is busy enough right now. He knows, however, as the financially challenged casino industry weaves its way through restructuring over the next couple of years, his life may become a little more complicated. Fine, managing director of The Fine Point Group, a Las Vegas-based casino management company, took over operations of the bankrupt Greektown Casino in Detroit in January. With several casino operators already in some form of bankruptcy restructuring, and others potentially close, Fine and his competition could be called upon to operate casinos that have been pared off by debt-laden casino corporations seeking to shed assets to satisfy creditors. Greektown, the smallest of Detroit's three casinos, is owned by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians and has been in bankruptcy for more than a year, owing some $777 million to creditors and lenders. Since Fine's company took over, Greektown, with 2,600 slot machines and 21 gaming tables, has grown its market share 13 percent...read more

Playing It Smart: Passing up Basic Strategy splits at blackjack

Proficient blackjack players normally split pairs when Basic Strategy says to do so. "Normally," meaning having enough reserve to fund possible resplits and doubles-after-splits, neither sweating the outcome nor risking a bust-out if fate is frowning. Circumstances that aren't normal may pose a dilemma...read more

Illinois moves to legalize slots in bars

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois –- Illinois lawmakers gave the slot machine industry hopes for a new source of potential revenue Thursday evening. If Gov. Pat Quinn agrees, International Game Technology, Bally Technologies and Illinois-based WMS Industries could get a much-needed boost to their bottom lines. Both houses of the Illinois Legislature passed a $29 billion public works program that would be paid for by increased taxes and fees associated with the legalization of video gambling across the state. Illinois already has a healthy riverboat gambling industry...read more