Featured Articles Archive - Page 528

Heard it on the river: Casino smoking bans hurt constituents

Down in the Delta, Rep. JOHN MAYO, D-Clarksdale, works for a district that has 10 casinos in it and for nearly 9 years now he has been for a statewide smoking ban. While it is documented in other states with legal gambling that such a ban has helped cause declining revenues, Mayo says he "not completely oblivious to what (a smoking ban) would do." His quotes appeared in an article in the Commercial Appeal by Phil West...read more

Ruffin itching to get back on Strip

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Phil Ruffin said he was bored. The Wichita, Kan., businessman, who sold the now demolished New Frontier 19 months ago for $1.2 billion, had an itch to get back into the casino business. It took him just three weeks to negotiate a $775 million purchase of Treasure Island from MGM Mirage...read more

Treasure Island deal set

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Former New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin is buying the Treasure Island from MGM Mirage for $775 million, sources confirmed Sunday night. The deal is expected to be announced today. Ruffin, a Wichita, Kan., businessman, sold the New Frontier in May 2007 for more than $1.24 billion to Elad Group...read more

Top-10 Most Fascinating (Poker) People of 2008

Barbara Walters has got nothing on me. Well, except maybe for about 40 years in age, a couple $100 million in net worth and three ex-spouses, but those are simply minor details. What I'm referring to is when it comes to presenting a list of fascinating people, Ms...read more

Deal Me In: Finders Keepers?

Dear Mark: Thanks for sharing your great insights about gambling in the casinos. Reading your material quells lots of myths about how slot machines react to gamblers. My question is, are there general casino rules concerning money that a customer finds left on a slot machine, or if when the Player's Club card is inserted a voucher prints out with money on it? Can the customer keep the findings? Grady K. According to them, and we all know who them is, 'taint yours. "Sea gulling," i.e...read more

LV Sands to lay off more than 200

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. plans to lay off 216 workers from the Venetian and Palazzo resorts today, a company spokesman confirmed late Thursday evening. The job reductions, part of an overall effort by the financially troubled gaming company, will cover about 2 percent of the casinos' 10,000-employee work force, Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese said. During Las Vegas Sands' third-quarter earnings conference call in November, Executive Vice President Rob Goldstein said the casino operator began "an extensive cost-cutting program" during the quarter that was targeting $100 million in reductions. Goldstein said the company was reducing its work force and changing various programs, policies and procedures. "The cumulative result will end up in the second quarter of (2009 and) will be about $100 million of cost savings," Goldstein at the time...read more

Nevada gaming revenue takes huge fall

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- It just went from bad to worse. Nevada gaming revenues tumbled 22.3 percent in October, the single largest monthly drop in state history and the 10th straight month gaming revenues have fallen in the Silver State. For the year, gaming revenues are down 8.3 percent statewide. Casinos statewide won just under $905 million during October, compared with $1.165 billion in October 2007, according to figures released Wednesday by the Gaming Control Board...read more

LV Sands loses bid to set aside Suen judgement

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. lost a bid Monday to set aside a $58.6 million judgment that a Clark County jury awarded Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen following a six-week civil trial. Rusty Hardin, the Houston-based attorney for Las Vegas Sands, said after nearly four hours of arguments that the case would be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court. Los Angeles attorney John O'Malley, who represented Suen, said he hoped Las Vegas Sands "would pay the judgment promptly." Las Vegas Sands is expected to post bond on the judgment within five days. District Judge Michelle Leavitt denied two motions brought by the casino operator; one was for a new trial and a second sought to reduce the judgment, which consisted of $43.8 million awarded by a jury and $14.8 million in interest tacked onto the verdict. Suen did not attend the hearing, but Las Vegas Sands Chairman and Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson watched about an hour of arguments by Hardin before leaving the courtroom. In May, a five-woman, three-man jury deliberated for about 10 hours over two days before deciding that Suen should be compensated for helping Las Vegas Sands win a lucrative Macau gaming license in 2002...read more

Top-10 mistakes made by Texas Hold'em players

Being asked to come up with the "Top-10 List of the Most Common Texas Hold'em Mistakes" was an easy assignment for me. After all, there's a reason why my business card says "poker writer" on it instead of "poker player." But rather than trying to explain why I am prone to making some rather unwise moves at the poker table, I decided to reach out to a couple of guys who know much more about the game than I do and ask them what they see as the most common mistakes made by Hold'em players...read more

Agent trades clubs for cards

LAS VEGAS, Nevada --Brian Balsbaugh had his heart set on becoming a professional golf agent. His marketing and law degrees from Indiana University put him on that course. When he joined a small Minneapolis-based sports management firm in 1998, Balsbaugh's career path was set...read more