Featured Articles Archive - Page 531

Making and Unmaking Laws in Court

Where you find the laws most numerous, there you will find also the greatest injustice. Arcesilaus The New Year has started with dramatic and sometimes unexpected changes in the law. Of course there was that small matter of a new Congress and President...read more

Top-10 players to watch at this weekend's National Heads-Up Poker Championship

When you really think about it, the concept behind NBC's Head-Up Poker Championship is brilliant, because like any high-profile profession, the egos and pride that the top players in the sport possess are enormous. So when you put 64 of the best and most flamboyant personalities in a head-to-head setting in front of a TV audience with $1.5 million at stake, you are guaranteeing yourself some entertaining fireworks...read more

MGM Mirage borrows from credit

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- An announcement Friday that MGM Mirage tapped into its revolving line of credit to borrow $842 million for general corporate purposes led three credit rating services to devalue the company's bonds and sent the casino operator's stock price to an all-time low. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the borrowing was done "in light of the continuing instability in the capital markets and uncertain state of the global economy." MGM Mirage has $4.5 billion in its revolving credit facility. MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said the money would be used as "operating funds." Shares of MGM Mirage on Friday fell to a historic low on the New York Stock Exchange based on the filing, closing at $3.50, down 95 cents, or 21.35 percent...read more

Developer eyes Spanish casino in rural Beatty

BEATTY, Nevada -- Depending on whom you speak with, Ed Ringle is either this rural community's 21st century version of Don Laughlin, or the town's pariah. Since the early 1980s, Ringle, 57, has operated a casino, hotels and other businesses in Beatty, which is about 118 miles north of downtown Las Vegas...read more

Gaming stocks sink to 2003 levels

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming stocks sunk to levels during February that have not been visited since President Bush declared "mission accomplished" and Arnold Schwarzenegger was making movies rather than governing California. The average daily share prices of nine of the 10 casino operators and slot machine manufacturers charted by Las Vegas-based financial consultant Applied Analysis slipped in value during the month...read more

Thousands celebrate opening of new Vegas resort

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- M Resort bartender Edgar Manago had a big smile Sunday night as he poured free drinks for some of the 4,000 guests attending the $1 billion hotel-casino's grand opening party. Manago, a gaming industry bartender for more than 15 years, had a job for the first time in many months. "It feels good," said Manago, who was laid off by multiple casinos in 2008...read more

While cards flit hither and yon, the dots on dice stay put

Dear Mark: As to table games, you have mentioned that in roulette and craps, each spin of the wheel and each toss of the dice are based on independent events. Why wouldn't blackjack be in this same category? The cards are randomly shuffled, so wouldn't each individual blackjack hand also be considered independent from another? John C...read more

Possible Station buy overshadows Boyd net loss

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Boyd Gaming Corp. executives repeatedly told analysts during Thursday's fourth-quarter earnings conference call they would not answer questions about the company's interest in spending $950 million to buy a large portion of rival Station Casinos. The matter, which was announced Monday, overshadowed the company's reported net loss of $220.8 million for the period that ended Dec...read more

Playing It Smart: How to size up your bankroll

Winning in a repetitive bet milieu like a casino game often takes a big enough bankroll to weather the cold streaks. It's a matter of probabilities, not absolutes. The question isn't what multiple of your average bet is needed to play a certain game...read more

Ivey wins $1.1 million in one day

Phil Ivey started off 2009 in uncharacteristically slow fashion, reportedly losing more than $2 million in a month and a half. But if his play Tuesday is any indication, Ivey is well on his way back. The poker star won $1.1 million during a night session at the Full Tilt tables, with much of his winnings coming at the expense of Tom "durrrr" Dwan. The beginning of the year had been a struggle for Ivey...read more