Featured Articles Archive - Page 533

Quick-takes: The month's trends in a glance - October 2008

TAKE ONE Gaming is going to the polls again this November with Maryland, Maine, Ohio, Missouri, and Colorado all having a gaming question on the ballot. There is even a move in Florida for a casino in Miami; it is not likely to be an issue this year, but gives us something to look forward to next year...read more

Bits and Pieces from Indian Country - October 2008

It is difficult to consistently write a separate column on Indian gaming. It was easy years ago, when everything about Indian gaming was new and to some extent different from conventional gaming. There was less competition, a very different system for contributions to local governments – as a tax per se levied by a non-tribal government is against federal law – and even financing was very, very different in Indian Country...read more

Heard it on the river: Tunica getting national interest

Part of WEBSTER FRANKLIN'S job as head of the TUNICA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU is to be upbeat and positive in his role selling the county's attractions to the outside world. He does a good job at it and in a recent visit discussed some of those things that bode well for the future in Tunica...read more

IGT's cost-cutting steps overshadow lower profits

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Profits earned by slot machine giant International Game Technology were cut in half during the fourth quarter, but Wall Street wasn't focused on results. Investors had more interest in the cost-cutting measures being undertaken to right the Reno-based company's listing ship. "We expect that the fourth-quarter results will be overlooked as investors know this would be a soft quarter and will rather focus on the direction the company is heading," Stifel Nicolaus gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski wrote in a research note shortly after IGT reported earnings Thursday. During a conference call with analysts and investors, IGT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer TJ Matthews said the year had been one of the most difficult in the company's history...read more

Deal Me In: Progressives are in no way a "Cluck-for-the-Buck" deal

Dear Mark: I enjoy playing those super jackpot progressive slot machines because it gives me the greatest return for a small investment. Is this sound and sensible gambling? Oliver P. It is a mistaken belief, Oliver, shared by scores of slot players, that you are only making a small investment in an attempt to win big jackpots when you play progressive slots...read more

Two charged with money-laundering in connection with Bodog

Federal authorities have charged two men with money-laundering in connection with its ongoing investigation into Internet gambling giant Bodog. In January and February of this year, after a two-year investigation, the IRS seized about $14.2 million from JBL Services, according to court documents filed in federal court in Baltimore...read more

Blue-ribbon hoops book super resource for serious bettors going fast

The 28th edition of the Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook (384 pages, 8x11 paperbound, $22) has arrived at Gambler's Book Shop and the stock is being snapped up like hot bagels on a cold Saturday morning. Edited by Chris Dortch and his dedicated staff around the nation, the book -- often purchased by scouts, coaches, players, bettors, talk show hosts, sports editors and sports information directors everywhere -- outstrips virtually every other basketball resource because of its freshness and depth of analysis. More than two-dozen conferences and hundreds of teams get the spotlight, with a breakdown at strengths, weaknesses, offenses and defenses. These write-ups answer a bevy of questions: How good was the recruiting or how severe were the losses? Who's back? Who can back up an injured star? Who's potential first team All-America? Who's a potential pro star and why? Who will be the Beasts of the East if not North Carolina, Connecticut, Villanova or Syracuse (all picked in the top 25)? Is any Western team a standout? (The Blue Ribbon people say keep an eye on UCLA, USC, Saint Mary's and Arizona State.) Will there be emphasis on more defense, a run and gun approach, or will a team rely on one key player to provide all the firepower? Which team is deep? Which coach's job might be in jeopardy? The book is especially good for the first 10 games of the year, when linemakers are somewhat vulnerable and upsets are possible in tournaments...read more

'Regular guy' Suharto makes unlikely run to Main Event final table

Darus Suharto tries to convince you of his poker ignorance and, quite frankly, he sounds sincere. But in the end you don't believe him. In two weeks, Suharto will be sitting on the grandest stage in poker as one of the November Nine, attempting to become the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion...read more

Adelson gains $1.2 billion as gaming soars on Wall Street

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Stocks within the beleaguered gaming sector scored a one-day boost Wednesday despite the markets' overall volatility. Las Vegas Sands Corp., along with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson, were the biggest benefactors. Shares of casino operator jumped 80 percent Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange as the stocks of publicly traded casino companies and gaming equipment manufacturers rose throughout the day. Adelson, who controls almost 70 percent of the company personally and through family trusts, saw his net worth climb more than $1.2 billion...read more

MGM cuts reassure investors

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Wall Street wasn't surprised Wednesday when casino giant MGM Mirage said its third-quarter profit fell 67 percent from a year ago due to the slowing national economy and reduced customer spending. What gave investors a lift was the company's reaction to the crisis. Cost reductions, corporate restructuring and downsizing and other strategic budgetary initiatives enacted over the past few quarters gave the financial community comfort that MGM Mirage, which operates 10 Strip hotel-casinos, will successfully manage the global economic downturn. The company said it was indefinitely postponing construction of two major resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City...read more