Featured Articles Archive - Page 534

One week in London for ICEi and CAP Euro and...YOU'RE NO LONGER BANNED!

Seducing Caselli I am sure you are wondering...what on earth did it take to get my CAP Euro ban lifted? Seducing Caselli. Easy! Just kidding. It was largely due to Alex Pratt, one of my very good friends who helped smooth out some of the tension between CAP and GPWA during this London event...read more

Bally Technologies posts record quarter

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Slot machine maker Bally Technologies said Tuesday it had a record second quarter despite the economic slowdown that has broadly affected the gaming industry. Bally Chief Executive Officer Richard Haddrill called the three months ended Dec...read more

Moody's downgrades MGM Mirage debt

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Moody's Investors Service today downgraded casino operator MGM Mirage $7.8 billion debt load Tuesday, believing that the company's earnings in 2009 will fall below previously anticipated results. Moody's, in reducing the company's corporate family rating to B1 Ba3, said the recession is causing consumers to reduce discretionary spending. "Additionally, the company has been unable to raise the targeted $3 billion in capital for its CityCenter development, and so its cash needs have increased," Moody's senior credit officer Peggy Holloway said in a statement. She anticipated that MGM Mirage's debt to cash flow ratios will exceed "a level inconsistent with its prior rating." In December, MGM Mirage announced it had sold Treasure Island for $775 million to former New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin...read more

Shuffle Master to replace CEO

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- After an 18-month search, gambling equipment provider Shuffle Master announced Monday that veteran casino executive Tim Parrott would replace Chief Executive Officer Mark Yoseloff in March. Yoseloff, 61, who stepped down as the Las Vegas-based gaming company's chairman of the board last year, will help Parrott during a transition period. Yoseloff headed Shuffle Master for 12 years...read more

Top-10 things to look for in a sportsbook

The 2008 football season came to a climatic end on Sunday night in Tampa Bay, which means we are officially at the start of the dreaded "down time" of the sports calendar year. Sports bettors must now linger through the regular-season schedules of the NBA, NHL and college basketball season as we eagerly await Selection Sunday...read more

Developer hopes M is magnetic

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- From the top floor of the M Resort, Anthony Marnell III has a commanding view of the neighborhood. In preparation for the property's March 1 opening, construction crews worked last week to build out the interiors of Veloce Cibo, M Resort's 16th floor trendy restaurant and contemporary nightclub. Meanwhile, Marnell, the 35-year-old chief executive officer of the $1 billion hotel-casino, surveyed the surroundings. The landscape hasn't changed much in the 17 months since ground was broken on the 390-room hotel-casino. Several planned communities, new neighborhoods and potential businesses near M Resort's 93-acre site at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and St...read more

Deal Me In: Any time is the right or wrong time to play

Dear Mark: Is there any good time to play slots. For instance, day versus night, weekday versus weekend? It seems you see more jackpots hit on the weekends. Dusty E. Your chances of winning, Dusty, have nothing to do as to when you play...read more

IGT to lay off 200

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Slot machine maker International Game Technology told its work force Thursday it would lay off about 200 manufacturing-related employees. IGT's manufacturing functions are based mainly in Reno with some activities in Las Vegas. This is the second round of staff reductions for the slot machine giant...read more

Pollack defends final-table delay, hints at more changes

World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack is certain that last year's controversial decision to delay the Main Event final table 117 days was beneficial to the game -- so much so that a similar pause has been scheduled for this year's event...read more

Poker in Las Vegas, electronic style

LAS VEGAS – "Excuse me," the 40ish guy sitting across the table from me said politely as he waved down the host of the Excalibur poker room in Las Vegas. "Can we get some Windex over here? The table is smudged." It was at that moment that I officially realized I was playing poker like I never had before...read more