Featured Articles Archive - Page 541

Playing It Smart: Casino cribbage

Casinos occasionally introduce new games. They're usually variations of old standbys. Once in a while, though, a new genre appears games using the poker paradigm being prime examples. Developing new casino games can be lucrative. Whoever owns the rights typically, the patents earns royalties...read more

Deal Me In: Munchin' on casino freebies

Dear Mark: Is there any way of lowering the casino's 1.5% edge on a pass line bet by hedging it somewhere else on the table? Brad D. If you're thinking of those snake oil proposition bets pitched by barking dealers (hard ways, field bets, one number rolls, etc.), absolutely not...read more

Two sue LV Sands over stock drop

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Two shareholders of Las Vegas Sands Corp. have sued the casino operator's board of directors over the falling price of the company's shares, which have lost roughly 95 percent of their value in the past 14 months. The lawsuit, filed Nov...read more

Slotboom's poker secrets; killer roulette fresh stuff

Rolf Slotboom's Secrets of Professional Poker 1: Winning Strategies for Limit Hold'em, No Limit Hold'em and Omaha ($24.95, paperbound, 253 pages) and Carl Sampson's Killer Roulette ($19.95, paperbound, 202 pages) are two of the newest and best books on each game.One of the most respected players on the circuit, Slotboom cashed in seven events in the 2007 World Series of Poker, which gives a ton of credence to his coverage of professional poker...read more

60 Minutes producer provides the story behind the story

You can say what you want about the 60 Minutes piece that ran Sunday night about the cheating scandals at Absolute Poker and UltimateBet -- and almost everyone in the online poker community has. But the man who produced the segment says the venerable television news magazine show accomplished exactly what it set out to do when it began investigating the story eight months ago...read more

Poker pro Cliff Josephy leaves UltimateBet

American poker professional Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy has left UltimateBet.com a little more than six months after forming a partnership with the online poker room. "Just wanted you guys to know that you will no longer see me as a redlined pro in their lobbies, nor will you see me wearing their patches at live events any more," Josephy wrote in a message board post at TwoPlusTwo.com on Saturday. Josephy, a WSOP Bracelet winner and New York native, joined UB's list of Star Players in late-May and took his place at the online poker room alongside other pros like Shawn Rice, Scott Ian, Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon and Gary "Debo34" DeBernardi...read more

Wynn defying economic downturn with Encore opening

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The $2.3 billion Encore will open Dec. 22 in the middle of what many have called the worst economic crisis ever to hit the Strip and the gaming industry. But don't expect Wynn Resorts Ltd. to change its style. Encore, with 2,034 hotel rooms, is attached to Wynn Las Vegas...read more

Macau revenue rises for first time in two months

MACAU, China -- Macau gaming revenues grew 3 percent in November following two straight months of declines. Since early fall, tightened visa restrictions by the Chinese government have curtailed tourism from residents of neighboring provinces into Macau, the only area in China where casino gambling is legal. Following a 3 percent decline in October and a 1 percent drop in September, Macau casinos collected gaming revenues of approximately $940 million in November, compared with roughly $920 million in November 2007. The November 2008 increase was far below the November 2007 increase of 49 percent from the prior year. "After two months of decline and a tough comparable (from a year ago), 3 percent growth is better than anticipated," Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner said Monday. Through November, Macau gaming revenues are approximately $12.6 billion, a 36 percent increase over 2007. Lerner thought the visa restrictions might be lifted early next year...read more

Deal Me In: Smaller bankroll needed for video poker

Dear Mark: Taking your advice, any time I'm given the choice, I play video poker over slots. My question is, do you still need the same sized session bankroll for video poker as you would for slots? Dana S. Your bankroll, Dana, the money you will need to set aside specifically for playing video poker, would be less than you'd set aside for slots, because poker machines tend to have higher hit frequencies than do slot machines...read more

Gambling and the Law: Regulators, Legislators And Courts

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has issued the latest, but undoubtedly not the last, decision in the fight over the Emerald Casino license. The Opinion offers some important lessons for anyone who wants to be involved in legal gaming. First, a disclaimer: I was an expert witness for the Illinois Gaming Board in the hearing before Judge Abner Mikva, which resulted in the Board revoking Emerald's gaming license on December 20, 2005...read more