Featured Articles Archive - Page 543

Gaming revenues fall in 12 states with commercial casinos

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming revenues in the 12 states with commercial casinos have tumbled 2.5 percent through the first nine months of 2008 and the trend worsened as the year progressed. That was the bleak outlook painted by American Gaming Association CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr...read more

Worries subside for Las Vegas Sands

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. told investors it has begun righting its listing financial ship with $2.1 billion in new capital, but the casino operator's president said the company should have moved into calmer waters sooner. In comments at an investment forum Monday, Las Vegas Sands President Bill Weidner said, "We had to do what we had to do to put ourselves in a position to survive." In a morning filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the operator of The Venetian and Palazzo said its auditors have removed the "going concern" language from Las Vegas Sands' financial filings. The company and its auditors believe the casino operator, which runs three resorts in Macau, has enough liquidity and capital resources to fund continuing operations and to fulfill its new development plans...read more

Playing It Smart: How to get an (almost) free shot at a slot jackpot

People go to casinos to make money. Pretenses aside, the idea is not simply to achieve the ecstasy of victory and avoid the agony of defeat while getting a comp for the buffet. If it were, why not stay home, play chess or parcheesi, and raid the ice box? At the slots, especially, many solid citizens gamble with a "go for broke" philosophy...read more

How the ESPN final-table telecast differed from reality

I like watching poker on TV. I really do. And I especially like watching poker on ESPN. They produce a great show and do a very good job at capturing the major storylines, building drama and showcasing the most important and dynamic portions of any tournament, including the Main Event...read more

Top-10 Questions and Answers from the World Series of Poker's Main Event final table

LAS VEGAS -- It began way back on July 3. The November Nine was created on July 15 and then 117 days later everybody reconvened at the Rio in Las Vegas and action got back underway. Then after a record 15 hours, 39 minutes of final-table action, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion was crowned when Peter Eastgate knocked off Ivan Demidov. We here at Casino City were in Las Vegas for the entire Main Event -- both the summer and fall sessions...read more

Ratings soar for ESPN's Main Event final table telecast

It appears that poker can indeed be considered a spectator sport. In fact, judging from the ratings of ESPN's World Series of Poker Main Event final table telecast last week, a major poker tournament can draw just as many viewers as a regular season NBA or Major League Baseball game. That was the conclusion ESPN network officials could happily come to on Sunday as they announced the "groundbreaking same-day coverage" of the Main Event's final table coverage last Tuesday night earned a 1.9 rating, up 36% from 1.4 for the final showdown in 2007...read more

Macau gaming suffers in struggling economy

MACAU, China – For almost a decade, Macau has been Asia's gambling Mecca, riding a surge of Chinese prosperity and Las Vegas investments that have turned the city into "Las Vegas East." Last year, gaming income grew 30%, according to the Times of London...read more

Global Gaming Expo comes at bad time

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The gaming industry's leading trade show, where the newest slot machines, management systems and other gambling-related products are unveiled to casino operators, opens this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The timing for the Global Gaming Expo, however, couldn't be worse. The global and American economies are tanking, leaving consumers with fewer discretionary spending dollars...read more

Deal Me In: Will a roll of quarters 4.5 yards long last the weekend?

Dear Mark: Is $600 enough of a bankroll for playing quarter slots for a weekend casino trip? Theresa S. That depends, Theresa, on which quarter machines you choose to play and the speed at which you play them. A $600 bankroll on a two- and three-coin machine should be enough to keep you playing for a weekend just so long as you're not Speedy-Gonzales-fast when hitting the credit button...read more

Station Casinos, International Game Technology plan layoffs

and Arnold Knightly LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Station Casinos is laying off 40 workers who take reservations for the company's hotels and will begin outsourcing the work to an overseas company in early December, a company spokeswoman confirmed Thursday. Meanwhile, slot machine giant International Game Technology began implementing a previously announced staffing reduction that will eliminate roughly 10 percent of the company's work force. The Station Casinos workers, who take reservations for all 11 of the company's hotels, will leave Dec...read more