Featured Articles Archive - Page 544

Two vital books on casino marketing, management arrive

It's a rare occasion when two fresh and crucial books for casino management arrive within weeks of each other -- but it just happened. Principles of Casino Marketing by Anthony Lucas and Jim Kilby (243 pages, 9x11 paperbound, $89) and Casino Management -- A Strategic Approach by Kathryn Hashimoto (410 pages, 7x9 paperbound, $75.60) have found their way to our shelves like two timely speeding trains loaded with information about how casinos operate and what makes them successful. Kilby, already a successful author and management expert with his previous Casino Operations Management book ($85) with co-author Lucas and Jim Fox, in his newest work describes both successful and unsuccessful practices, emphasizing that "mistakes provide outstanding learning opportunities." Recognizing that "many gaming executives across the globe lack experience" with respect to marketing issues and activities and that "Management is often left to imitate Las Vegas promotions, despite key market differences," the book is geared to "provide operators with meaningful direction and students with the insight they desire," Kilby says. There are 13 major sections to this book...read more

Victim of Its Own Success

Most casinos in the world face one of two major problems with their government regulators. Either the system is too new, or it is too old. Macau is both. When a gaming regulatory system is new, regulators, both the true casino regulators and lawmakers, have freedom to play at being social engineers...read more

A Barry Keene Law

One of my favorite stories of government incompetence is the Barry D. Keene scandal. Keene, one of Gov. Gray Davis' cronies, signed a contract requiring California to overpay Oracle as much as $41 million for software that was not needed and never used...read more

Featured Game: Rushmore Casino's Phantom of the Opera

For those of you who feel like mixing some opera with your slots play -- and who wouldn't want to do that once in a while -- Rushmore Casino's Phantom of the Opera slot machine is the game for you. With rich musical sounds, including a very nice soprano vocal that alerts players to the possibility of the bonus feature being triggered, this is the type of game where players can crank up the computer speakers, turn on the autoplay and enjoy the concert while they wait for the for the bonus feature or a major jackpot to hit...read more

Pinnacle discards plans to acquire Ameristar

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- An effort by Pinnacle Entertainment to acquire rival Ameristar Casinos collapsed when the share prices for the two Las Vegas-based regional casino operators fell by roughly 60 percent since last fall. Pinnacle revealed its now discarded plans Wednesday in the company's second-quarter earnings statement. The company said it had a net loss of $18.1 million, or 30 cents a share, in the period that ended June 30, compared with a net income of $9.9 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2007...read more

Nevada gaming cuts seen bringing layoffs

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander has told the governor's office that a planned 14 percent reduction in the panel's annual budget could lead to gaming enforcement agent layoffs and other staff reductions, decreasing the agency's effectiveness in policing the state's largest industry. In a letter last month to Budget Director Andrew Clinger, Neilander asked that the control board be exempt from further budget cuts planned for the 2010-11 state budget cycle...read more

Citycenter development: Financing fears 'overdone'

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Wall Street's concerns about MGM Mirage's delay in completing financing for its massive CityCenter development are overblown, MGM Mirage executives said Tuesday. During the company's second-quarter earnings conference call, in which MGM Mirage reported a 68 percent decline in net profits, company officials said they had secured commitments for $1.65 billion of the necessary $3 billion in financing and said they would complete it by the end of September, if not sooner. MGM Mirage is working on obtaining the rest with Dubai World, its joint venture partner in CityCenter. "I think it's been overdone in terms of interest on this," MGM Mirage President and Chief Operating Officer Jim Murren said in response to one of several questions about the financing for the $9.2 billion CityCenter...read more

MGM Mirage halts Jean project

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Mirage on Monday officially pulled the plug on a planned mixed-use development in Jean, blaming the sour economic climate. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, MGM Mirage said it formally terminated an agreement with developer American Nevada Corp...read more

Ameristar laying off 3 percent of workers

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The souring national economy has affected the regional casino markets. Las Vegas based-Ameristar Casinos, which operates eight casinos primarily in the Midwest, said Monday it laid off roughly 3 percent of its casino work force during the second quarter ended June 30. The casino operator eliminated 244 employees and took steps to either eliminate or reduce hours for 150 other positions...read more

Echelon delayed, Boyd decision hailed

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The announcement by Boyd Gaming Corp. on Friday morning that the casino operator will delay construction of its $4.8 billion Echelon project on the Strip for up to a year was met with applause on Wall Street. Company shares, which have been hammered over the past 12 months, rose more than 20 percent on the New York Stock Exchange...read more