Featured Articles Archive - Page 546

Dubai World seen as suitable partner

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nevada gaming regulators said Wednesday that Dubai World, the investment arm of the Persian Gulf state, was a suitable business partner for casino giant MGM Mirage. The entity, which has an asset base worth more than $100 billion and had revenues of almost $11 billion in 2007, has already made a substantial investment in MGM Mirage...read more

Playing It Smart: Don't underestimate the impact of the come-out on pass bets

Pass, Come, Don't Pass, and Don't Come bets are the best wagers at craps in terms of edge or expected value. Pass and Come, for instance, win an average of 49.29 percent of the time. Alone, this success rate would put the house edge at 1.41 percent with an even-money payoff low, compared with most other games. Of course, proficiency at craps involves reducing this edge by "taking Odds" after a point is established...read more

Top-10 fearless predictions for the WSOP Main Event final table

The wait is almost over. On Sunday morning, Nov. 9 – exactly 117 days after the November Nine was decided in July – the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event will resume play with the winner chasing history, as well as a $9.1 million paycheck. Like any gambler, we have used the extra time to prepare ourselves for the action...read more

Life-long gambler Schwartz looking for storybook ending at WSOP

If Ylon Schwartz goes on to win the World Series of Poker's Main Event next month, it won't exactly take a Steven Spielberg or a Martin Scorsese to produce an Oscar-worthy motion picture about his life. Heck, even if the 38-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y...read more

ESPN enters unchartered waters with Main Event final table telecast

As soon as you hear the catchy, opening riff to ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage and you see that giant poker chip bounce across your TV screen, your heart rate immediately begins to rise. You see the faces Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth and you feel as though you know them as well as your own brother-in-law...read more

Charitable Dennis Phillips hits the Main Event final table as chipleader

Life has been a complete whirlwind for Dennis Phillips during the last three months. That's just part of the deal when you make the sudden rise from unknown to justifiable celebrity. Since becoming the surprising chip leader of the much-heralded 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event final table back in July, Phillips has traveled some 25,000 miles through the air, making appearances and playing in high-profile poker tournaments in Mississippi, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and London...read more

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