Featured Articles Archive - Page 617

PokerStars to deal ten-billionth hand

It's like the lottery, only better. PokerStars is getting ready to deal its 10 billionth hand, and its giving away $1,000,000 to mark the occasion. To put the number in perspective, the earth's population is 6.5 billion. Just last summer, PokerStars celebrated dealing its five-billionth hand., And they're going to double that mark in less than 12 months....read more

PPA nears 500,000-member milestone

The Poker Players Alliance is about to reach the 500,000-member mark, a significant milestone for a group that had 120,000 members just four months ago. The 400% growth in membership has been fueled by outrage over the arrests of NETeller's cofounders and the subsequent seizures of money, the high-profile appointment of former Senator Alfonse D'Amato chairman of the board, and a series of PokerStars freerolls that registered tournament entrants...read more

CASINO INDUSTRY: Wynn to deal with dealers

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- One day after a vast majority of its casino dealing force cast ballots in favor of union representation, Wynn Las Vegas executives seemed resigned to negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the New York-based labor organization that will speak for the workers. The National Labor Relations Board has until next week to certify the results of the weekend election at Wynn Las Vegas, where dealers, in a vote of 444-149, asked to be represented by the Transport Workers Union of America. Gregory Kamer, a Las Vegas-based labor attorney who represents Wynn Las Vegas, said Monday nothing has come to the attention of Wynn management that would cause the casino operator to file an objection to the election results with the NLRB...read more

Progressive Gaming International posts quarterly loss

Casino equipment supplier Progressive Gaming International Corp. on Monday reported a net loss in the first three months of 2007. Progressive executives, however, said sales of management systems that will be recorded in the next quarter could help steer the company toward profitability. For the period ended March 31, Progressive Gaming said it had a net loss of $8.7 million, or 25 cents per share, on revenues of $16.7 million...read more

full_tilting responds to bot accusations

Chuck Kuruzovich (aka "full_tilting") understands why people are worried that he's running "bot" software on Full Tilt's $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em tables. And he doesn't begrudge "SukitTrebek," who made the issue public by presenting several alleged "bot" accounts with virtually identical statistics on the 2+2 forums. "He does have some numbers that look kind of strange," Kuruzovich said...read more

Casino industry: Dealers at Wynn resort ratify union

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Casino dealers at Wynn Las Vegas voted by an almost a 3-1 margin in favor of union representation despite an impassioned eleventh hour hour plea by company Chairman Steve Wynn, who told his workers on the eve of the election it had been a mistake to implement a controversial change in the tip pooling program that led to the employee unrest. Wynn dealers voted in the National Labor Relations Board-sanctioned election Saturday and early Sunday morning. NLRB representatives were unavailable Sunday and did not release the vote total...read more

MGM Mirage goes far and wide

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- MGM Mirage is taking an all-inclusive approach to expansion. In the past 12 months the Las Vegas-based casino corporation has signed agreements with a varied range of joint-venture partners -- from startup casino operators to foreign governments...read more

Payment processors, BetUS indicted on money laundering charges

Three payment-processors have been accused of miscoding gaming transactions and funneling that money to online casinos and sportsbooks in grand jury indictments unsealed last week in Utah. The companies, along with BetUS.com, have been charged with money laundering, bank fraud, racketeering conspiracy and violation of the wire act. The indictment also alleges that at least on U.S...read more

Wynn dealers vote on union

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nearly 700 casino dealers at Wynn Las Vegas are expected to participate in a vote today and early Sunday morning to determine if the employees will be represented under a collective bargaining agreement by the Transport Workers Union of America. The election culminates nearly nine months of heated debate at Wynn Las Vegas after the resort's management made a controversial change in how the casino pools and divides the tips earned by casino workers. The policy led to complaints by dealers with the state labor commissioner, a lawsuit filed by two dealers in District Court, sidewalk protests by dealers and proposed legislation in Carson City that would ban the tip-sharing agreement. In April, Wynn dealers overwhelmingly signed union authorization cards with the Transport Workers, a New York-based union that is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and represents 130,000 workers across the country in mass transportation, airlines, railroads, utilities, higher education and municipalities. The union and Wynn executives have spent the past few weeks lobbying for or against joining the union in efforts to sway the dealers' votes. Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn has met off and on with dealers to try to convince them to vote no on union representation. "We all have made ourselves visible and available to talk with employees," Wynn Las Vegas President Andrew Pascal said Friday...read more

"Bot" accusations at Full Tilt Poker

The 2 + 2 Internet poker forum has been swamped with posts about a possible bot infestation at Full Tilt Poker this week. In a detailed post, "SukitTrebek" explained how he used Poker Tracker, a computer program that provides statistical analysis of Internet poker play, to discover that several Full Tilt accounts had virtually identical playing patterns at the $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em tables. He provided Full Tilt with a detailed analysis of the accounts in question...read more