Featured Articles Archive - Page 631

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

Las Vegas casinos suffer drop in March

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Timing issues aside, March was a challenging month for Nevada's casinos. With a vast portion of the slot machine revenue generated at the end of the month falling into April's totals, state casinos reported an overall gaming win of $1.054 billion in March, a decrease of less than 1 percent compared with $1.063 billion collected from gamblers in March 2006. The monthly figures were released Thursday by the Gaming Control Board. On the Strip, casinos also saw a less than 1 percent decrease in gaming win, collecting $543.7 million in March, compared with $546.3 million a year ago. Frank Streshley, the control board's senior research analyst, said that because March ended on a Saturday, many casinos won't count the revenues generated by slot machines until after the weekend is over. "On a positive note, we had one extra Saturday in the month," Streshley said...read more

Rebecca's Recommendations - May 11, 2007

Dear Casino City Readers, Here we go again. Back from another online gaming event full of meetings, dinners, lunches, parties, late nights, and NO SLEEP. None. Ok, fine. Maybe five hours total. Anyway, I'm going to try something new today...read more

Smoking ban hard on Herbst

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Tougher new laws outlawing smoking in grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and taverns are squeezing earnings for Herbst Gaming, which operates 7,200 slot machines in those locations, the company said Wednesday. Herbst Gaming, one of Nevada's largest slot route operators with some 650 statewide locations, reported a net loss of $3.9 million for the first quarter wended March 31...read more

U.S. Trade decision to clarify WTO commitments could have wide-ranging impact

The U.S. decision to clarify its World Trade Organization commitments to not include Internet gambling could have far-reaching effects, according to legal analysts. "It opens up a slippery slope," said Joseph Kelly, professor of Business Law at Buffalo State...read more