Featured Articles Archive - Page 696

As Dust Settles, Pinnacle declines

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Investors reacted exactly as gaming analysts predicted Monday after having a weekend to comprehend the fallout from Pinnacle Entertainment's increased cost to buy the Tropicana's parent company. Shares of Pinnacle, a Las Vegas-based regional casino operator, fell more than 5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, analysts said they think Pinnacle's stock can regain its value once the company outlines its plans if the $2.58 billion deal for Aztar Corp...read more

Survey: Gamblers Seek Action on Internet

The estimated number of people gambling online doubled in 2005 over the previous year, and 70 percent of all Internet gamblers only started playing in the past two years, a new survey shows. The survey by the American Gaming Association's research arm buttresses the association's recent call for a one-year federal study of Internet gambling. "This survey isn't what prompted our board of directors to seek the study, but it's a nice complement," American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf said Monday during a conference call to discuss the group's eighth annual survey. The lobbying group annually conducts the Survey of Casino Entertainment, but the report marked the first time it looked in depth at Internet gambling...read more

This Magician is the Life of the Party

Antonio Esfandiari lives a lifestyle in his adopted home of Las Vegas that most young men dream about. A 27-year old professional poker player, Esfandiari skips the line at clubs, sits in the VIP section, and mixes the most expensive drinks with his crew, dubbed 'Rocks and Rings.' "If you're gonna go out, you might as well go out in style," says Esfandiari, the 'president' of Rocks and Rings...read more

Deals on the Strip: Pinnacle Sweetens Bid for Aztar

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment agreed late Friday to increase its price to buy Tropicana parent Aztar Corp., raising the cost of the deal to $2.58 billion. Pinnacle, a regional casino operator without a property in Las Vegas, amended its signed merger agreement with Aztar for the fourth time, agreeing to pay $51 a share for the company, $47 in cash and $4 in Pinnacle stock...read more

Rebecca's Recommendations - May 5, 2006

I cannot believe it is May. In one week I head down to Washington DC for a bachelorette party immediately followed by GIGSE in Montreal immediately followed by CAP Spring Break in Miami, then off to Costa Rica for an affiliate appreciation trip in June, followed by a wedding in Paris for the 4th, and then off to the Bodog Conference in Las Vegas a few weeks later...read more

Sands Profits Now, Plans for Future

LAS VEGAS -- The future of Las Vegas Sands Corp. is coming out of the ground on the corner of the Strip and halfway around the world on a parcel of reclaimed land in southern China. But the owner of The Venetian said Thursday the company is not ignoring today. In reporting its first-quarter earnings for the three-month period that ended March 31, Las Vegas Sands executives said the company is building the groundwork to capitalize on that future. "While we continue to deliver exceptional financial and operating results, the opportunities that lie ahead are significant and broad-based," Las Vegas Sands President Bill Weidner said...read more

Handheld Gambling Device Receives Nevada Approval

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada gaming regulators said Wednesday it was appropriate that Cantor G&W receive preliminary approval as the state's first licensee to manufacture and distribute hand-held gambling devices. Cantor G&W, an affiliate of New York-based financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, spent two years pushing hand-held gaming legislation through the Nevada Legislature...read more

Ameristar Ends Chase of Aztar

LAS VEGAS -- While one combatant dropped out of the bidding war for Aztar Corp., another suitor may have turned its attention toward a different prize. Ameristar Casinos officially ended its quest to buy the Tropicana's parent corporation Wednesday, leaving at least three companies still seeking to purchase Phoenix-based Aztar. Meanwhile, a source close to the negotiations said Pinnacle Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Lee, whose company is at the forefront of the Aztar bidding war, spent two hours Wednesday touring the Sahara with a representative of CB Richard Ellis...read more

Pinnacle Wows Street, Finds Aztar Bid Topped

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment impressed Wall Street on Tuesday with double-digit financial results in the first quarter of 2006. But the Las Vegas-based company's real prize may be slipping away. Before its quarterly earnings announcement, Pinnacle found out that its quest to buy Tropicana parent Aztar Corp...read more

IGT Sues Rival Slot Builder

RENO and LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- For the fourth time since 2004, slot machine giant International Game Technology has sued rival equipment maker Bally Technologies accusing patent infringement. In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Reno-based IGT said Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies' "Bally Power Bonusing," a gaming system product, infringed upon nine American patents held by IGT. In a statement, IGT said the products have been installed on casino games on the East Coast and Nevada and the lawsuit, filed in Delaware, asks the court to call for the games' removal. IGT claims Bally Technologies placed the products in casinos despite being told by IGT the system infringed on its patents. "We believe that's the case and we can prove that in court," IGT spokesman Ed Rogich said. According the Bally Technologies Web site, Bally Power Bonusing gives casinos a package of bonusing, gaming and promotions products...read more