Featured Articles Archive - Page 698

UK to Loosen Gambling Ad Restrictions

The U.K. Gambling Commission, in conjunction with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), will soon publish a new set of draft advertising regulations that will apply to all gambling services, including remote forms, once the Gambling Act 2005 comes into full force in September 2007...read more

Twenty Four Hours of Poker ... By the Numbers

I made it. I started playing poker at 12:28 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 and played the last hand of a $1/$2 modified H.O.R.S.E. cash game just over 24 hours later. Oh yeah, since we hadn't had quite enough at that point, we played a $5 No Limit Hold'em Tournament to cap the experience. For the last few days, I've struggled to come up with something coherent to say about the experience...read more

Tribes That Worked to Bring Casinos to California Split Over New Compacts with State

SAN DIEGO, California -- When more than 50 of California's American Indian tribes banded together in 1999 to sign the state's original casino gaming compacts with then-Gov. Gray Davis, it was viewed as a joint effort in order to bring economic prosperity to their struggling memberships. Politics, however, has a way of dividing. Fast-forward five years. New California Gov...read more

Ameristar Matches Highest Bid for Aztar

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos on Tuesday matched the highest offer to date in the bidding war for takeover target Aztar Corp., saying the Tropicana's parent is worth more than $2.41 billion. Ameristar, which operates casinos in Jackpot and also in Mississippi, Colorado and Missouri, said it would pay $47 a share for Phoenix-based Aztar's outstanding stock. In a statement, Aztar said the Ameristar proposal was "superior" when compared with the company's current merger agreement with Pinnacle Entertainment. On Monday, Las Vegas-based Pinnacle upped its offer for Aztar to $45 a share...read more

Deals on the Strip: Bidding War for Aztar Flares Again

Wall Street analysts who follow the casino industry are growing weary of the bidding war for the Tropicana's parent corporation. But they also don't see an end to the hostilities. The latest skirmish came Monday when Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment boosted its offer for Aztar Corp...read more

Tribal Gambling: Leaving Las Vegas

SAN DIEGO, California -- After nearly five years working the slot floors at some of Las Vegas' most-recognized casinos, Mike Montenez took what he learned to Southern California. A slot host position at the 59,000-square-foot casino that Harrah's Entertainment manages for the Rincon San Luiseño Band of Mission Indians allowed Montenez, 35, to be closer to his family, especially his 11-year-old son, and still work in a career he enjoyed. But his new job in northern-most San Diego County allowed Montenez a benefit the majority of Las Vegas casino workers don't have...read more

In California, Gambling is All About the Cards

SAN DIEGO, California -- California's Indian gaming regulations allowed tribal casinos to have live casino table games as long as the outcome is determined by cards. While blackjack, baccarat, poker and poker's variations, such as Let It Ride and Three Card Poker, were offered from the outset, the casinos seemed empty without the traditional roulette and craps tables, an essential aspect of the Strip's gambling offerings. Bingo, which had been legal on Indian lands since 1983, was still allowed. "Our customers seemed to miss those particular games that we couldn't offer," said Lee Skelley, assistant general manger of casino operations for Barona Valley Ranch. Individually, the casinos set out to get around the regulation, using cards as well as dice on craps tables and in conjunction with the spinning roulette wheel. "We found a way to give players a variety of games," Skelley said...read more

Calfornia Gaming: Tribes Fly High

SAN DIEGO, California -- Joe Welch Sr. has lived his whole life on the Barona Indian reservation, an 8,000-acre patch of ranch land nestled in a valley near the community of Lakeside. For years, he watched the poverty-stricken tribe struggle...read more

Ameristar Raises Bid for Tropicana Parent

Another day, another offer for Aztar Corp. The bidding war for the Phoenix-based operator of the Tropicana is starting to resemble an eBay auction. Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos increased its bid to buy out Aztar for the second time this week Friday, telling the company it would pay $45 a share for its outstanding common stock while assuming Aztar's debt. On Monday, Ameristar, a regional casino operator with properties in Missouri, Mississippi, Colorado and the Northern Nevada community of Jackpot, said it would pay $43 a share for Aztar, $1 more per share than it had originally offered on April 3. On Monday, privately held Columbia Sussex entered the game...read more

GIGSE Organizers Raise Money for Gordon House

The Gordon House Association, a UK-based provider of residential support for gamblers recovering from addiction, will be the official charity of the River City Group-sponsored Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo (GIGSE). For the past two years, River City Group has selected a charity to sponsor during their GIGSE event, and has raised more than $75,000 from attending gaming businesses...read more