Featured Articles Archive - Page 704

Tournament Time

The first two rounds of the NCAA college basketball championship tournament were completed last week, whittling the field of competitors from 64 teams to 16. Although the managers of online sports books are typically reluctant to share any concrete betting numbers, they are sticking to the story they told in the days leading up to the tournament: that March Madness represents the largest betting event of the year in North America, trumping even the Super Bowl. The tournament begins on a Thursday every year, but the Madness truly begins on the preceding Sunday, which is commonly referred to as Selection Sunday...read more

Rebecca's Recommendations - March 23, 2006

I hope everyone had an eventful St. Patrick's Day weekend! Next year I highly recommend attending the South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade- I have never seen so many intoxicated young people covered in random green paraphernalia. I guess that's what happens when you start drinking at 8:00 in the morning...read more

Shuffle Master Shares Up

LAS VEGAS -- Shares of Shuffle Master soared Tuesday, one day after company executives said the gaming equipment provider's earnings per share would grow 25 percent annually over the next few years. Las Vegas-based Shuffle Master jumped $5.82, or 22.19 percent to close at $32.05 on the Nasdaq National Market...read more

RTG's Asian Venture

I-gaming software developer RealTime Gaming has partnered with two Asia-based companies to form a new business division that will develop Asian market opportunities and service Asian market licensees. Establishing its headquarters in Singapore, RTG Asia will seek to leverage RealTime Gaming's knowledge of online gambling with its Asian partners' experience in the region to customize software packages specifically targeting what has been a very much coveted region of the world. The new unit will be headed by CEO and Chairman Daniel Schultz, who until recently served as VP director of business development for the parent company...read more

Consolidation in the Skill Games Sector - SkillJam Acquires WorldWinner

FUN Technologies, a company that has undergone massive expansion in the skill-gaming space in the last two years, has consolidated the industry further with the announcement that its subsidiary, SkillJam Technologies Corporation, has acquired rival WorldWinner.com Inc...read more

Smaller Grand Casino in Biloxi Planned

MISSISSIPPI -- Harrah's Entertainment will reopen a smaller version of the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Miss., this summer as the company plans to reconfigure the Mississippi Gulf Coast site into a destination resort, officials said Tuesday. Harrah's didn't disclose a cost to redevelop its existing land-based casinos in Biloxi but said the opening this summer would be the first step toward re-entering the Biloxi market...read more

Louisiana Casino Revenue Jumps

LOUISIANA -- Even with Harrah's New Orleans contributing just 13 days of revenue to the total, Louisiana casinos continued to rebound from a hurricane-affected fall, posting a 13 percent increase in gaming win in February. During the month, Louisiana casinos took in $214.8 million from gamblers, the state's Gaming Control Board reported Tuesday...read more

Shuffle Master's Profit, Revenue Up

LAS VEGAS -- Shuffle Master said Monday it is increasing its international gaming presence. While announcing first- quarter earnings, the Las Vegas-based gaming equipment provider said 25 percent of the company's total revenues came from outside of North America. Shuffle Master executives expect that number to expand over time, especially after closing its $108 million purchase of Australian-based equipment provider Stargames in February, a company that has a strong presence in Macau, China and other burgeoning foreign casino markets. "Our international revenues will grow faster than our domestic revenues over the next few years," Shuffle Master Chief Financial Officer Richard Baldwin said during a conference call with gaming analysts and investors. He said sales of the company's gaming-chip sorting device for roulette tables, which Shuffle Master unveiled last year after acquiring CARD, a European gaming equipment provider, grew during its first quarter, which ended Jan...read more

Renovations Bring Trump to New Level

LAS VEGAS -- New York developer Donald Trump doesn't like to do anything small. Take, for example, the task of completing the largest level of the $500 million Trump International Hotel & Tower, now under construction behind the New Frontier. Perini Building Co., the project's general contractor, is overseeing a two-day placement of approximately 2,100 cubic yards of concrete that will form the tower's sixth-floor recreational deck...read more

Higher Credit Card Processing Rates in Store for UK Online Gamblers

London-based banks Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Egg have revealed plans to begin treating consumer transactions that are used to pay for gambling services as cash advances, rather than as purchases of traditional goods and services. In doing so, the banks will subject gambling transactions to higher interest rates...read more