Featured Articles Archive - Page 735

Wynn Revels in Magic Moments

Unlike Steve Wynn's previous hotel unveilings, when man-made volcanoes, dancing water fountains, pirate battles and pyrotechnic building implosions signaled a new beginning, the lifting of the wall of silence surrounding the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas won't be any more than a simple countdown on the resort's marquee. Many of the features at the 2,716-room Wynn Las Vegas, which was built on the former Desert Inn site that Wynn purchased after selling Mirage Resorts, have been hidden and void of discussion during the construction phase. Only in the past few weeks has Wynn begun to give more verbal descriptions about the resort's public amenities, which he often refers to as "experiences" or "moments." After a design and construction period in which the Desert Inn was demolished and the golf course renovated, Wynn Las Vegas is ready to be judged by the public, opening five years to the date the casino developer completed the purchase of the Desert Inn on wife Elaine's birthday. "Bobby Baldwin (Wynn's former chief executive) told me the beauty contest starts in April," Wynn said last week...read more

Boyd Gaming Coasts to Profitable Quarter

For the second straight quarter, results from the four Coast Casinos properties that Boyd Gaming purchased last year helped send the company's earnings to record levels. But throughout its quarterly conference call with analysts Monday, and in the interviews afterward, Boyd executives were quick to emphasize that results for the company's first quarter of 2005 were widespread. "All our operating units reported increases, and this certainly shows that we are a diversified company," Boyd Gaming President Keith Smith said...read more

Union Seeking Station Changes

Three proposals backed by Culinary Local 226 that could change corporate governance at Station Casinos will be presented to shareholders at the company's annual meeting next month. An official with the local affiliate of UNITE HERE said Monday that the union had received permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to seek shareholder approval of the measures...read more

Horoscope for the Week of April 24, 2005

Tip of the Week The last week of winter is upon us and soon it will be spring. With unseasonably warm temperatures this winter, one wonders if spring will be like summer. Is this a natural cycle or is it a consequence of global warming? It is difficult not to assume a business as usual attitude due to the pressures of reality, yet if this weather patter is a result of our modern civilization then we have a lot of renovations to do...read more

Wynn Las Vegas: The Unveiling

As he was preparing for the opening of The Mirage in 1989, Steve Wynn seemed taken aback by the attention. The resort -- the first new Strip development in almost two decades -- was the subject of lavish praise for its "tropical oasis in the desert" theme and financial scrutiny for its unheard of $630 million price tag. Writers from national and local publications toured the property prior to its opening and authored glowing accounts of the white Y-shaped building, lush decor, expensive palm trees, faux volcano and the plans to bring dolphins to what once was mostly vacant desert land. A pre-scandalized Michael Jackson made the yet-to-be opened Mirage his personal playground...read more

Bellagio Unveils Table Game Version of Texas Hold 'em

The company responsible for bringing the World Poker Tour to an estimated cable television audience of 5 million weekly viewers now wants to offer a variation of the popular Texas hold 'em game to casino patrons. Bellagio began a 90-day field trial Friday of World Poker Tour All-In Hold 'em, which is played on a table similar to blackjack, but where players wager against the dealer and not each other. The Strip resort has one game in its main casino...read more

MGM Mirage-Mandalay Megadeal Close to Completion

ILLINOIS -- Illinois gaming regulators Thursday gave MGM Mirage the last necessary approval for the company to close its $7.9 billion purchase of the Mandalay Resort Group on Monday. The Illinois Gaming Board voted 4-0 (one member was absent) to move Mandalay's 50 percent ownership in the Grand Victoria riverboat casino into an escrow account that will be managed by a trustee. MGM Mirage said in a statement that the company expects to complete the merger once Mandalay establishes the escrow account and closes on the sale of its MotorCity Casino in Detroit...read more

Casino Earnings: MGM Mirage Still Roaring

Unlike other casino operators that tipped their hands to Wall Street in recent weeks about better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, MGM Mirage kept a tight lid on its hole card. Only Tuesday, when the company announced quarterly earnings that exceeded all predictions, did MGM Mirage officials reveal they were concealing a stacked deck.Advertisement "We never like to count our chickens before they hatch, but we were feeling pretty good about our numbers in January and February," MGM Mirage President and Chief Financial Officer Jim Murren said. "Each of our properties had record revenues, cash flows and income...read more

Rebranding of Hotel into Hooters Property Outlined

Richard Langlois summed up the $130 million renovation that will turn the aging Hotel San Remo into the Hooters Casino Hotel by February with a comparison that could make a teenage boy chuckle. "It's basically a Hooters on steroids," said Langlois, the property's executive vice president...read more

Gambling Beyond Nevada: Casinos OK'd in Singapore

Singapore announced Monday that it would allow construction of a pair of Las Vegas-style casinos, giving two gaming operators a potential for a significant revenue jump by the end of the decade. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed the government's decision to end a four decades-long ban on casino gaming in an address to Parliament after months of mulling the economic pros and social cons of gambling.Advertisement The government decided to allow two casinos in the city-state, one as part of a resort with other attractions on the island of Sentosa, with the other near downtown at Marina Bay on Singapore's main island...read more