Featured Articles Archive - Page 739

Analysts Say Mandalay Report Doesn't Bode Ill for Other Properties

The less-than-stellar quarterly financial results that Mandalay Resort Group blamed on January's rainfall totals in Southern California doesn't forecast rough weather ahead for the rest of the Strip, gaming analysts said Friday. In its final earnings report as a publicly traded company before its $7.9 billion buyout by MGM Mirage is completed, Mandalay said its fourth-quarter earnings declined 28.1 percent from the prior year because January's rainfall -- three times above normal totals in the Los Angeles area, according to the National Weather Service -- kept many California visitors from making the drive to Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Unlike most traditional reporting periods, Mandalay's fourth quarter ended Jan...read more

Horoscope for the week of Mar 6, 2005

Tip of the Week: With unseasonably warm temperatures in the North West at least, many people are happy to have a break from the ravages of winter. At deeper levels however, one wonders if this unusual weather pattern is an aspect of larger natural cycles or is it due to global warming...read more

Mandalay Has Low-Key Goodbye

LAS VEGAS -- With little fanfare and the absence of a conference call with analysts, Mandalay Resort Group gave its fond farewell as a public company Thursday, announcing fourth-quarter and fiscal year earnings with a simple statement devoid of comments. The company, which will become part of MGM Mirage sometime this month once a $7.9 billion buyout is completed, reported net income of $229.1 million for the fiscal year that ended Jan...read more

Casinos' Work Force Numbers Dip

NEVADA -- More than 416,000 new jobs were created in Nevada over a 10-year period, but the state's hotel-casino industry accounted for only 12.7 percent of those positions, an economic impact study conducted for the Nevada Resort Association shows. "The association is sending the report, "The Facts About Gaming in Nevada," to state legislators, county and city elected officials and other policy-makers throughout the state. "Over that 10-year span, from 1993 to 2003, the casino sector's percentage of the state's total employment fell from 26 percent to 21 percent. ""But while the industry's share of employment was decreasing, the tax burden increased and the industry continued to fund about 50 percent of the state's general fund, primarily through industry specific taxes," the association's chairman, Station Casinos President Lorenzo Fertitta, wrote in a letter being mailed with copies of the 36-page report. "Association President Bill Bible said the report helps to spell out gaming's effect on Nevada using various economic indicators...read more

ESPN Introduces Free-Play Poker Site

The propulsion of poker into mainstream American culture was affirmed yet again yesterday as cable sports network ESPN announced the launch of several poker-related programs across its list of properties, including ESPN.com, ESPN Wireless, ESPN Books and ESPN Enterprises...read more

A Tale of Two Kinds of Companies

A lesson to be taken away from February's performance of Nevada's major gaming company stocks was that it's good to be a casino operator. For gaming equipment manufacturers, it's another story. The share prices for most of the major casino operators closed on high notes for the month, with some companies nearing or surpassing their 52-week highs...read more

New Jersey Senate Considers Regulated I-Gaming

A hearing held Monday by the New Jersey's Senate Committee on Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation could be a positive step for advocates of regulated Internet gambling. The discussion focused on whether the state should consider a regulatory approach toward I-gaming, and although the committee did not reach any notable conclusions, speakers provided relevant information that could be useful if regulation becomes a necessity. The prospect of the World Trade Organization mandating a federal law change in the United States was a main topic of discussion; the entire first half of the hearing addressed the international scope of Internet gambling in world trade courts. Professors Robert Stumberg and Sean Hewens, who traveled all the way from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, focused primarily on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which lies at the heart of Antigua's case against the United States in the WTO...read more

Aladdin, Culinary to Begin Contract Talks

Representatives of the Aladdin and Culinary Local 226 will begin negotiating a contract today that will cover about half of the Strip resort's total employees. Sessions are scheduled for both today and Wednesday and are being planned through April if necessary, Aladdin spokeswoman Amy Sadowsky said. The negotiations came about after a significant portion of the Strip resort's employees signed union authorization cards in December seeking representation by the state's largest labor organization. A contract would cover more than 1,600 workers through the Culinary and its associate organization, Bartenders Local 165...read more

Gambling Beyond Nevada: Casino Groups Pursue Singapore

Nevada's major casino companies all submitted bids Monday to develop a resort in Singapore that will include gaming to lure tourists to the island-state. Wynn Resorts Ltd., MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands Corp...read more

Nevadan At Work: Tjeerd Brink; Director of Finance, Palms

While he is a member of the executive team that oversees the Palms, you won't find Tjeerd Brink, the resort's finance director, hanging out at one of the property's trendy clubs or restaurants. On most weekends, Brink, 41, is more likely on one of the Las Vegas Valley's many soccer fields, watching his children's games. His family's activities offer Brink a much-needed escape from his multitude of duties at the Palms. A certified public accountant, Brink has had a varied career, working for some of the larger gaming operations (Caesars Palace and Harrah's) and some of Southern Nevada's most well-recognized names, including William Bennett, the late chairman of Circus Circus Enterprises; Hard Rock Hotel Chairman Peter Morton; real estate developer Jim Rhodes; and Palms developer George Maloof. At the privately held Palms, several areas fall under the auspices of the finance department, which might be different if the casino were part of a multiproperty organization. Brink has been with the Palms since 2001 and in Las Vegas since 1986...read more