Atlantic City  /  Biloxi  /  International  /  Reno  /  Las Vegas

Atlantic City

April 13 2001
i2corp.com's President Chris Almida Makes Guest Appearance On WWAC-TV 53 Atlantic City ''Casino Connection'' Television Show
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2001--i2corp.com (OTCBB:ITOO - news) President Chris Almida was an invited guest on the one-hour live talk TV show Casino Connection WWAC-TV 53 in Atlantic City which focuses on gaming industry news and ``inside'' information for players
Full Story

April 13 2001
Tropicana gives board details on expansion
ATLANTIC CITY — Officials from the Tropicana Casino and Resort offered a more detailed presentation of their expansion plans at a special Zoning Board meeting Wednesday but faced tough questioning about possible traffic, lighting and safety concerns from the attorney representing the neighboring Brighton Towers Condominium Association.
Full Story

April 7 2001
Atlantic City casinos improve efficiency in 2000
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Atlantic City casinos posted stronger year-on-year profit gains than revenues gains in 2000 in a sign that properties are becoming more efficient in their operations, analysts said Thursday.
Full Story

April 5 2001
Casino Connection, the nation's only weekly television program dedicated exclusively to casino gambling
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - WWAC-TV 53 in Atlantic City and Players Network today announced that Casino Connection, the nation's only weekly television program dedicated exclusively to casino gambling, will debut this week on broadcast television and the Internet. The one-hour live talk show will be broadcast on television every Wednesday at 9 p.m. EDT, with a focus on gaming industry news and "inside" information for players. The hosts for Casino Connection are Roger Gros, former Senior Editor of Casino Player magazine, author of "The Winner's Guide to Casino Gambling" and acknowledged national gaming expert; and Dave Bontempo, the Award-Winning Color Commentator for ESPN and other network sporting events.
Full Story

April 4 2001
Concerns grow with numbers of senior gamblers
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (AP) -- The chartered bus from Brooklyn was just one of hundreds that roll into the depots of Atlantic City's huge casinos each day. The passengers disembarked, some spry and feisty, a few inching down the steps with their canes
Full Story

April 3 2001
Quote of the week
“One of the things I have to hold myself back from is to immediately get on with a concept that I think would take Atlantic City to the next level. I know the Marina (District) has great plans and aspirations, but the Marina is a landfill. The Boardwalk is the Boardwalk and the sea is the sea.”
Thomas Barrack Jr., chairman and CEO of Colony Capital LLC, explaining the development opportunities with Resorts Atlantic City, which his company bought Friday from Sun International Hotels Ltd. for $140 million.

Biloxi

April 1 2001
Dockside loses roll of the dice
Gambling measure looks almost dead in Legislature
Casino lobbyists by the dozens staggered from the room as though punch-drunk after an Indiana Senate committee swiftly killed dockside gambling Wednesday.
Click Here For Full Story

April 30 2001
Australians gambling away billions
Australians gambled away $13.3 billion in the last financial year, losses equivalent to around $930 per person, official figures show. Gambling turnover surged 10 percent to $113 billion in 1999/2000, and Australian gamblers threw away 3.5 percent of their disposable income on the habit.
More...

April 26 2001
Israelis forbidden in Gaza casinos
TEL AVIV, Israel, (UPI) -- Foreign Minister Shimon Peres Tuesday seemed inclined to allow Israelis into a Palestinian casino in Jericho but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quashed the idea.
More...

April 26 2001
Mexico's Fox would support legalizing casinos
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox, who is pressing Congress to pass tax reforms to raise government income, said on Tuesday he would support legalizing casinos, seen as a way to bring in more taxes and boost tourism.
More...

April 25 2001
Gaming Internet signs Australia deal
Gaming Internet has agreed a content distribution deal with Australia’s Sky Channel as it gears up for the UK launch of its idTV greyhound racing service in June. As part of the three-year deal, Sky Channel will provide a minimum of 880 races to gobarkingmad which has already agreed five year exclusive licenses with 31 greyhound tracks from the US, Europe, North Africa and Asia Pacific.
More...

April 23 2001
Merger costs cut into Casino Data earnings
Casino Data Systems, a Las Vegas casino game software designer, reported a decrease in first-quarter earnings as the company prepares for a $180.5 million merger with an Australian company.
More...

April 21 2001
China cracks down on Internet cafes
(IDG) -- Tough new laws imposed on Internet cafes in China could affect millions of people who use the shops as their link to the Internet.
More...

April 20 2001
Court gives PAF right to maintain online gambling site
(INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS via COMTEX) - 
The Finnish supreme court has decided that PAF, the Aland Islands Slot Machine Association, is allowed to set up an online gambling site.
More...

April 20 2001
Carr announces Gaming Machine freeze
(AEST) NEW South Wales Premier Bob Carr has announced a three-month freeze on gaming machines in hotels across the state. Mr. Carr said the move preceded the government's release of a gambling reform package expected later this year.
More...

April 20 2001
Crime web hits casino
INTERNATIONAL casino cheats, extortionists, standover men and loan sharks have been caught working their scams at Crown casino.
More...

April 19 2001
Smi: Online & Offline Sports Gambling
In light of the recent abolition of 6.75pc levy on bets and replacing it with a 15pc tax on bookmakers' gross profits, there are major repercussions for both offline and online betting. For example, UK companies are more than likely to relocate their offshore trading into the UK. SMi conferences is running a 2-day event focused on the tax, legal and social implications of both offline & online sports gambling
More...

April 18 2001
Lithuanian parliament legalizes gambling for the first time
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) Vilnius (dpa) - The Lithuanian parliament passed a bill on gambling taxes Tuesday, thereby completing a new body of laws that will legalise gambling.
More...

April 18 2001
Bangkok Officials Losing Their Fight Against Casinos
Bangkok Post - Tough police crackdowns on gambling in the country have driven Thais to try their luck in casinos in neighbouring countries which have mushroomed along the border. There are now more than 20 casinos operating on the Thai border with Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Malaysia.
More...

April 16 2001
Legal casinos may now be on the cards For Thailand
LEGAL gambling could save the country Bt25 billion a year, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee says. With export earnings expected to be crimped by the global economic slowdown this year, the committee will ask the Senate to study opening casinos in Thailand to plug the drain of capital.
More...

April 15 2001
Antigua aims for silicon makeover
While some see Internet gambling as a scourge, Nelson Simon is possessed by its promise as he gazes at the new technology center being built amid the rolling, golden hills in this Caribbean island’s free-trade zone.
More...

April 14 2001
ICC Foils Online Banking Scam
PARIS (AP) - The International Chamber of Commerce says it foiled an online banking scam that sought to defraud would-be investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Full Story

April 13 2001
Australia's Aristocrat Close To Finalizing Casino Deal
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Australian gambling machine maker Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. (A.ALL) said Thursday it expects to finalize its US$180.5 million acquisition of Las Vegas-based Casino Data Systems (CSDS) by the end of June.
Aristocrat said it is working with its lawyers and advisers to obtain any outstanding regulatory approvals.
"Aristocrat is not anticipating any significant setback and expects completion will occur late in the first half of calendar 2001," it said
Click Here For Full Story

April 12 2001
S. African Minister speaks out against gambling laws
CAPE TOWN, APRIL 10. For the third time in the past one week, the Minister for Social Development, Dr Zola Skweyia, has called for review of the laws governing gambling in the country. Dr Skweyia is the first Minister of the national Government to come out in public with a dissenting view on the official policy. Some weeks ago, Mr. Peter Miller, the Member, Executive Council, for Finance in the KwaZulu-Natal Government, had expressed similar criticism.
Click Here For Full Story

April 10 2001
Britain embraces Internet gambling
Lending new legitimacy to online gambling, Great Britain on Wednesday dumped its tax on sports betting in exchange for a pledge by its famed bookmakers to shut down their offshore Internet operations and reopen them at home. One bookmaker said the change could turn the United Kingdom into “the hub of the global gambling industry.”
Click Here For Full Story

International

April 4 2001
Pokemon Banned As Gambling And Un-Islamic
Saudi Arabia has banned the popular children's video and card game Pokemon, saying it promoted gambling and un-Islamic teachings. In a directive obtained by Reuters on Saturday, the commerce ministry said the ban on Pokemon goods was in line with a recent edict by the kingdom's top Islamic authority aimed at "protecting the Muslims' ideology as well as their morals and money."
Click Here For Full Story

April 4 2001
AC&G Software Ltd. Announces First Blackjack World Championship Played On Wireless PDA
TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2001--The stakes are high in the first global wireless blackjack championship, launched late last week by AC&G Software Ltd. Players can download the game from the official BlackJack World Championship site, http://www.blackjackchamp.com, and play against each other for free on their Palm Pilots or Palm OS compatible PDA devices, vying for the monthly grand prize of $10,000 cash.
Full Story

April 4 2001
London Clubs hit by Vegas venture
Casino company fails to cash in on Aladdin investment
London Clubs has repeatedly come under fire from shareholders and analysts for its investment in the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas "strip" which has so far cost the group one profit warning and forced it to refinance.
Click Here For Full Story

April 3 2001
Oneidas Are Betting on Mexican Casinos
CHICAGO - The casino-rich Oneida Indian Nation in upstate New York made an agreement with officials of Mexico today to develop and manage Las Vegas-style casinos in the Pacific Coast tourist resorts of Acapulco and Mazatlan.
Click Here For Full Story

April 02 2001
Macao’s casinos look to future
Gamblers at Macao’s 10 casinos kept rolling when the enclave pulled down the Portuguese flag in December 1999 and the People’s Liberation Army hoisted the red flag of Communist China. But now the enclave’s lucrative gaming business, owned by entertainment giant Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macao (STDM), looks set for major changes.
Click Here For Full Story

April 02 2001
Casino Prevents Stirke
Casino Windsor management and union officials have reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike set to begin Sunday.
Click Here For Full Story

Reno

April 28 2001
Ensign: Nevada casinos gaining momentum in NCAA fight
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Nevada casinos still face an uphill battle to beat back a proposed ban on betting on college sports but they gained some important momentum at a congressional hearing this week, Sen. John Ensign said Friday.
Click Here For Full Story

April 11 2001
Casino lost and found items run the gamut
What do the millions of visitors to the Reno-Tahoe area leave behind in addition to a welcome
contribution to the economy?
Just about everything, according to housekeepers and
security guards at the area’s hotel-casinos.
Click Here For Full Story

Las Vegas

April 28 2001
Bellagio is shattering industry profit records
A resort built at a cost of $1.6 billion has a very high bar to surpass before it can live up to its potential  ... 
F ull Story

April 28 2001
Mandalay Bay plans mammoth center
Mandalay Resort Group moved to become a force in the huge Las Vegas convention industry Thursday, unveiling plans to build a 1.8 million square-foot convention center at its flagship property on the Strip  ... 
F ull Story

April 20 2001
International Experts to Discuss Gaming Regulation
LAS VEGAS /PRNewswire/ -- As casino gaming continues its pioneering march into 30 of the Union's 50 states, gaming regulations have risen from the dust gaming's rapid spread has left in its wake. These regulations are as dynamic as modern technology itself and have left operators, regulators and legislators alike wondering if less is more.
More...

April 19 2001
Harrah's adds surcharge to offset energy costs
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following the lead of other major hotels, casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has added a $3-per-night room surcharge in Nevada to help offset energy prices that have risen as much as 30 percent in the last six months, a Harrah's spokesman said Thursday.
More...

April 18 2001
Argosy To Buy Illinois Casino
ALTON, Ill. (AP) -- Argosy Gaming Co. is buying the Empress Casino and Hotel in Joliet for $465 million in a sale Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp. was forced to make under pressure from the Illinois Gaming Board.
More...

April 17 2001
Proposed increase in gaming tax is voted down again
CARSON CITY -- Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, a frequent critic of the Nevada gaming industry, softened his plan to tax the big casinos Thursday but it still met defeat -- as it has in several years past.
More...

April 16 2001
Calendar Quirk Leads to 7-Percent Drop in Las Vegas Casino Revenues
Chinese New Year's helped Strip casinos win more from gamblers in January, but the absence of the high-rollers' holiday in February contributed to the state's biggest year-over-year drop in monthly gaming revenue in three years, figures released Tuesday by the Gaming Control Board show. Nevada casinos won $698.9 million from gamblers in February, down 7 percent from the $751.6 million won in February 2000.
Full Story

April 16 2001
Luxury Resort Is Unveiled in Las Vegas, Area
Former Caesars boss Henry Gluck said he doesn't miss the high life of the Las Vegas gambling industry because he's still allowed to express his creativity as co-chairman of Santa Barbara, Calif-based Transcontinental Properties Inc. Gluck was on hand Wednesday during a multimedia presentation on MonteLago Village, the planned centerpiece of a $5 billion luxury resort his company is developing in partnership with Vancouver, British Columbia-based Intrawest Corp. at Lake Las Vegas.
Full Story

April 16 2001
Mandalay Resort Group Selects SRD's Near Real-Time Data Warehouse Solution
LAS VEGAS - Systems Research and Development (SRD), a Las Vegas-based developer of strategic systems, has licensed its Near Real-Time Data Warehouse solution to Mandalay Resort Group Inc. (NYSE:MBG). The SRD Near Real-Time Data Warehouse solution will provide Mandalay Resort Group the ability to instantly recognize customer value across all of its entertainment properties. SRD's warehousing technology is kept current to within seconds of its contributing operational systems.
More...

April 15 2001
Riviera shareholders to vote on political disclosure
When shareholders of Riviera Holdings Corp. gather for their annual meeting next month, they'll consider a proposal that would require the company to disclose its contributions to candidates for public office.
Full Story

April 15 2001
Lake Las Vegas developer proposes relaxation of gaming licensing rule
Henry Gluck believes Nevada gaming authorities aren't doing enough to encourage new companies and new investors to put money into the state's gaming industry.
Full Story

April 14 2001
Alliance starts season with strong numbers
Increased revenue in several divisions and reduced corporate expenses resulted in record quarterly earnings for Alliance Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas -- the first big local gambling industry company to report earnings for the January-March quarter . 
Full Story

April 13 2001
MGM MIRAGE to Broadcast First Quarter Conference Call Live Via the Internet
LAS VEGAS, MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGG - news) today announced that the Company's first quarter conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet on Thursday, April 19, 2001. The Company will begin the Webcast at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Individuals can access the Webcast through our website at www.mgmmirage.com and at www.streetfusion.com. The call will also be made available on replay through streetfusion.com and our website for seven days following the call.
Full Story

April 13 2001
Mandalay Resort Group Selects SRD's Near Real-Time Data Warehouse Solution
Company Cites Proven Technology, Implementation Speed and Lower Total Cost of Ownership
LAS VEGAS - Systems Research and Development (SRD), a Las Vegas-based developer of strategic systems, has licensed its Near Real-Time Data Warehouse solution to Mandalay Resort Group Inc. (NYSE:MBG - news).
Full Story

April 13 2001
i2corp.com's President Chris Almida Makes Guest Appearance On WWAC-TV 53 Atlantic City ''Casino Connection'' Television Show
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2001--i2corp.com (OTCBB:ITOO - news) President Chris Almida was an invited guest on the one-hour live talk TV show Casino Connection WWAC-TV 53 in Atlantic City which focuses on gaming industry news and ``inside'' information for players
Full Story

April 13 2001
Bally Gaming and Systems Named as Partner in First Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Embedded Rapid Development Program
LAS VEGAS, - Alliance Gaming Corp. (Nasdaq: ALLY - news) announced today that its Bally Gaming and Systems business unit has been selected by the Microsoft Corp. as a partner in the first Windows XP Embedded Rapid Development Program.
Full Story

April 13 2001
3 Gaming Companies on Fortune 500 list
Park Place Entertainment ranked 355th with 2000 revenue of $4.9 billion, followed by Harrah’s Entertainment at 470th, $3.5 billion; MGM Mirage at 496th, $3.2 billion; Mandalay Resort Group at 584th, $2.5 billion; and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts at 936th, $1.4 billion.

April 12 2001
Nevada recorded its worst dip in gaming revenues in more than three years
The state's largest casinos won $698.8 million before taxes and business expenses, down $52.8 million or 7 percent from February 2000, the state Gaming Control Board reported this morning. The drop was more precipitous on the Las Vegas Strip, where win fell 12.3 percent to $337 million. Add the famed Colosseum of Rome to that list.
Full Story

April 12 2001
Caesars project to include Colosseum replica
In recent years Las Vegas has become famous for re-creating the wonders of the world along the Strip; the Eiffel Tower, the canals of Venice, the Statue of Liberty, the pyramids of Egypt.
Full Story

April 11 2001
Blackpool's towering gamble
The tycoon planning a Las Vegas-style makeover to revitalise the Golden Mile is meeting opposition.
Monday morning in the off-season at Blackpool and the resort's famous Golden Mile is almost deserted. A gale is whipping in off the Irish Sea, battering billboards advertising forthcoming shows starring Alvin Stardust, the Grumbleweeds and Roy "Chubby" Brown.
Full Story

April 11 2001
Nevada association backs bill
A Nevada technology association has thrown its support behind a legislative bill that aims to legalize Internet gambling for Nevada hotel-casino operators.
Full Story

April 10 2001
Legal Internet Gaming in Nevada?
CARSON CITY -- A bill to legalize On-line gaming would allow the state's Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board to license hotel-casinos that want to launch Internet gaming sites. If the measure passes this legislative session and is signed by Gov. Kenny Guinn, it will be the first such law in the nation.
Full Story

April 9 2001
Las Vegas Crime....No More Mob
It used to be Tony Spilotro and 'Lefty' Rosenthal making the news. A cowboy got drunk and angry at his girlfriend, the one who financially had been supporting him, and he killed her in the employee parking lot after she got off from work. A guest who had won a few bucks, got mugged on his way to his car in the casino parking lot. A decomposed body was found in the desert east of Sunrise Mountain.
Click Here For Full Story 

April 8 2001
Texas company plans two more power plants near Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Houston company plans to build two new power plants near Las Vegas to serve the megawatt-starved West. Reliant Energy Inc. executives said they will spend $500 million to build two plants near Primm, Nev., 43 miles south of Las Vegas near the California state line.
Full Story

April 7 2001
LV resort fined for treatment of workers
The Las Vegas Strip's Excalibur hotel-casino will pay more than $50,000 in civil penalties and backpay to 22 of its hotel and casino workers to settle charges of workplace discrimination, the government said.
Full Story

April 7 2001
Company posts loss for 2000
Players Network Inc. of Las Vegas reported a loss of $1.2 million, or 14 cents per share, for the year ending Dec. 31. That's essentially unchanged from last year, though loss per share was reduced by 9 cents per share due to a large increase in shares outstanding.
Full Story

April 7 2001
Mogul Soon to be Coronated ''King of Las Vegas''
His Concept Genesis Gaming a New Trend of Gaming on the Casino Floor
With Wall Street buzzing and the world waiting to exhale, who is Fabrizio Boccardi?
What is this "Genesis" gaming? Who is this man, this entrepeneur, real estate mogul, media darling, advance man? This young (32 to be exact), affluent Italian emigre moves throughout the most elite of Hollywood circles as easily as he does Europe's premier royal families.
Full Story

April 6 2001
Venetian hit by bad luck, must rely on Adelson
The parent company of the Las Vegas Strip's Venetian megaresort is warning it will likely need to rely on credit from owner Sheldon Adelson to keep from falling out of compliance with its credit agreements.
Full Story

April 6 2001
Hospitality executives recognize privacy concerns 
Hospitality executives and analysts see mobile phones, the Internet and other techno-gadgets as a way to better track their customers' habits in order to better serve them. But they also agree there is a sliding curve where too much data-collecting of the customer could appear intrusive and make them "flee for the exits."
Full Story

April 5 2001
Aladdin struggles to make it on the Strip
The $1.3 billion Aladdin Hotel and Casino, the Las Vegas Strip's newest mega-resort, has struggled in its initial months of operation and may fail to meet upcoming financial obligations without a debt restructuring or cash infusion, according to a filing by the company Monday.
Full Story

April 03 2001
Nevada aims to be first in Web Gaming
CARSON CITY -- Nevada has the ability to be the first state to enter the multi-billion dollar Internet gaming market, witnesses testified this morning. 
 Full Story

April 02 2001
Casinos on the move
Despite larger-scale plans, only one of Detroit's three casinos will move to the city's riverfront, Mayor Dennis Archer announced. The city and the casinos reached the tentative agreement Thursday, after earlier secret discussions in Las Vegas.
Click Here For Full Story

April 02 2001
Dicey Outlook for New Casino
The gaming industry acknowledges that the Strip is overbuilt and the economy is cooling. Vegas-watchers expect the Aladdin to be the most spectacular casualty, calling it a case study in what not to do and how not to do it when building a casino.
Click Here For Full Story

April 1 2001
Finding freebies in Las Vegas
How much of your hard-earned money are you willing to put on the line gambling? Whether you play the market, buy a lottery ticket or head to Las Vegas, you accept the risk and hope luck is on your side, even when the odds are against you.
Click Here For Full Story