Everything about casinos, lotteries, racetracks, and other gambling businesses: news, design, and corporate intrigue.
My old stomping ground the Trump Taj Mahal has gotten a makeover and is getting a new hotel tower. From the AC Press: They are de-Tajing the Taj. First they ripped out the gaudy pink and purple hues that dominated the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resorts over-the-top decor since the 1990s. Then they converted the […]
Things are slow in Vegas, maybe, but they’re even slower in Mesquite. From the LVRJ: If you think the slowing economy has hit casino operators in Las Vegas hard, travel 80 miles northeast to Mesquite. Black Gaming, operator of three hotel-casinos in the town, reported an operational loss of $15 million for the quarter ended
Mesquite losing streak Read More »
news about gamblingI can’t take credit for discovering these–they were forwarded to me by my Reno correspondent. They are a series of commercials for Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City. If you’ve got two minutes to spend, it’s worth it:
I don’t think you’ll see officials in Nevada, or anywhere else in the US, adopting this approach any time soon. From Bloomberg: South Korea’s National Gaming Control Commission yesterday said it intended to limit total annual revenue of the gambling industry, including horse racing, lottery tickets and casinos, to about 14 trillion won $13.4 billion.
Limiting gambling in South Korea Read More »
news about gamblingThis was a really funny piece from the LV Sun: At least on the surface, this is a fight about a number: 7. That digit is the only difference between the phone number of Michael Kolar’s income tax filing business, 866-MR-REFUN (866-677-3386), and the number people dial when they have questions about any of the
I caught this wide-eyed Vegas puff piece on an Australian news website, and I had to laugh. I’ll spare you the article, but here are the tips. I’ll let my readers deconstruct them at will. From NEWS.com.au: # Stay on The Strip. All the action is there and everywhere else is a bust. Try to
Vegas tips from Oz Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingA psychological study unveiled at the convention of the American Psychological Association makes a bold claim: that 2 percent of all gamblers account for nearly 25 percent of all casino wins and losses. From Science Daily: In another study, psychologist Arch G. Woodside, PhD, of Boston College, and Ralph Perfetto, PhD, of the University of
Gambling study makes provocative claim Read More »
news about gamblingThere’s a good piece on the far, far south M Resort in the LV Sun. Here’s some of the most interesting bit, but you should read the whole piece: The M Resort, at the southwest corner of St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boulevard, more than 10 miles south of Mandalay Bay, will be the
I’ve been meaning to sit down and do a comparative analysis of casino and lotteries revenues over the past year, to see whether the economic downturn (ED) is causing people to gamble less, or just forcing them to curtail trips to Las Vegas and other gaming destinations (and even local venues). Lo and behold, someone’s
Lottery records falling Read More »
news about gamblingThere’s a new study on online gambling, and the authors think that playing online should be regulated. From the LV Sun: Gamblers in the UNLV study weren’t asked about gambling addiction, but rather what gambling meant to them and what motivated them to gamble online versus in bricks-and-mortar casinos. Researchers asked gamblers, 20 of whom
Online gaming study Read More »
news about gamblingSteve Wynn doesn’t think much of the blogosphere. And I agree with him on this point. In many cases, would-be pundits’ reach exceeds their comprehension. From the LVRJ: Wynn, who controls 24 million shares of the company’s 111.8 million outstanding shares, is bullish on the future, not only for Wynn Resorts but the gaming industry
Wynn hates bloggers Read More »
news about gamblingMy latest piece in the LVBP is small consolation for folks who’ve got a significant chunk of their net worth tied up in gaming stocks, but hey, there’s a reason that they call it “gambling.” I’ll spoil you with the last two paragraphs, from the LVBP: Today, with fears of an economic downturn souring even
I assume that Rainawari is somewhere in the Kashmir, but from this story, I imagine that it’s quite different from Las Vegas. From Greater Kashmir Online Edition: The residents of Mirzabagh, Mughal Mohalla, Rainawari and other adjoining areas Tuesday alleged that the areas have become hub of gamblers. A delegation from the areas told Greater
A story you’ll never hear in Vegas Read More »
news about gamblingMy latest Business Press column is out, in which I turn an offhand comment by an LA Times movie reviewer into grist for 550 words about Fake Vegas. From the LVBP: Casinos, certainly, have taken their place as legitimate businesses, and a former Harvard business professor runs the world’s biggest gaming company. So it’s not
Fake Vegas explored Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingIn a story that has only one obvious typo–nice work, editors!–we learn that, if you give people something besides warmed-over singers and comics in your showrooms, you can actually attract new people to Atlantic City casinos. Outstanding! From the AC Press: Casino shows used to feature aging crooners and old comics like Henny Youngman, who
‘Lifestyle celebs’ in AC Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingMost everyone knows that gaming revenues have dipped a bit, but it’s not every day that the Economist covers Las Vegas, so here it is: THE media had a field day recently when Charles Barkley, a retired basketball player, was forced to pay a gambling debt of $400,000 owed to Wynn Resorts, a Las Vegas
The Economist on Vegas Read More »
news about gamblingHey, they’ve finally posted my latest piece in the Las Vegas Business Press. Here’s a taste: The economy, as the blurb that crawls across your television screen says, is bad. Really bad. And don’t you forget it. For those dealing in luxury goods and services, the perception of an economic decline is just as ruinous
The economy and room rates Read More »
news about gamblingAnd the phones? What kind of office is this? Ah, it’s OK. Shelly Levine just closed a big deal. None of that will make anything approaching sense if you’ve never seen Glengary Glen Ross, but trust me, it does. All of this is my lead-in to what is surely the casino caper of the decade:
They took the leads? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingI and pretty much anyone else who’s ever seriously studied gambling have often said that people will bet on anything. Some proof to support that contention? I offer into evidence the $1.2 billion Indians reportedly bet on monsoons each year. From Online Casino Advisory: Itinerant traders spread the tradition of monsoon betting in the 1800s;
That could mean that you’re driving up to Vegas from LA and ran out of gas before you got too far. But in this case, it’s about a group of thousands of admitted problem gamblers who’ve filed a class action lawsuit against the government corporation that owns Ontario (Canada) casinos. From the CBC: A $3.5-billion