Everything about casinos, lotteries, racetracks, and other gambling businesses: news, design, and corporate intrigue.
In this week’s Green Felt Journal I look at how technology is changing the convention biz in Vegas: Getting conventions to come back isn’t going to be easy, though both the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority and several casinos are reporting more robust bookings next year. The challenge will be keeping these guests happy […]
Vegas convention tech in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, news about gambling, writingIt’s not every day that venting about the frustrating aspects of your job leads you to a column. But if you read my piece in the Las Vegas Business Press, you’ll see how I use some misconceptions about Las Vegas as an opportunity to set the record somewhat straight: Recently, for example, I received an
The complex Vegas story in LVBP Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingWell, son, when a mommy casino and a daddy casino love each other very much…oh, that’s not it. Basically, they come from gamblers, who graciously leave more than they take in bill validators and drop boxes in casinos across Nevada. But where exactly does most of this gambling take place? It seems obvious that a
Where do Nevada gaming revenues come from? Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s Thursday, so it’s time for another Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven. This week I look at the innovation of bilingual blackjack tables at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm: Richey has found that it’s a market loyal to casinos that offer good values for food and entertainment, something for which the Primm casinos are well
Bilingual blackjack in Vegas Seven Read More »
news about gambling, writingInteresting opinion piece from a Malaysian paper about the Singapore casinos: Since the opening of the two casinos in Singapore, some billionaires were reported to have lost a great amount of money while the two casinos were reported to have made impressive performances. Some suffered great losses while some made great gains. It is the
High rolling perspective from Singapore Read More »
news about gamblingIn my latest Las Vegas Business Press column, I dissect the August 2010 Nevada gaming numbers: And if your casino doesn't offer baccarat or high-end play, you might be out of luck. With only 22 out of the 329 casinos with nonrestricted licenses in the state 6.7 percent offering the game, only a few are
Baccarat doesn’t = back in LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business Press, news about gambling, writingThursday once again brings a new Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven. This week I talk about an event that I’m privileged to be a part of, Vegas Podcast-a-palooza: The event is called Vegas Podcast-a-palooza, and it brings together three prominent Las Vegas podcasts: the Vegas Gang, a roundtable discussion among several Vegas aficionados (including
Podcast-a-palooza in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, news about gambling, writingOne of the revelations from yesterday’s 3Q results announcement was that MGM has received an offer of about $250 million for the 50% share of the Borgata that the company is obliged to sell thanks to the Pansy Ho/Casino Control Commission imbroglio. The bigger isn’t named, but since it is mentioned that Boyd has the
Who’s the mystery bidder on .5(Borgata)? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingI response to a few questions, I put together some gaming revenue data and came up with Nevada Gaming Statistics: Year-to-Date Comparison, a look at how this year’s results stack up against last year’s. Found some interesting things. Statewide, in 2009 the January-August total revenue was $6,944,221,000. In 2010, it was $6,937,680,000. A decrease of
Nevada gaming year-to-date report is out Read More »
news about gamblingA while ago, I got a Twitter request for my thoughts on the Hard Rock lawsuit. Here they are, in the digital pages of the Las Vegas Business Press: There are several issues here. First is whether the “drunken debauchery” that the HRC folks accuse the HRH of allowing to take place somehow diminishes the
HRH, HRC thoughts in the LVBP Read More »
news about gambling, writingMaryland’s first slots parlor has just opened. From the Philly Inquirer: Tim Wilmott, chief operating officer and president of Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National Gaming Inc., joined Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in a ribbon-cutting for the $97.5 million casino, whose doors first opened to the public Monday after trial test days last weekend.O'Malley praised Penn National
Slots in MD offer more competition Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s Green Felt Journal time again. This week, I talk about the impact of football on Las Vegas in Vegas Seven: Even though Las Vegas doesn’t have an NFL team, football is a popular pastime in the city, and one that has a huge economic impact on the area.Yes, there are the Locomotives of the
Football’s local impact in Vegas Seven, and an award Read More »
news about gambling, writingPaul Goldberger has something to say about CityCenter in the latest New Yorker: But it’s been clear for a while that Las Vegas has been running out of themes. The trouble is that its effects rely entirely on dazzlement, an over-the-top gigantism that gets old fast. By this point, you could do a hotel that
My thoughts on the NYer CC piece Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s Thursday, so my long-awaited piece on Cosmo, 90 days out, is out in Vegas Seven: It hasn’t been easy for the Cosmopolitan. When ground was broken in October 2005, it was one of a crop of planned casinos that were going to re-make Las Vegas. The Palazzo, Encore and Aria opened, but Boyd Gaming
Countdown to the Cosmo in V7 Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve got a new article in the latest issue of Gaming Law Review and Economics, about the Wire Act: For a Camelot-era piece of legislation, the Wire Act has a long and unintended shadow. Used haltingly in the 1960s, when the Wire Act failed to deliver the death blow to organized crime, 1970’s Racketeer-Influenced and
Wire Act article in GLRE Read More »
news about gambling, writingChuck Darrow of the Philadelphia Inquirer offers a preview of the soon-to-open SugarHouse casino: At 45,000-and-change square feet, SugarHouse is by far the region's smallest betting parlor. This is a function of casino officials' sensitivity to the surrounding Fishtown neighborhood, residents of which did not want a supersized facility. Its surprisingly low ceilings add to
SugarHouse preview Read More »
news about gamblingIs it Thursday already? Then I’ve got something for you to read from Vegas Seven. This week, I talk about people leaving their kids in casino parking lots, which has reached crisis proportions in Pennsylvania: Take, for example, the recent flap in Bensalem, Pa. A whopping seven times this summer, parents or grandparents left minors
Tots in lots in Vegas Seven Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve been absent from blogging for a few days because of a few projects I’ve been working on. One of them is complete, and available for your perusal: the Casino Twitter Adoption study. Here’s the executive summary: Like other businesses, casinos have begun using the social network/information sharing service Twitter. The pattern of Twitter adoption
Vegas casino Twitter adoption Read More »
news about gambling, what's newIt’s a busy week, but I still had time for a Vegas Seven column about G2E moving: Over the course of a week, Las Vegas hosts conventions and trade expos for industries from baking to sheet metal. So it’s not surprising that the world’s premier casino industry trade show, the Global Gaming Expo, is held
G2E on the move in V7 Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve got another LVBP column up, in which I discuss whether looking at Nevada’s gaming numbers by quarters can yield any insights: The financial quarter is a handy time measure for evaluating the Nevada gaming industry’s recessionary progress. Three months is long enough to absorb monthly volatilities, but not as long as a year. Looking
Look at quarterlies in LVBP Read More »
news about gambling, writing