Here is a classic “only in Atlantic City” story: the city’s casinos must ban smoking for a week because it will take that long for the city council to vote on delaying the ban for a year. Huh? From the AC Press: On Wednesday, Atlantic City is supposed to become the largest casino market in […]
The official investigation might have given the Donaghy affair the all-clear, but the numbers seem to tell another story. From Jeff Haney at the LV Sun: Throughout the saga of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy, Las Vegas sports betting analyst R.J. Bell has done a thorough job of examining the scandal from a point-spread perspective.
Stats tell a different story Read More »
news about gamblingJeff Haney over at the LV Sun’s had a bad run with Vegas sports books recently. In his latest column, he comes just short of calling for an immediate ban on all sports betting. Here’s the apex of the piece: My opinion of elected public officials places them slightly below Saturday morning scamdicapper slime on
Sporrts betting rampage Read More »
news about gamblingRight now, Missouri won’t let you lose more than $500 in its casinos in any single two-hour period, and you’ve got to swipe your player card to get “on board.” But that might change this election year, according to Forbes: Supporters say it doesn’t matter that the gambling industry wrote and bankrolled the promotion of
MO to lose loss limits? Read More »
news about gamblingWhen the Trop AC first went on sale (it seems like a decade ago), a newspaper reporter asked me how much I thought it would get. I considered the Sands’ recent selling price and made a quick mental tally of the Trop’s relative size. “$650 million, ” I replied. “Maybe $700 million. The next day,
What’s Trop worth? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingInteresting piece in the LA Times today about yet another one-day casino: Las Vegas casino openings typically demand red carpets, cocktail parties, celebrity guest lists and fireworks. But not so at the Queen of Hearts — it's a one-day casino. This spartan, eight-hour event is everything the Strip is not: small, unpretentious and quiet, with
With the on-going economic tough times, some casinos have tightened up their slot machines. Some have clamped down on comps. Others have fired people, while even more have just plain gotten cheap. But they still lead their customers to believe that their stays will be grandiose: patrons are promised world class dining, service, and entertainment.
Low expectations are funny Read More »
news about gamblingHey, maybe the Atlantic City Council reads this blog. It looks like they’re suddenly saying the same thing I was two weeks ago about Pinnacle. From the AC Press: In November 2006, the Sands Casino Hotel closed its doors to make way for incoming Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. At the time, Pinnacle Chairman Dan Lee said
Pinnacle deadlines? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThe state of Nevada gives you a pretty wide berth when it comes to where you put your slot machines. Mostly they are in age-restricted places like casinos and bars, but you can also find them in family-friendly supermarkets and airports. At the Reno-Tahoe Airport, you can literally buy a Happy Meal just feet away
Slotless bars in topless clubs Read More »
news about gamblingI’ve got two new articles elsewhere on the web, including a piece in the LVBP where I ponder the strangely-bifurcated marketing strategy at Paris Las Vegas: While browsing a popular online travel Web site recently, I noticed something strange: There are two major resort hotels at 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South. The listing for Paris
…but I see a silver lining. In fact, you could argue that things are getting a whole lot better. It’s just a matter of perspective. Specifically, we’re talking about July’s Nevada gaming revenues being down. From the LV Sun: For the seventh straight month, casino winnings on the Strip slumped, falling 14.6 percent in July
Things are getting worse… Read More »
news about gamblingSince I’ve been downtown on other business lately, I’ve had the opportunity to update, at last, the Downtown Las Vegas Casino Carpet Gallery. There are some neat things happening down there, and some not-so-neat things. My favorite “new” carpet (since the last time I’d taken pictures) has to be the California’s: it puts a new,
Downtown revisited Read More »
news about gamblingAfter surviving in Atlantic City, “electronic poker” is finally in Vegas. From the LVRJ: A Las Vegas poker dealer, who for obvious reasons did not want to give his name, had conflicting reactions while trying out the new electronic poker tables at the Excalibur. As a dealer, he hated the 10-player tables which are fully
Robo-poker at the Excal Read More »
news about gamblingThis probably isn’t new, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it, and I thought it was interesting. Apparently, there are two hotels at 3655 LV Blvd South. Sure, Paris Las Vegas is there, but according to Orbitz so is this place, which gets its own entry: Gay Paris Las Vegas 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard
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 gambling