Story Archive

Station refines art of hiring en masse

Casino company’s efforts apparent in Aliante search

Thursday, July 24, 2008

In this economy, an employment center is an unlikely place to find an upbeat group.

MGM Mirage chief upbeat amid drumbeat of downturn

Thursday, July 24, 2008

MGM Mirage executives seem willing of late to go out on a limb, what with the company’s chief executive proposing a controversial increase in the business payroll tax to shore up the state budget.

Dressing down: Web gambling’s hallmark

UNLV study finds online betting areas thick with bullying, foul-mouthed players, repelling some, enticing others

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The long-running debate over whether to legalize Internet gambling has usually focused on its potential to be more addictive than gambling in a casino.

A new way of wagering

Monday, July 21, 2008

Imagine being able to lay a bet on a New England Patriots-Green Bay Packers game while eating at a casino buffet, instead of being stuck in a smoky sports book.

New sports book chain stresses service

Lucky’s will offer custom lines, made while customers wait

Monday, July 21, 2008

For many gamblers, placing a bet in a sports book doesn’t have the glamour of a blackjack game or the comfort level of a whirring slot machine.

Why Cosmopolitan’s credit collapse accentuates positive in Strip outlook

Interest of prominent buyers suggests long-term health

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Cosmopolitan, which sits half-built in the middle of the Strip, has been held up as a symbol of Las Vegas’ doubtful future. But experienced hotel operators, including Hilton and Hyatt, are lining up to acquire it. Evidently, some investors still think Las Vegas is a good long-term bet.

Wynn defies Wall Street ‘wisdom’

Despite tough times, he keeps spending, thinking long term

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Around the time MGM Mirage was trimming its management ranks and the tourism slowdown — only hinted at in research statistics and earnings reports — had become a hard fact in Las Vegas, competitor Steve Wynn was playing it cool.

Banks, buyers loath to seal condo deals

A few bright spots, but closing process slows overall

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Selling high-rise condominiums in this town and closing escrow on them are separate challenges in today’s economy, a Sun analysis has found. Of 2,558 units that opened escrow this year in projects of 50 or more units, 77 percent are still in escrow.

Slot giants seek offshore expertise

Bally, IGT say India has more qualified software engineers than U.S. does

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Las Vegas casino giants are eyeing big profits in Macau, the port city in China that has overtaken the Las Vegas Strip in gambling volume. And now local companies that make slot machines and related equipment for the world’s casinos are looking to yet another far-flung locale for talent.

N.J. appeals court upholds Tropicana license revocation

Ruling hailed by Nevada official, who says it could strengthen regulatory control

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Casino regulators across the country are breathing a sigh of relief after an appeals court in New Jersey affirmed a December decision by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission not to renew the gaming license for the operator of the Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Survey: Gas prices deter Southern Californians

Poll finds area’s gamblers cut back visits by one-third, betting by one-fifth

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Southern California gamblers who regularly drive to Las Vegas have cut back their visits by a third because of record gas prices, and those who still come say they’ve cut their gambling back by 29 percent, a new poll has found.

Deluge expected for jobs at new Station casino

Aliante in North Las Vegas will have 1,000 openings and likely scads of applicants

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Station Casinos will begin taking applications Sunday for more than 1,000 jobs at Aliante Station, the company’s 10th major property in town, which is scheduled to open in North Las Vegas Nov. 11. And applicants can line up in their pajamas.

State takes hit from unpaid markers

Friday, June 27, 2008

Adding to the state’s tax woes: It hasn’t been able to collect gaming tax on $166 million in wagers — the amount bet in Nevada casinos with markers that have not been repaid by the gamblers.

For Wynn dealers, deal slow to come

Still no contract a year after union vote, but Rio counterparts undaunted

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Resolving issues having to do with grievances and tip-sharing is testing the ability of the Transport Workers Union to flex its muscle at a time when it’s trying to organize more dealers, this time at the Rio.

Lanni steps down from gaming lobby’s board

Thursday, June 19, 2008

MGM Mirage boss Terry Lanni has resigned from the board of the American Gaming Association, the federal lobby headed by Harrah’s Entertainment Chief Executive Gary Loveman. The two are at odds over a proposal by the Nevada teachers union to raise the state room tax.

Uncowed casino exec sues ex-employer, wins

MGM Mirage ordered to pay CFO it fired $4.5 million in wrongful termination case

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Five years ago, a top casino executive was blamed for not spotting a criminal employee, and sent packing with a severance check.

Lanni proposes payroll tax hike

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The chief executive of Nevada’s largest employer Monday proposed doubling the state’s payroll tax to help the state close its ever-growing budget deficit.

Gamblers’ cash provider sees upside

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Global Cash Access, the world’s largest operator of ATMs in casinos and the largest provider of cash advances and check verification services for the gaming industry, is a bellwether of the gambling business, perhaps a truer one than gaming companies that also depend on nongaming revenue sources such as hotel rooms and entertainment.

Station Casinos honchos hit the jackpot in ’07

Monday, June 16, 2008

Until the economy turned south, Las Vegas casino companies enjoyed a robust 2007, rewarding executives and leading a pair of brothers to a pot of gold at the end of their rainbow. Many executives, acting before gaming stocks plummeted, profited after selling hundreds of thousands of shares from exercised stock options and grants of stock. In a class of their own: Station Casinos Chief Executive Frank Fertitta, who in 2007 made $122.4 million in exercised options and vested stock.

Having a smoke and playing, too

Bars hit by tobacco ban sell device that satisfies cravings, complies with law

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Check out Sharon Cottrell’s cigarette.
It’s not, really. And it gets her around Nevada’s no-smoking laws. The thing she’s holding between her fingers and drawing to her mouth looks like a pen.

Bringing a taste of Vegas to Dubai

Investor will bring hotel and nightclub expertise — but no casinos

Friday, June 6, 2008

His Excellency Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi — young, wealthy and ambitious — fits comfortably on the Vegas Strip. And that’s consistent with his role in Dubai’s striking emergence as a world-class resort destination.

Big-picture thinkers weigh in on gaming’s fiscal outlook

3 analysts explain market dip, give it context

Thursday, June 5, 2008

With the increased cost of a tank of gasoline equivalent to the cost of a few cocktails, fewer tourists are driving to Las Vegas. With airlines cutting back flights to town, it will be harder to fill hotel rooms. And the Strip has grown posh, making it less attractive to the masses.

Orlando spikes Vegas rivalry with humor

Thursday, June 5, 2008

The Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau has come up with an advertising slogan that is drawing chuckles at Las Vegas’ expense.

Hey, neighbor, try our hotel

As locals giant pitches rooms, some Strip casinos go after valley gamblers

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Locals who don’t necessarily gamble but enjoy a nice getaway are the new tourists in town. Travel experts have a name for it: staycations.

Pssssssst! Cut-rate rooms in classy Vegas

Ad campaign leaves out Strip’s biggest bargains in years to maintain image

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Las Vegas is on sale, with room rates below $100 a night at prominent Strip hotels.

For hotel deals, shop around

Finding the best offers during slump takes some sleuthing

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Attention, Vegas tourists: During this economic slump, some hotels are pulling out all the stops on special offers and other promotions.

Lenders give Herbst Gaming more time to repay debts

Reliance on budget-conscious customers drives down profits

Friday, May 23, 2008

Herbst Gaming reached an agreement with lenders this month that buys the company more time to work out a deal with them and potentially avoid bankruptcy court despite the company’s worsening finances.

Strip’s vaunted condo-hotels losing their luster

High fees, slowed rental demand dampen market

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Condo-hotels are having a tough time on the Strip. The market has chilled, buyers are largely evaporating, banks are reluctant to finance the purchases or lend money for new projects because of slackening demand, and developers are questioning the wisdom of the condo hotel concept.

Post-9/11 cuts may have gone too far

Study suggests layoffs at casinos were overreaction

Monday, May 19, 2008

In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Strip casinos laid off more than 10,000 workers, delayed expansions and scaled back construction jobs.

Already, CityCenter’s scale, complexity unparalleled

Vdara tower hint of project’s imposing presence

Friday, May 16, 2008

For all the stories I’ve written about CityCenter, the largest construction project in the country, nothing could have prepared me for the experience of standing in the middle of it this week.

Despite few layoffs, workers feel fear

Gaming companies are cutting other costs first, predicting fast rebound

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thousands of hourly Strip workers were laid off as tourists stayed home. In the current economic downturn, casino companies are moving more cautiously. But workers worry the shoe is still going to drop.

Vegas slump hits Station Casinos

With operations concentrated here, its fate closely tied to local economy

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Station Casinos has historically reaped impressive gains by putting most of its eggs in one basket: Las Vegas. But the housing slump appears to be hurting Station more than companies that own casinos outside of the Vegas.

Despite slowdown, casino giant spending big

MGM Mirage is investing beyond the $8 billion it’s paying to build CityCenter

Monday, May 12, 2008

Even as gamblers, shoppers and diners are clutching to their dollars and Las Vegas reels from the worst economic slowdown since Sept. 11, MGM Mirage is spending billions of dollars on itself.

CityCenter still selling condos despite slowdown

Friday, May 9, 2008

While some Las Vegas condos are in foreclosure as buyers walk away from purchase contracts, MGM Mirage — defending a lawsuit filed by unhappy Signature condo-hotel owners — says no buyers have canceled purchases at CityCenter despite the housing slump.

Slot makers pull together

New way of controlling machines forces competitors to cooperate

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

As steel girders and shimmering glass define the exterior of the rising CityCenter, slot machine engineers and computer techies behind the scene are trying to figure out how to wire the casino of the future. Their new slot machines will behave like a network of personal computers with high-speed Internet access, linked to a computer server in a back office that will give players and the house alike unprecedented control over the slots.

New device makes it harder to walk away from the game

Sunday, April 27, 2008

A new crop of gambling machines has arrived in town — stacked on a countertop at the Venetian like so many GameBoys or the buzzers that a restaurant hostess uses to let you know when your table is ready.

Station Casinos banking on biggest being best

Plan for huge complex in play despite economy

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

At a time when businesses across the country are cutting back in the face of economic turmoil, the brothers at the helm of Station Casinos are accelerating plans for an enormous Las Vegas resort larger than CityCenter.

Garage goes up next door, and condo owners want out

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Several dozen Turnberry Place residents in the 120-unit luxury condominium tower are selling their units because they don’t want to look at the parking garage of the under-construction Fontainebleau Las Vegas high-rise resort next door.

A mogul's softer side

Sheldon Adelson plies his charm, but can’t suppress combative streak

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sheldon Adelson was forced into public view this week, providing a courtroom glimpse of the casino tycoon not offered in any annual report or official biography. Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., viewed by his industry brethren as a ruthless, combative iconoclast, used the opportunity to cut a sympathetic, almost folksy portrait of himself.

Trial outs Sands’ dealings for Macau

Adelson defending the license approval process against claim on profit

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The biggest players in the gaming business have long wondered exactly how Sheldon Adelson’s company won one of three lucrative casino licenses in 2002 to operate in Macau. It was the deal of a lifetime — one that made Adelson one of the world’s richest men and spawned an Asian gaming frontier richer than the Las Vegas Strip and evolving to adult size in one-tenth the time.

Layoffs not driven by downturn, casino says

MGM Mirage official says job cuts are a planned part of corporate restructure

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

MGM Mirage sought to quell fears Tuesday that it is slumping badly in the economic downturn, saying the layoffs it announced this week had little to do with declining business.

Deal salvages Tropicana Tahoe casino

Troubled resort to pay $165 million to avoid eviction, prove itself over three years

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Tropicana’s sister resort at Lake Tahoe, facing eviction for subpar performance, has agreed to pay $165 million to the landowner for permission to stay put for another three years.

Mom and pop roughed up in gaming license bid

Board mercifully tells gas station owners to try again for full status

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Successful businesspeople Chet and Karla Cox tried to take their mom-and-pop business to the next level by getting a Nevada gaming license. They didn’t foresee what they were walking into — and they got beat up.

Tourism juggernaut shows signs of slowing down

Hotel rates lowered, ad pitch reworked for ‘recession-proof’ city

Monday, April 7, 2008

For all the highly technical and nuanced ways to identify economic slowdowns, in Las Vegas there’s one simple way to take measure: room rates.

Strip biz will peddle Alka-Seltzer, not glamour

Drugstore, maybe condos planned for pricey spot

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

One of the big names on the Strip is staking yet another marker for itself, this time at the site where Ivana Trump wanted to build a condo tower, at the northeast corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Your own Strip kingdom awaits: If you can afford it

Down $50 million, company would want to recoup money

Friday, March 28, 2008

If you missed out on last year’s $1.2 billion sale of the New Frontier, now is your chance to snap up 27 acres of land just south of the Sahara — one of only two major Strip-facing parcels listed for sale. But it’s going to cost you — a lot.

Doctor is game for commission post

Henderson physician has the knowledge of, but not the ties to, Nevada’s casino industry

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The newest member of the Nevada Gaming Commission is a local physician and prominent Republican with political connections to Gov. Jim Gibbons and other power players.

Starbucks tips case gives hope to dealers

A California court rejects sharing, but that may not apply in Vegas

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Serving coffee is a lot different from dealing cards.

Must be ‘21’ to entertain this idea

Movie portrays team bringing down the house, but it's casinos that ultimately win in real life

Sunday, March 23, 2008

“Beat the Dealer” did it nearly a half century ago. So have other books and TV shows since. And now this week’s release of “21” — a movie about a team of MIT students who used their blackjack card-counting strategies to win millions — might once again draw countless wannabes to Las Vegas who are convinced they’ve got what it takes to bring down the house.

Tropicana owner hires a Mr. Fix-It

Under new president, company expected to evaluate properties, maybe ditch some

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Over the past year, the owner of the Tropicana casinos has alienated regulators and politicians, upset lenders and agitated labor unions and employees. But the appointment of the new president of Tropicana Entertainment could help patch up those relationships.