Gaming

Atlantic City’s Tropicana sale to Carl Icahn done deal

It took more than two years, nearly $7.8 million in fees to lawyers and others and a billionaire's bargain-basement bid, but the Tropicana Casino and Resort has been salvaged by its sale to Carl Icahn, with a deal expected to close Monday afternoon.

Harrah's to clubs: Pay past-due expenses at Planet Hollywood or leave

The new owner of the Planet Hollywood resort in Las Vegas has been pressuring the bankrupt Privé and Living Room nightclubs there to either pay their past-due rent and expenses or vacate the premises. Owned by Miami nightclub company the Opium Group, Privé and Living Room filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Nov. 11 in Florida.

Aria, Bellagio coexisting just fine, MGM Mirage says

During MGM Mirage’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call last month, the company’s executives attempted to address questions that have dogged them since the recession began. Would Aria have to use extremely low rates to keep rooms occupied?

Fortune magazine: Wynn Resorts is gaming industry's most admired company

Wynn Resorts again ranks highest among large hotel-casino operators in Fortune magazine's annual rankings of the most admired companies in each industry.

Help for gambling addicts is salvaged in final state budget

Last-minute lobbying led to the Legislature’s surprise reinstatement of a portion of slot machine taxes earmarked for problem gambling treatment, education and research.

Q&A: Randall Fine, Managing Director, Fine Point Group

Randall A. Fine, managing director of the Fine Point Group, during an interview at One Queensridge Place on Jan. 29.

Randall A. Fine has accumulated a wealth of experience from big-time gaming operators in his eight-year casino career.

Why Horsford took on gaming; what’s next?

Senator Majority Leader Steven Horsford delivers a speech in which he calls for corporations to step up and pay their fair share on Day Four of the special legislative session Friday, February 26, 2010 in Carson City.

It was a dramatic showdown. State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, trying to close a nearly $900 million budget deficit, demanded that the gaming industry come to the table and contribute.

Harrah’s secret: Cut costs, back to basics

Rare peek: Jan Jones of Harrah's Entertainment talks about the company's finances.

Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. took the time-tested formula of cutting expenses and getting back to operational basics as part of its strategy to restructure debt and dodge a date in Bankruptcy Court, executives told a Las Vegas business organization last week. But when two key executives gave a Las Vegas business organization an inside look at what Harrah’s did to survive, some of the moves turned out to be surprisingly simple.

New Jersey hands over Tropicana control to Carl Icahn

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey on Wednesday ended its conservatorship of Tropicana Casino and Resort after 27 months and gave final approval of its sale to billionaire Carl Icahn.

Oddsmaker: 'Avatar' the Best Picture favorite at Academy Awards

The Las Vegas line on the Academy Awards – or, more specifically, that set by Wynn Las Vegas oddsmaker Johnny Avello – has the epic blockbuster "Avatar" a slight favorite to win Best Picture over the independent film "The Hurt Locker."

Board backs slots license for former troubled payday loan operator

The state Gaming Control Board has recommended approval of a slot-route license for a Henderson company whose owners once operated payday loan stores that were closed voluntarily after being notified by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division that they were violating state lending laws.

Judge warns against overbilling in Station Casinos bankruptcy case

RENO -- Lawyers and accountants are pulling in the big bucks in the Station Casinos bankruptcy case. Some lawyers are charging close to $1,000 an hour, plus there are expenses billed for non-working travel time.

Black Gaming files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The Casablanca in Mesquite was one of three gaming resorts owned by Black Gaming.

Mesquite casino operator Black Gaming LLC and eight subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Monday.

Las Vegas Sands denies report it plans to sell casino

Las Vegas Sands Corp. today denied "rumors" that it plans to sell its Pennsylvania casino because of disappointing results there.

Alcohol sales lift resorts’ spirits, but fewer free drinks given out


Juanita Mendoza, left, and Lisa Scalzo hang out at Blush, a nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas. The lucrative party atmosphere that drives beverage profits compelled Wynn Resorts' decision to build an additional nightclub and daytime beach club at Encore's Strip entrance.

Booze was still big business on the Strip last year, with visitors drinking their way through the recession even as they spent less on hotel rooms, gambling and eating, state figures show. The beverage departments of the Strip’s 38 largest casinos reported increases in revenue and profit amid the worst year for the casino business on record.