Gaming

Planet Hollywood timeshare owners move in

A look at the new Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate.

The first 20 timeshare owners of Planet Hollywood’s PH Towers by Westgate checked in Friday morning, marking the first of several residential tower openings over the next few months.

18 December 2009
By Amanda Finnegan

Hard Rock Hotel investor granted state gaming license

A major player in retail shopping centers has received a Nevada gaming license after investing in the company that owns Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel.

18 December 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

MGM Mirage executive Gary N. Jacobs resigns

MGM Mirage on Friday disclosed the surprise resignation of Gary N. Jacobs, a director, general counsel and president of corporate strategy.

18 December 2009
By Steve Green

Will CityCenter change type of tourist in Vegas?

Guests enter the Aria hotel-casino for the first time Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009.

After a night spent gaping at Aria’s modernist splendor, draining designer cocktails and downing caviar and sushi, invited VIPs and other well-wishers at the opening gala for CityCenter’s centerpiece resort woke up Thursday to a grim reality on the Strip: Amid the worst recession in 70 years, only the toughest, best-equipped competitors will survive the coming battle for customers.

18 December 2009
By Liz Benston

Analyst: CityCenter's opening will 'push economy forward'

Fireworks explode over the Aria hotel-casino during the official opening Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Aria is the centerpiece of the $8.5 billion CityCenter project, which is a partnership between MGM Mirage and Dubai World.

A day after a UNLV report painted a pessimistic picture about the Las Vegas economy, a local analyst pointed to signs of improvement and at least some hope. During a video conference today, Jeremy Aguero, a principal at Applied Analysis, said “we are bullish and hopeful on the opening of CityCenter."

17 December 2009
By Buck Wargo

What's being said about CityCenter

Guests enter the Aria hotel-casino for the first time on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009.

From East Coast to West Coast, from syndicated columnists to bloggers, from the national networks to local TV affiliates, the news media have been buzzing about the Strip's newest visitor attraction, CityCenter. The reviews were mixed, with some keying on entertainment and the shopping, while some critics dug a little deeper into the architecture and the wisdom of it opening in a recession. Here's an overview of those opinions, gleaned from Web sites

17 December 2009

At CityCenter, art for the masses right next to the slots

Artist Henry Moore's "Reclining Connected Forms" is seen Wednesday in the pocket park between Aria and Crystals at CityCenter.

CityCenter's $40 million modern art collection has instantly put the resort on the map as one of the world’s largest public installations of corporate-owned art. Although some industry observers worry CityCenter isn’t revolutionary enough to generate strong profits in a recession, art publication artdaily.org recently hailed it as a “cultural destination of worldwide significance.”

17 December 2009
By Liz Benston

Welcome to CityCenter: New Strip casino opens its doors

Guests enter the Aria hotel-casino for the first time Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009.

The wait is over. After a two-minute fireworks display, the Aria Resort & Casino opened its doors to the public late Wednesday night, giving tourists and Las Vegas residents a glimpse inside the centerpiece of CityCenter.

16 December 2009
By Amanda Finnegan

Boyd Gaming makes offer to buy Station Casinos

Boyd Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas today made another offer to buy Station Casinos Inc. -- this one for $2.45 billion for the company with 18 casinos and hotel-casinos.

16 December 2009
By Steve Green

MGM Mirage execs gather to mark opening of CityCenter

The water feature outside Aria makes a grand display during the opening ceremony for Aria at CityCenter in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009.

The countdown is nearly over. For months, MGM Mirage, the managing partner of the $8.5 billion CityCenter, has tantalized the public with a reminder of how many days it would be before Aria would be “revealed to the world.”

16 December 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

Water — swirling, spewing, frozen — to entertain visitors at CityCenter

A couple looks over "Glacia" a water and ice feature at CityCenter 's Crystals retail mall Tuesday, December 15, 2009. The feature is one of five designed by WET, a water feature and fountain design firm based in Los Angeles. Aria, the centerpiece of the $8.5 billion project, will open after a fireworks display Wednesday night. The development is a partnership between MGM Mirage and Dubai World.

Most Las Vegas residents already know the work of Mark Fuller, chief excellence officer of Southern California-based WET. Millions of Strip visitors have been awed and entertained by the fountains of Bellagio, one of the signature attractions of the hotel that debuted in 1998, and by the renovated Mirage volcano, redesigned with a grander eruption just last year.

16 December 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

CityCenter aims to make dining experience 'cooler and hipper'

The list of chefs behind CityCenter’s restaurants reads like a celebrity who’s who in the culinary world — Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, Michael Mina, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Julian Serrano, Martin Heierling. They are part of MGM Mirage’s effort to create food offerings at CityCenter that are as unique as the rest of the new casino-resort.

16 December 2009
By Amanda Finnegan

Meet Barbara Davis, Aria's vice president of hotel services

If Barbara Davis, front row in blue, is a bit nervous today, it's because she is in charge of ensuring that a couple of hundred workers at Aria, which opens at CityCenter tonight, are properly uniformed.

In recent weeks a couple of hundred CityCenter employees have cycled through a warehouse on Dean Martin Drive each day to pick up their uniforms. Making sure the correct number of uniforms in the appropriate sizes are on hand has kept Barbara Davis busy.

16 December 2009
By Liz Benston

Gaming regulators fine store owner over title transfer

CARSON CITY – Elias Hamika, owner of two mini marts in Las Vegas, has admitted in a complaint filed by the state Gaming Control Board that he switched the title to his businesses without informing the state.

14 December 2009
By Cy Ryan

Industry rolls out bonus-heavy slots that stretch playing time

The "Sex and the City" slot machine, based on the HBO series, is programmed to hit a bonus, on average, once every 25 spins, which exceeds the bonus-payout norm. The game features the show's title track, and bonuses involve winning virtual jewelry, shoes and champagne.

All gamblers want to win. But there are different definitions of winning.

14 December 2009
By Liz Benston
« Older Newer »