Gaming - VEGAS INC

Barred from casinos, alleged scammers closer to trial

The case against three alleged casino scammers is one step closer to going to trial.

17 September 2009

By Tiffany Gibson

Fontainebleau: Bank no longer 'seeking to destroy' project

Though close to finished, the Fontainebleau may cost another $1.5 billion to complete, on top of $1 billion already owed to lenders.

The bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino-resort development has quietly dropped its allegation that Deutsche Bank has been working to undermine Fontainebleau in order to protect the bank's interest in a competing hotel-casino.

17 September 2009

By Steve Green

MGM Mirage revises notes exchange offer

With investors generally reluctant to participate in its outstanding note-exchange offer, MGM Mirage today revised the deal again and announced a separate debt-placement arrangement.

17 September 2009

By Steve Green

MGM Mirage warns of possible charge to earnings for CityCenter

A view of MGM Mirage's CityCenter along the Las Vegas Strip.

MGM Mirage today warned it may take a charge against earnings to write down the value of its 50-percent interest in the $8.5 billion CityCenter complex preparing to open in December on the Las Vegas Strip. At least part of the writedown may be related to the company's need to lower condominium prices at the resort in order to close sales of the condos. There are some 2,400 condominium and condominium-hotel units in multiple towers at the resort.

17 September 2009

By Steve Green

Vegas hotel suites take luxury to a new level

The pool inside the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa Pool at the Palms. At $40,000 a night, the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa is one of the priciest in Vegas.

A 10,000-square-foot suite that includes a basketball halfcourt rents for $25,000 a night at Palms Casino Resort. At MGM Grand's Skylofts, you'll find a bathtub that fizzes with tiny champagne-like massage bubbles, TVs in the mirrors and airport pickup in a $400,000 car. If you're worried about your mortgage and your job, such luxuries might sound downright obscene. But Las Vegas has always specialized in turning fantasy into reality — for a price.

17 September 2009

Associated Press

Tropicana opens restaurants tied to $125M renovation

Tropicana Las Vegas announced today it has added two new restaurants in an effort to further revamp the property.

16 September 2009

By Amanda Finnegan

Las Vegas Hilton gets new chief executive

The company that owns the Las Vegas Hilton is getting a new boss. Colony Resorts LVH Acquisitions LLC disclosed Monday that Colony Capital LLC executive David Monahan has been hired as chief operating officer and ultimately will become the company's chief executive and general manager.

15 September 2009

By Las Vegas Sun Staff

Harrah's buys Planet Hollywood debt

Deteriorating financial results at the Planet Hollywood casino resort have forced the property to negotiate with lenders to stay afloat – raising the possibility that the property will file for bankruptcy protection as an alternative to reorganizing debts out of court.

15 September 2009

By Liz Benston

Potential buyer in negotiations for stalled Fontainebleau project

At least one unidentified potential buyer is negotiating to take over the bankrupt Fontainebleau hotel-casino development. But significant hurdles remain for the resort to be sold and its construction completed. But significant hurdles remain for the resort to be sold and its construction completed, including difficulties a buyer may have in obtaining financing. Stung by substantial losses on Las Vegas casino and real estate deals, banks and investors have been wary about investing in Las Vegas during the recession -- especially with a growing over-supply of hotel rooms on and around the Las Vegas Strip.

15 September 2009

By Steve Green

DA: Two won’t face charges in probe of Rio’s topless pool

The Clark County District Attorney’s office won’t file charges against two women arrested in a Metro Police undercover operation in July at the Rio’s Sapphire Pool.

14 September 2009

By Amanda Finnegan

Penny machines have growing appeal, but also a price

Gamblers play penny slots at South Point. These games allow players to win more often, but ultimately hold more for the house.

The media have focused on penny slots as an increasingly popular form of entertainment for newly budget-conscious players. The image of pennies supplanting quarters and dollars resonates in this economy, but, in fact, penny slots represent a technological transformation that began years before the recession and continues, though at a slower pace as casinos can less afford to replace older slot machines.

14 September 2009

By Liz Benston

New table game edges closer to the floor

State Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander, left, and member Randall Sayre watch as George Boutsifakos demonstrates "Two Cards High," a new casino game, at a Gaming Control Board meeting Thursday, September 3, 2009.

When we last left mom-and-pop casino game inventors George and Stephanie Boutsifakos, their baby was being field-tested at Boulder Station, with no assurance it would survive its scheduled 90-day run. Sure, the game was getting rave reviews in a casino in South Korea, but locally two other casinos had yanked it off the floor. Go figure. Depending on how the Boulder Station trial went, the couple were on the brink of giving birth to a casino game that they had named Two Cards High. We can now move their story forward.

12 September 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

CityCenter hotel plans three job fairs next week

CityCenter’s Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas will host three job fairs next week to fill some of its 500 open positions, the hotel announced today.

11 September 2009

By Amanda Finnegan

Wynn Resorts moves forward with Asian stock offering

Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s plan for a stock offering involving its Asian hotel and gaming operations advanced Friday, with Wynn filing a disclosure statement detailing financial results and development plans for the Chinese gambling district of Macau.

11 September 2009

By Steve Green

MGM extends early participation date for offer

With bondholders apparently in no rush to participate in an MGM Mirage debt-exchange deal, the Las Vegas casino-resort company on Friday sweetened the offer.