Ron Sylvester
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Story Archive
- Mad money: Where the flow of cash from the NCAA Tournament goes in Las Vegas
- Tuesday, March 13, 2012
- March Madness is hitting Las Vegas this week, and it’s providing an influx of business not only to the city’s sports books but to golf courses, sports books, bars, restaurants and just about anywhere with a television screen.
- A look at 6 legendary Las Vegas sports book figures
- Monday, March 12, 2012
- Race and sports books weren’t always staples on the Strip. What used to be stand-alone shops in the shadows grew up in the 1960s, came into the casinos in the ’70s and went high-tech in the 1980s and ’90s. Now, you can make bets on your smartphones. Here are some of the figures that helped build the modern sports books in Las Vegas:
- For Vegas casinos, early rounds of March Madness are 'like the Super Bowl times four'
- Monday, March 12, 2012
- The brackets are out, and some betting is already a day old. In Las Vegas, March Madness is about more than basketball.
- Casinos track, interact with guests via smartphone apps
- Friday, March 9, 2012
- Smartphone applications powered by a local manufacturer are changing the way people interact with casinos, restaurants, shows and other attractions along the Las Vegas Strip. MGM Resorts International says there have been about 800,000 downloads of more than a dozen iPhone and Android apps that people can use to explore Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, Monte Carlo, the Bellagio and other megaresorts.
- O'Sheas shutting down April 30 to move to Linq
- Thursday, March 8, 2012
- After three decades as a dependable place for inexpensive drinks, entertainment and low minimum wagering, O'Sheas will be closing at the end of next month and moving to the Linq project.
- Penn Jillette’s support for Vegas charity Opportunity Village is no illusion
- Wednesday, March 7, 2012
- The first tweet Linda Smith received after last Sunday’s episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” came from a niece in Canada saying she’d seen her on the show, talking about Las Vegas’ Opportunity Village.
- Emotional Penn Jillette presents $40,000 to Opportunity Village on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’
- Monday, March 5, 2012
- Penn Jillette erupts as a boisterous stage and television personality, but he grows quiet and emotional as he talks about Las Vegas’ Opportunity Village.
- Shane the Money Man treats every casino player like a winner at Boulder Station
- Sunday, March 4, 2012
- Whether it's handing over a car or calling out numbers for cash, Shane the Money Man draws a crowd. But it's not just the money that attracts people — it's Shane Stephens' gregarious personality and the excitement he generates, whether he's whooping it up in a bingo parlor or poker room or giving out freebies. Shane is a casino host, and whether you're a big winner or a big loser, everyone is equal to him. From high roller to the guy who works for Station sweeping up cigarette butts off the floor, everyone gets greeted by their first name with a beaming smile and big handshake.
- Foursquare gaining popularity as promotional tool for Las Vegas resorts
- Friday, March 2, 2012
- The Minus 5 Ice Bar is as cold as its name would imply, but visitors to the establishment can get a free fur coat by checking into three venues at Mandalay Bay on Foursquare. Manadaly Bay is the latest resort to offer deals for multiple check-ins on the location-based social network. The Mirage and New-York-New York also have rolled out Foursquare badges during the past week.
- Old school odds: Riviera offering taste of vintage Vegas gaming
- Friday, March 2, 2012
- The Riviera is offering a taste of the 1980s and ‘90s at some of its gaming tables. That’s how long it’s been since people say they saw the kind of gaming attractions being advertised this week at the Strip casino. Among them is 3:2 single-deck blackjack, which was last in style in Las Vegas when Duran Duran was still considered trendy. The Riviera also has rolled out a retro version of roulette with one zero on the wheel instead of two, which slightly increases players’ odds, and is offering craps players a chance to back bets on the pass line with a wager of up to 1,000 times more. That’s a relic that experts say has been unheard of in the past two decades.
- Wyoming woman wins $112K with royal flush at Four Queens
- Thursday, March 1, 2012
- A Wyoming woman who was simply hoping for a flush caught a royal deal worth six figures this week at Four Queens. The winner, who identified herself only by her first name, Neva, received a royal flush in hearts to win $112,505 at Mississippi Stud poker.
- New steakhouse, Carlos'n Charlie's franchise coming to Flamingo
- Thursday, March 1, 2012
- The Flamingo hopes a return to its martini-and-steak roots, updated with a few hipster twists, will win over customers at a restaurant site where two eateries have closed over the past three years.
- Caesars says replacement for Cafe Lago will 'redefine' Vegas buffets
- Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012
- The buffet at Caesars Palace may be closed, but resort officials say a new one is on the way. The Cafe Lago Buffet closed last month.
- Dancing on the ceiling: A backstage look at the Rio's 'Show in the Sky'
- Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012
- Paolo Cuccaro likens running the “Show in the Sky” to piloting a cruise ship. That’s what Cuccaro drove before he arrived more than a dozen years ago to control the show’s large, flashing showboats and gondolas as technical director of the free show at the Rio.
- Vegas headliner Penn Jillette leads team to win on 'Celebrity Apprentice'
- Monday, Feb. 27, 2012
- Penn Jillette advanced to another round of "Celebrity Apprentice" but more importantly raised $40,000 for Las Vegas' Opportunity Village.
- Vegas Cirque performers a big hit with Oscars crowd
- Monday, Feb. 27, 2012
- Las Vegas continued to be a featured act at recent national entertainment events, with Cirque du Soleil’s high-flying performance at Sunday night’s Oscars.
- Marine credits karma for hitting $2.9 million jackpot at Bellagio
- Friday, Feb. 24, 2012
- A couple of days before he hit a jackpot of nearly $3 million, Cpl. Alexander Degenhardt learned he’d been accepted as a bone marrow donor to an anonymous patient.
- Analysts not surprised another family-focused business is leaving the Strip
- Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012
- Wet and wild still works as a concept in Las Vegas, just not as a theme park on the Strip. As a water park, Wet ’n’ Wild shut down in 2004, and since then, other family oriented businesses have opened and closed.