Posted on June 12, 2008
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Microsoft’s touch-screen Surface computers have debuted in a Las Vegas casino bar giving Sin City partiers high-tech tools for flirting and concocting cocktails.
“People continue to be excited about the endless possibilities of Surface technology and how it can transform everyday scenarios, including the social and entertainment space,” said Microsoft Surface general manager Pete Thompson.
Harrah’s said it put six customized Surface computers in a bar at its Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
A “Flirt” feature in the Surface computers lets people exchange original messages or choose from suggested come-on lines.
Harrah’s crafted its own software for the machines and equipped them with cameras so people can send pick-lines, drinks or both to bar-goers they are interested in connecting with in real life.
Patrons can create drink recipes and then have the cocktails delivered to themselves or others.
Harrah’s vice president of innovation, gaming and technology Tim Stanley said investment in the technology is aimed at giving “a new genre of guests” chances to discover “uninhibited excitement”.
People can use the computers to play games, watch online videos, or take a virtual stroll along the renowned Las Vegas strip without leaving their seat at the “iBar,” according to Harrah’s.
Posted on May 7, 2008
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The owner of Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino filed for bankruptcy but promised it will conduct business as usual at all of its gaming and resort properties.
Tropicana Entertainment LLC owns of 13 casinos with 11,000 employees in 5 states including its resort in Las Vegas, blamed its inability to cover its debts on its license problems in New Jersey, Atlantic City.
A significant downturn in tourism, a drop in real estate values and a tightening of the credit market that made acquiring more debt impossible were also cited for the filing Monday.
According to the filing, the company has 3.3 billion dollars in debt and 2.8 billion in assets. It brought in 1.0 billion dollars in revenues last year.
A state judge is overseeing the sale of Tropicana Atlantic City, which must be completed by June 9.
President Scott Butera complained in the filing Monday in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware that the move is devaluing the assets by forcing a court sale to occur “in an artificially constrained timeframe into the teeth of an extremely inhospitable real estate market.”
Gaming revenues in Atlantic City were down 9.6 percent in 2007 from 2006, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission reported.
The decline came amid a national economic downturn that has reduced the public’s appetite for travel and leisure spending.
The Tropicana in New Jersey isn’t included because it is in state custody and two casinos, the Amelia Belle Casino in Louisiana and the Westin Casaurina in Las Vegas, are owned by a corporate affiliate, Columbia Sussex.
The bankruptcy filing puts the fate of the company’s most valuable asset, the Tropicana Las Vegas, in question.
Land on the Las Vegas Strip in recent years has been sold for as much as 35 million an acre, meaning the real estate holdings alone in Las Vegas could be worth more than one billion.
Posted on May 6, 2008
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“What Happens in Vegas” stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher and directed by Tom Vaughan.
Two people discover they’ve gotten married following a night of debauchery in Vegas, with one of them winning a jackpot after playing the other’s quarter. The pair trys to undermine each other and get their hands on the money. falling in love along the way.
Posted on April 27, 2008
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Flamingo Las Vegas announces Donny and Marie Osmond as the hotel latest headliner in the Flamingo Showroom. Starts Sept. 9, they will entertain audiences of all ages with their iconic style of show.
“My version of a variety show has been what Vegas has known thus far. What we have now is a true variety show which conveys the real essence of America and the country’s love of homegrown talent,” said Danny Gans. “When you couple that element with the current Las Vegas entertainment landscape, we felt Donny and Marie provided the perfect combination and something that no one else was making available.”
“Donny and Marie are timeless entertainers and cultural icons,” said Don Marrandino, president of Flamingo Las Vegas. “We look forward to welcoming the celebrated duo to the Flamingo and are confident that their talent, charisma and showmanship will be warmly received by audiences.”
Tickets for Donny & Marie are on sale beginning on April 28. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday with an additional Saturday matinee at 3:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $85, $99 and $115 (plus tax and fees). A limited number of VIP packages are available for $250 (plus tax and fees), which includes a special after-show commemorative photo with the stars.
Posted on April 19, 2008
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The long awaited Cirque du Soleil / Criss Angel production now has a name. Producers announced “Criss Angel Believe” will open Sept. 12 at the Luxor hotel casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Previews begin September 1st.
Criss Angel says the show takes its name from a Harry Houdini legend. The magician and escape artist is said to have designated a code word for communicating with him after his death. The word was “believe.”
Insiders say Angel will star in the show as a “surreal, enigmatic Victorian noble.” The 40-year-old magician and illusionist is best known for his A&E series “Mindfreak.”
Tickets went on sale Thursday for casino VIPs and Angel fan club members.
Posted on April 13, 2008
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While most slot machines are based on nothing but chance, Pong breaks new ground with exclusive skill based pay outs. During the 45-second bonus round, a random bonus game , gamblers are able to play a round of old school Atari Pong. The bonus round is skill based, so the better you do the more you win. Even if you’re not skilled at the timeless classic, you’ll still win a little, but seasoned Pong players who grew up tunning there joystick hands, will walk away with a bit more of their cash.
Bally, the former maker of classic pinball tables, is the first to introduce this new skill based concept to the world of slots, the first of which is based on the classic paddle game Pong. Coming soon, another Atari classic, Breakout. The skill based machines have only been approved in Nevadam but the maker is working to get them approved in many more gambling areas.
We have spotted a row of the new machines on the floor of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Seems to play well but it took some time to get my Pong skills back.
Posted on April 3, 2008
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A 37 year old woman Debbie Psychopedas won a $1,679,200 jackpot while she was playing the Wheel of Fortune game at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino. The winner, who resides at Stamford, has been playing at the Casino for the past 15 years.
“We’ve been spending one night at the Golden Nugget every vacation for the past 15 years,” said the excited winner. “For some reason, this time we decided to come for a day trip … it sure paid off.”
Wheel of Fortune slot machines are themed after the popular TV game show and follow the standard three-reel format and associated pay tables. The progressive jackpot is paid when all three reels stop on the Wheel of Fortune symbol.
Psychopedas, an office manager, indicated that she loves her job and has no plans of quitting. Although she is still unsure about how she will spend the majority of the money, the new millionaire says she does plan to treat herself to a new bracelet.
Posted on March 6, 2008
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The new owners of the Hooters Hotel in Las Vegas are promising a $130 million hotel makeover and name change in a project that the company executive said should begin later this year.
The investment group plans to announce a partnership with an as-yet unnamed “boutique” hotel operator to manage the rebranded property, and is negotiating with restaurant developers and nightclub owners, Bosworth said. Bosworth declined to say if the property would remain open during the changeover, which could take 18 months.
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Hedwigs Las Vegas Top Tier is completing financing for the $225 million purchase, and hopes to close the sale this spring, Hedwigs principal Richard Bosworth told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Tuesday report.
Los Angeles-based Dodd Mitchell is heading the redesign, which will use the current structure – the former Hotel San Remo just east of the Las Vegas Strip.
Hedwigs made its third $500,000 nonrefundable, nonapplicable fee payment on Friday to retain purchase rights for the property that Hooters put $130 million into renovating before opening in February 2006 as its first casino and hotel.
The redesign is expected to expand the casino area and change some of the hotel’s 727 rooms into suites.
Posted on February 29, 2008
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Police in Las Vegas, Nevada, are investigating a discovery of what they are saying is the deadly poison Ricin in a hotel room. Authorities were called to an Extended Stay America hotel around 3 p.m. PT Thursday after a man brought a bag with a small container to the manager’s office. The man said he found it while retrieving items from a hotel room. Preliminary tests show the substance is Ricin, authorities said, but other tests to confirm it are under way. The mystery is WHY the substance was in there in the first place, “We don’t know who the ricin belongs to or why it would be here at this time,” stated Capt. Joe Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The FBI, which is assisting in the case, said it saw no link to terrorism, according to spokesman Richard Kolko. Altough officers who found the deadly poison ricin in a Las Vegas, Nevada, extended-stay hotel room also discovered firearms and an “anarchist-type textbook” with an entry about ricin bookmarked, police said Friday.
Three hotel employees and a fourth person who came to the room to retrieve some items went to the hospital as a precaution, Officer Ramon Dendy said. Three police officers who entered the room also are under watch at the hospital. All have been decontaminated, and none of the seven have shown symptoms of Ricin poisoning, which can include anything from severe vomiting, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, nausea, sweating and dehydration.
“We did have enough ricin to be of concern,” Lombardo said. “At this point, it has been contained and processed where it’s not a threat to anybody”
Posted on February 24, 2008
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America’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation has purchased two airplanes and is retrofitting them to serve as private jets ferrying high-rollers from Hong Kong to the company’s two Nevada casinos.
Although a 1994 law appeared to remove any possibility of legal gambling on by disallowing the operation of gaming devices on flights in or out of the United States, several loopholes have developed allowing Sands to potentially begin play on its charter flights for high-rollers.
Several airlines had experimented with in-transit gambling before the law was enacted. However, the crash of Swissair Flight 111 was attributed to the electronic gambling entertainment package inside the aircraft, which apparently caught fire. This, along with the law, chilled airline plans for gambling.
Harrah’s attempted to develop an electronic system for aircraft, but discontinued the project due to recurring technical problems. MGM Mirage had not pursued the idea, as the company thought the law explicitly ruled out all forms of gambling. Steve Wynn also considered the idea, but dropped it.
Gambling on private aircraft is viewed as similar to cruise ships and the casino may only be open while the craft is in international waters. The company has already filed a Foreign Gaming Notification Statement with the Control Board stating that it planed to conduct foreign gaming in international waters over global airspace.
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