Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Gaming briefs for Sept. 11, 2003

Slot maker to unveil 150 games

International Game Technology expects to introduce 150 new slot games at next week's Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, including leased jackpot games with licensed themes including "Rodney Dangerfield's Reel Respect," "The Twilight Zone," "Young Frankenstein" and "American Graffiti."

The lineup is more than twice what was displayed a year ago. More than 20 video poker games also will be on display.

The company also will debut a casino system that can arrange different progressive jackpots for selected groups of machines. With the system, casinos can configure and operate up to 32 progressive jackpot levels on a bank of up to 63 IGT slots.

Vote delayed on IGT merger

A shareholder vote has been postponed on the proposed merger between Las Vegas-based Acres Gaming Inc. and International Game Technology, Reno.

The vote had been scheduled for Friday, but was postponed after U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro issued a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to delay the vote while a court case is reviewed in Clark County District Court.

In a statement issued by Acres Wednesday, the company announced it would conduct a special shareholder meeting after the Clark County case is resolved, probably after Sept. 26.

Plaintiffs allege in the court case that Acres' directors violated their fiduciary duties to shareholders in connection with the merger, which was announced in July. Acres officials believe the suit, filed by shareholder Paul Miller, is without merit.

Acres and IGT develop software and hardware on a variety of slot machines and player-tracking systems.

Vegas firm's losses grow

Mikohn Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas said Wednesday it's mulling options to recapitalize its balance sheet, and said it expects a third-quarter loss wider than analysts' expectations.

Mikohn said it expects a third-quarter loss between 18 and 35 cents a share, wider than Wall Street's expected loss of 14 cents a share for the quarter ending Sept. 30.

Mikohn, which posted an operating loss of 22 cents a share in the year-ago third quarter, expects revenue between $19 million and $22 million, down from $29.6 million a year ago.

President and Chief Executive Russ McMeekin noted that the company's transition to focus on the licensing of game content versus hardware intensive manufacturing will not be realized as quickly as expected.

Caesars Palace to add tower

The owner of Caesars Palace will build a 26-story, $289 million tower at the Las Vegas Strip resort, the company said.

Standard & Poor's immediately reacted by cutting the company's credit rating to below investment grade over fears that the expansion may hinder debt repayment.

The 949-room tower will be the centerpiece of a $376 million expansion for the property and will increase capacity at Caesars Palace to 3,370 rooms.

In the release, company officials said the expansion was approved because hotel occupancy has been averaging more than 94 percent in the last five years and the property has experienced record cash flow in six of the last eight months.

But New York-based Standard & Poor's reduced Park Place's debt rating from BBB- to BB+ today and said in a statement that the expansion, along with lower-than-expected cash flow in the first six months of the year, will likely slow the company's debt repayment. Park Place may face higher borrowing costs because of the downgrade.

Standard & Poor's recently downgraded MGM MIRAGE's credit rating over similar fears related to the company's stock repurchasing program.

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