Stories by Liz Benston

• Ex-FBI director joins coalition pushing for online poker

  Sep 15, 2011 (10:28 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Former FBI director Louis Freeh has joined Fair Play USA, a coalition backed by Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International that is pushing for Congress to adopt federal regulations allowing online poker.

• Caesars outlines details for Octavius tower opening

  Sep 14, 2011 (12:55 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Caesars Entertainment today released details about its Octavius tower opening in January, the sixth hotel tower to debut at its Caesars Palace flagship and the resort's second tower in nearly seven years. Rooms in the 668-room tower will start at 550 square feet and feature velvet sofas, stone tables, marble floors, dark wood desks with embedded granite, and custom cabinetry with a "premium mini bar," the company said. Included in the 668 rooms are 60 suites and six luxury villas.

  

• Second dolphin of the year born at Mirage habitat

  Sep 13, 2011 (11:09 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  A bottlenose dolphin gave birth last month to a calf, the second dolphin birth this year at the Mirage resort's dolphin habitat, the property announced today.

  

• Nevada's outsourcing of slot testing likely to benefit manufacturers

  Aug 29, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Slot machines and other high-tech forms of gambling equipment aren’t like toasters or floor lamps. They are more complicated — and crucial to the economy of Nevada.

  

• Getting OK to implode the Harmon proving to be monumental task

  Aug 25, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  When owners of old casinos are ready to pull the plug, they head to Clark County government offices for a demolition permit, detailing how and when the building should be taken down so as not to harm neighbors.

  

• Gaming regulators unveil rules to oversee Internet poker

  Aug 24, 2011 (7:28 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The state Gaming Control Board on Wednesday issued a draft of proposed regulations governing Internet poker, a first step in establishing a framework for licensing online poker operators by a Jan. 31 deadline.

  

• Internet gambling’s new best friend? Conservatives

  Aug 23, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The argument that regulated online gambling could raise millions of tax dollars and generate thousands of jobs has gained steam with fiscal conservatives opposed to raising taxes.

  

• Man's crusade against ladies' night will continue after new law takes effect

  Aug 19, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Steve Horner, a former talk show host turned life coach and writer of self-help books, has gained recognition filing successful sex discrimination complaints against bars and other businesses nationwide. His contention: Ladies’ nights, or other promotions that reserve freebies and discounts for women, are discriminatory.

  

• As gaming companies see gains, stock market brings uncertainty

  Aug 16, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Upswings in earnings among some Las Vegas casinos have many locals cheering a business recovery that’s reflected in actual spending data rather than ephemeral indicators such as consumer sentiment.

  

• Las Vegas hotels warming up to pets as guests

  Aug 12, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  When Mike Valles travels to Las Vegas for business several times a year, he brings his four buddies — Ivy, Harley, Honey and Cosby — with him. Although small and well-behaved, they’re not welcomed at many Las Vegas hotels.

  

• Legal skirmish over flawed Harmon may never reveal defect blame

  Aug 9, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The stunted Harmon hotel at CityCenter stands as a constant reminder of the most startling construction defects case in Las Vegas: What was to be a 49-story tower is instead paralyzed and empty at 26 stories because of overwhelming construction flaws. Nobody wants to take the fall for what happened at Harmon.

  

• Las Vegas tourists spending more, boosting MGM Resorts

  Aug 8, 2011 (7:19 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  What explains the better-than-expected earnings gain reported Monday by MGM Resorts International?

• Exodus of online poker players under way

  Aug 4, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Like many people who moved to Las Vegas seeking opportunity, Shaun Deeb is considering leaving town for greener pastures. But unlike the recession-triggered exodus of construction and hospitality workers, the sagging economy isn’t factoring into Deeb’s moving plans. In fact, he and a few hundred other people in town who share his vocation seem immune to the dips and turns in the economy.

  

• Suit against Wynn tip-sharing policy dismissed

  Aug 1, 2011 (4:45 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Casino executive Steve Wynn has won another victory in his effort to maintain a controversial company policy of sharing workers’ tips with management.

• Betting on Oscars and reality TV are no-nos, but what about on the end of the world?

  Jul 28, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Wynn Las Vegas made headlines for offering real-money odds on who would win the World Series of Poker. It's the first Nevada casino to take advantage of a change in state regulations allowing wagers on nonsporting events. The Wynn isn’t the first Nevada casino to take bets on offbeat events, however.

  

• Boyd narrows losses; CEO says company 'turning a corner'

  Jul 27, 2011 (6:44 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Boyd Gaming Corp. CEO Keith Smith said today his company, driven by improving results in Las Vegas, the Midwest and South, is finally “turning a corner” after three difficult years.

• Peddlers, performers clogging the Strip are troubling to casinos

  Jul 27, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Concerns have escalated in corner offices up and down the Strip about smut peddlers and the X-rated litter their leaflets create along Las Vegas Boulevard as well as the proliferation of homeless people, costumed performers and unlicensed vendors.

  

• MGM: CityCenter sound, apart from Harmon hotel tower

  Jul 23, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  MGM Resorts International stopped work on the Strip’s Harmon hotel in January 2009 after disclosing that contractors had made significant structural errors, including the improper placement of steel used to hold up the tower.

  

• Public sector takes biggest jobs hit

  Jul 22, 2011 (6:30 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston , Cy Ryan

  Unemployment numbers released Friday showed joblessness shot up to 13.8 percent in the Las Vegas area in June, the highest mark this year, reflecting the loss of thousands of government jobs — schools, university and municipal — because of the state’s budget deficit.

  

• M Resort’s owners post strong second-quarter financials

  Jul 21, 2011 (6:56 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  M Resort’s new owner Thursday reported double-digit increases in second-quarter earnings and revenue companywide that were driven by cost-cutting measures and a slowly improving economy.

  

• Station Casinos allowed to proceed with lawsuit against Henderson

  Jul 21, 2011 (3:45 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  A District Court judge today allowed Station Casinos to proceed with its lawsuit against Henderson over a land-use decision involving the Roadhouse, a defunct casino on Boulder Highway slated for redevelopment.

• Casinos cutting back on floor supervisors, whose jobs evolving

  Jul 20, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  If you’re playing blackjack, roulette or craps in a Las Vegas casino, chances are you will see a lot fewer folks in suits standing around, watching you and the dealer to make sure there’s no monkey business.

  

• List: Disappearing Las Vegas casino jobs

  Jul 20, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  New technology, cost cutting and an evolution in the way business is done in casinos has led to the demise of many job classifications.

• Terry Lanni helped to shape gaming industry

  Jul 16, 2011 (11:05 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  In an industry once known for crooks, toughs and juice, Terry Lanni — an unknown from a wealthy family in California — was recruited to bring legitimacy and professionalism to the casino business.

  

• MGM, contractor spar over CityCenter's Harmon hotel

  Jul 12, 2011 (5:12 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Three years after engineers discovered structural problems at CityCenter’s Harmon hotel, the parties involved in building the resort appear no closer to figuring out what to do with an empty, 26-story building.

  

• May casino revenue numbers bring optimism to Las Vegas

  Jul 12, 2011 (10:21 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Some casino companies in Las Vegas have been discussing slight improvements in business – without much to show for it. That evidence became obvious Tuesday when the Gaming Control Board reported the largest year-over-year increase in gambling revenue on the Las Vegas Strip since January 2008, before the recession took down the Las Vegas economy.

  

• 11 of Las Vegas' most notable casino name changes

  Jul 12, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  or an industry often defined by similar offerings, from slot machines to swank nightclubs and signature cocktails, brand names are crucial to a casino’s identity. Every once in a while, names must change. Here are some of the more notable name changes among Las Vegas casinos over the past 30 years.

  

• Professor using software to get hospitality down to a science

  Jul 8, 2011 (2:05 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Students at MIT and Stanford use high-tech devices to study nerve impulses in the human brain and subatomic particles in the solar system.

• Logos are big no-nos at World Series of Poker this year

  Jul 8, 2011 (2:05 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The start of the 42nd annual World Series of Poker main event this afternoon at the Rio has all the hallmarks of the world’s largest poker tournament during the heyday of the game in American popular culture, with throngs of eager participants and onlookers. This year’s crowd looks a bit different from last year, however.

  

• State eases licensing requirements for gaming companies eyeing Nevada

  Jul 6, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  A Pennsylvania-based casino chain was looking for a way to crack the Las Vegas market, but that proved tricky. That’s because the process for obtaining a gaming license was long and tortuous. So Penn National Gaming bought 1 percent of a small manufacturer of slot machines.

  

• Push for foreign Las Vegas visitation pays dividends

  Jul 1, 2011 (12:43 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Las Vegas visitors from South Korea and China increased by 60 and 38 percent last year, respectively, while visitors from Canada, Australia, Germany and France increased by more than 20 percent for each country, the LVCVA said.

  

• Hilton chain seeks to end license agreement with Las Vegas Hilton

  Jun 29, 2011 (4:38 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The Hilton hotel chain has put the Las Vegas Hilton on notice that it intends to terminate its license agreement with the casino Jan. 1, which would force the property to give up the name it has held since the 1970s.

  

• Cantor to run sports books at Venetian, Palazzo

  Jun 28, 2011 (10:29 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Las Vegas Sands said Tuesday it has signed a long-term contract with Cantor Gaming to operate the race and sports books at the company’s Venetian and Palazzo casinos.

  

• Caesars reaches beyond casino walls to bring in customers

  Jun 28, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The nation’s largest casino company has embarked on its most ambitious foray beyond the glittering world of gambling — by partnering with retail giants to get the attention of millions of shoppers for whom gambling, and even Las Vegas, might be an afterthought.

  

• UNLV professor heralding Las Vegas as hospitality technology hub

  Jun 28, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Like many residents invested in the future of a town battered by recession, Mehmet Erdem likes to sell Las Vegas’ benefits whenever he gets the chance.

• Silverton in ‘strange position’ of struggling to fill jobs

  Jun 27, 2011 (10:14 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Although thousands of people are applying for jobs at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas, the Silverton, on the south end of the Strip, is struggling to fill just 50 jobs.

• Wynn, Netjets team up to give customers perks

  Jun 24, 2011 (11:35 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Wynn Las Vegas recently announced a deal with NetJets Inc. to extend benefits to NetJets customers staying at Wynn or Encore hotels. Likewise, Wynn customers will receive NetJets perks.

  

• Casinos could use slot machines to market directly to gamblers

  Jun 23, 2011 (5:10 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  New software is transforming slot machines from mere gambling devices to complex marketing machines capable of greeting gamblers by name, making restaurant reservations, placing cocktail orders or even sending up the gambler’s car from valet.

• Wynn tips sharing policy dispute intensifies

  Jun 23, 2011 (2:56 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The fight between nightclub workers and Wynn Las Vegas over its policy of sharing tips with managers has deepened in recent weeks, with management refusing demands that boxes containing tips be kept in a public place monitored by surveillance cameras.

  

• Cosmo receives top creativity award for digital displays

  Jun 23, 2011 (1:05 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas received top honors Wednesday at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, a premier international awards contest for advertising and communications.

  

• Cosmopolitan's chief information officer departs

  Jun 22, 2011 (10:58 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  A mere six months after its opening, the Strip’s newest megaresort has a new chief information officer. Kris Singleton started work this week at the Cosmopolitan, replacing outgoing CIO Marshall Andrew.

  

• Lawsuits pile up as alleged casino assaults continue

  Jun 15, 2011 (2 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  In a downtown Las Vegas office, CD cases are stacked haphazardly, like an exhaustive, meticulously labeled music collection. These aren’t albums but rather, casino surveillance footage showing altercations between customers and casino security.

  

• Executive behind Caesars Entertainment's loyalty program leaving company

  Jun 2, 2011 (5:46 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The man widely credited with developing the casino industry's preeminent gambler loyalty program is exiting Caesars Entertainment after nearly 13 years with the casino giant.

  

• Looking for Nevada's best blackjack experience? Go north

  May 27, 2011 (6 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The small, unassuming Alamo and Topaz casinos in Northern Nevada have a leg up on the best of Las Vegas’ glittering resorts – at least by the standards of blackjack.

  

• Tropicana's $180 million renovation turning heads

  May 27, 2011 (1:55 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  The history of the Las Vegas Strip has been a tumultuous one, defined as much by the wrecking ball as by the construction of some of the world’s largest and most expensive resorts.

  

• Tropicana: Five old things

  May 27, 2011 (1:54 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  New rooms. New sports book. New restaurants. The Tropicana has all of those.

• Tropicana: Five new things

  May 27, 2011 (1:54 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  In the past two years, the 54-year-old Tropicana has undergone a $180 million renovation. It barely looks like its former self -- a property known for having sub-par rooms and tacky décor.

• Casino MonteLago reopens at Lake Las Vegas

  May 26, 2011 (11:49 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  It was a Las Vegas scene, circa 2007: Too many people, too few gambling machines and too few parking spaces for the throng of people on hand for what might be the only major casino opening of 2011.

  

• Gambler wins $250,000 lawsuit against Imperial Palace

  May 25, 2011 (1:55 a.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Things weren’t going well for Chad Johnson the day he tried his luck at the Imperial Palace casino, where he worked as a valet. On May 11, 2008, he began complaining to a friend that the Monopoly slot machine’s bonus round kept showing the same outcome: A loss.

• Gaming Commission puts hold on license for 'slot arcade'

  May 20, 2011 (9:04 p.m.)

  By Liz Benston

  Over the past few months, the Nevada Gaming Commission has reluctantly approved licenses for “slot arcades” that seem more like subdued, miniature casinos than traditional bars. That streak ended Thursday, when the commission voted 3-2 to refer a license application for a new Jackpot Joanie’s tavern back to the state’s regulatory staff.

  
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