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January 7, 2013

Small Time Resorts and Casinos Struggle During Third Quarter of 2012

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 3:20 am

Although many companies have seen a serious uptick in their revenues from recent years, many of the budget resorts, locals casinos, and smalltime resorts have been struggling mightily during the third quarter of 2012. The third-quarter financials have come in, and show continued difficulties for two of the three main casino sectors. Most of the high-end and top resorts have seen the profits of the third-quarter rise when compared to profits over previous quarters. However, some of the smaller locations have struggled mightily to increase their revenue in the same way that some of their larger counterparts have.

Does properties that are working on a budget on the strip, faced an uphill battle attempting to get customers that are still recovering from a dangerous recession, to agree to spend money at some of the smaller casinos. It is thought that some of the larger casinos were able to profit by bringing individuals in from around the country who are looking to vacation in the area. However, many of the large casinos were not as frequented by locals throughout Nevada, which is where some of the smaller resorts and casinos were able to win their business. With many of the locals still weary about the recession, some of the smaller resorts have underperformed during the third quarter of this year.

The unemployment and foreclosure rates remain elevated in Nevada, when compared to the rest of the nation. This means that individuals from around the United States are much more likely to visit the larger casinos, then locals are to visit some of the smaller casinos throughout the Nevada area. The luxury resorts turned in a good performance, with both Wynn Resorts and the Las Vegas Sands handing out strong numbers overall.

Other companies, such as Station Casinos, have reported good numbers as well with a revenue of $295.7 million during the third quarter, which was up 4.7% over the previous year. The company reported a net profit of $11.2 million, which was also well. These numbers were a bit inflated, and were likely due to a number of small, one-time transactions that are not likely to be reflected during next year’s report.

Local smalltime company Cannery Casino Resorts reported that its to properties fell almost $2 million you over the previous year. The overall revenue of both properties fell a total of 4.4%, with a net revenue decline from $145.9 million, down to $138.8 million. This has raised concerns about the local market moving forward, and whether or not individuals throughout Nevada are ever going to begin gambling enough to support the number of casinos that the state currently has open for individuals in the local area.

“We remain wary of the locals market recovery,” Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett wrote in a report on Station’s earnings, shortly after the numbers were made publicly available. “We continue to believe the locals market will continue to experience a period of slower growth through 2013 as consumer spending moderates and comparisons (to previous periods) get more difficult.”

December 22, 2012

Omni Casino Celebrates 15 Years In Online Gaming

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 4:07 am

Established in November 1997, Omni Casino is proudly celebrating their 15th birthday this month. Omni Casino’s objective has been all along to provide their players with innovative, exciting and pure casino entertainment, along with being the most secure and trusted online casino available. These accreditations and prove has given Omni Casino the opportunity to serve hundreds of thousands of players, providing them with millions of gambling sessions each and every year for the last 15 years. Omni Casino has been recognized repeatedly with more than 30 different awards, and has been recognized by a variety of magazines for their contribution to entertainment in the gambling industry.

Omni Casino appreciates each and every member, and knows that they are lucky to have their customers’ loyalty. It is for this reason that they are showing their appreciation to their players by not only never taking them for granted, but also continually thanking partners, suppliers, employees and players, with a slot tournament that is dedicated to their 15th anniversary. This particular tournament has been aptly named the Anniversary Spectacular Slot Tournament, and offers players a prize pool of $15,000 to win. The structure is identical to their other slot tournaments that they held before; some players will not have any troubles participating in this tournament. There are some very special prizes that have been increased because of the importance of this anniversary occasion. Special prizes of $115 will be given to the player that spins the highest number of new spin points since the last leader, every time the leader board is updated.

Any player will not be able to win this prize more than twice during the tournament. The first Omni Casino player that achieves a total of 115,000 or more real money spins of $.45 or higher, equivalent in any currency, will be awarded an additional $515. This is an excellent “thank you”, and also provides pre-tournament booster points available, and the tournament is currently well underway. Omni Casino still offers other special bonuses in conjunction with these, all connecting the 15th anniversary celebration of the casino. Players will continue to be eligible for a variety of bonuses based on their particular deposit amount. Any player the deposits $10-$30 will be able to avail of a bonus of 150%, up to $45.

Players that deposit $31-$80 will take advantage of 125% bonus up to $100, deposits between $81-$150 will be able to utilize 100% deposit bonus up to $150, and every Omni Casino player will be able to take advantage of the 150% bonus on any deposit of $30 or more, up to $115. This is based on their first deposit that will help them get well underway to celebrate Omni Casino’s 15th anniversary, and take advantage of the Anniversary Spectacular Slot Tournament. Omni Casino is the flagship online casino of Peak Interactive, and proudly utilizes Playtech software and is fully licensed in the jurisdiction of CuraƧao. Players are encouraged to check out Omni Casino not only for their 15th anniversary celebrations, but to find out why they have been honored to so many awards and provide the most exciting casino experience to players around the world.

December 21, 2012

Economists Project Las Vegas Poised For Growth In the Future

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 3:04 am

Following the financial collapse of 2008, the future of Las Vegas look cloudy. Casinos in the area saw a record losses for the years following 2008, but recently, projections from a number of prominent economists have shown that over the next two years, the region could see long turn economic growth. They believed that over the course of the next two years, this growth could rival the days that were seen just before the recession hit in 2008, when the industry was growing rapidly throughout all of Las Vegas. The entire West in fact, could see steady and sustained economic growth after 2015, according to a number of economists and business leaders that attended a meeting sponsored by UNLV at the M Resort, which is located in Henderson. Although they were not going to go as far as to predict a definite turnaround, and stated that the industry and region was a long ways from where it was in 2007, the economists forecasted huge improvement over the course of the next two years.

Prior to the recession, Nevada saw an unprecedented era of growth for almost a quarter century. Prior to 2008, Nevada had one of the fastest-growing economies of any state over the course of the previous 25 years. Much of this growth was led by Las Vegas, the entertainment and gaming industries, and the growing wealth of the nation. Those trends were also seen throughout all of the West. During the same 25 year period, all states to the west of South Dakota saw the biggest economic booms, as well is growth in number of jobs, as well as population. When the economy crashed, however, the West Coast seem to be hit even harder than the East. However, as the economy continues to slowly rebound, it is thought that the West will grow much more quickly than the East, which did not see as big of a bust.

The biggest properties on the strip have changed their business model slightly, but continue to grow as the economy recovers. This is likely because the economy of the country as a whole continues to rebound, and more individuals are interested in taking vacations to areas such as Las Vegas and Nevada. However, casinos the targeted individuals locally have not done as well. The residents of Nevada have seen some of the slowest growth since the recession started to turn around, and still have the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the nation. As that begins to pick up, and local casinos are able to turn a profit, more jobs will be created throughout the state, as visitors begin to return to these resorts.

With the upcoming fiscal cliff looming, there are still concerns about the future. Industry insiders worry that an increase on income tax will greatly decrease the profits that casinos can hope to receive, and as a result will not boost the economy is much throughout the state of Nevada. As legislators begin to navigate the upcoming fiscal cliff, it will be interesting to see how they decide to handle it, and how big of an effect this can have on a growing economy. Without an answer to avoid the fiscal cliff yet found, it is not currently clear what types of changes the state should prepare for, and whether or not it is going to be a huge detriment to the gaming industry.

December 18, 2012

Online Gaming Industry In Uproar Over Detainment

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 4:05 am

The co-chief executive of bwin.party digital entertainment was recently detained by the Belgian Gambling Commission and underwent questioning for two hours. Although there where many different protests against this detention, the media as well as many others associated with the online gambling industry waited anxiously for his release, as well as took their time to provide a collective response to this type of intimidation from the Belgian government. The letter was sent to the Financial Times in response to this detention, in spite of the fact that a journalist has written a very demeaning article for the Financial Times immediately following the detainment.

This letter was written by the chief executive of Victor Chandler International on behalf of some of the big executives, owners as well as himself of leading online gambling firms throughout Europe. Those companies included Winamax, Gamesys, Betclic Everest Group, 888 Holdings, Stan James, bwin.party digital entertainment, William Hill, 32Red, Sportingbet and bet365. Among the signatories of this letter was an integral member of bet365, who was listed on her Majesty’s honor list earlier in 2012. This letter clearly stated that the detainment of the co-chief executive of bwin.party digital entertainment was virtually next door to the European Parliament, where the European Commissioner for internal market and services operates.

Because of the close proximity, it was quoted as “a stark reminder of the legal uncertainty that prevails in the European online gaming market”. Other important aspects within the letter word that despite the fact that Belgian authorities felt that it was okay to intimidate online gambling groups that may have challenged their country’s domestic gaming laws, Belgian authorities have maintained complete silence on each of the concerns that were raised by the European commission on these same laws. These same laws were questioned and concerns were raised when it came to the opinion of the European commission and domestic gaming event back to 2009.

The letter continued and targeted the European Commission for their lack of action when it was concerning a direct complaint was lodged against the country of Belgium in 2010. The European Commissioner simply assumed that there was hope on the forefront of the gambling industry in Europe. They accepted compliance of laws within the treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as a prerequisite for successful policies for online gaming. The leader of the European commission also assured individuals that the office he headed blended launch proceedings if there were any obvious infringements made upon this treaty. The online gaming companies are now asking him to deliver on that promise, because of the actions that have taken place in Belgium. Instead of acting in a protectionist manner, the chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association has pointed out in action among member states, encouraging them to stand up and act accordingly. Bulgaria recently introduced a 15% tax on gambling companies’ turnovers, which has encouraged the European commission’s attacks from other sources, because online gaming companies are expecting action to protect them under the laws and policies of online gambling treaties and agreements.

December 16, 2012

Western Frontier Instant Play Slot Now Available

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 4:04 am

One of the most popular and iconic themes of any casino in the US is the Cowboys and Indians motif. Microgaming, one of the leading software providers available for online gaming solutions, is proud to introduce an instant play online slot, called Western Frontier. Although it offers online casino games to both download casinos and instant play, Microgaming does have specific games that are only available for download and some that are only available for instant play. The latest in instant play is Western Frontier, and both cowboys and Indians have their say as thematic symbols for this online slot game. One major difference is that there is an unusual mix of weapons on the reels, including a pistol and a Tomahawk. It also highlights Native American wigwams, Cowboys wagons and campfires, which are traditionally used by both Indians and Cowboys. The traditional low-paying symbols appear in Western Frontier, and are the typical high-value playing card icons from Ace to 9, which have been created in the traditional and easily recognized Microgaming stylized format.

Western Frontier has two special symbols in it, which include the horseshoe and the mustang. The mustang is wild and substitutes for every other symbol on the real. The horseshoe is the scatter symbol of the game, and it works traditional scatter payouts if two or more horseshoe icons appear anywhere on the five reels. If the horseshoes and the mustang appear together, this initiates and exciting bonus that offers double action and highly lucrative payouts. If a player gets three or more scatter horseshoe symbols, it will then initiate the Indian feature. The Indian feature gives players a free spins, and all the payouts that uses the mustang symbol are doubled during this feature. The eight free spins can be continually re-triggered it scatter symbols appear in combination during the free spin feature. During the Indian feature, mustang symbols are also accumulated in order to discern how much a player will be awarded in the Cowboy feature.

Zero to three mustangs on the reels will trigger a free spins and double wild payouts. Four to 7 mustangs on the reels will trigger 10 free spins and triple all wild payouts. Eight to 11 mustangs on the reels will trigger 12 free spins for the player with a multiplier of four, while 12 to 15 mustangs will trigger 14 free spins and a multiplier of five. Sixteen mustang symbols or more will trigger 16 free spins and has wild payouts that are multiplied by six. The Cowboy feature is offered to the player once the Indian feature has been completed. In the Cowboy feature, if a player gets three or more scattered horseshoes, they will be able to avail of eight additional free spins once again at the same multiplier as before. With 15 pay lines, players can bet up to 10 credits per line, with denominations of .01 to .50 in their home currency. This game is available for instant flash play at a number of casinos, including All Slots Casino, Roxy Palace and Spin Palace.

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