Casino Player

Baccarat has long been thought of as a game only for those with lots of money and a reputation with the house. Average gamblers have been shut out of baccarat games, either by house restrictions or their own perceptions that they can’t afford to play. But things are changing in the same way as it changed for the casino games.

While there still remain a number of casinos limiting baccarat games, the low house edge has been a major incentive in opening them to everyone. As far as the house is concerned, the lower the edge, the more players are needed to make the game profitable. That being said, what makes baccarat a game everyone should try?

Three Types of Bets
In baccarat, you can bet three ways: on the player hand, the banker hand, and a tie hand. The tie hand gives the house the greatest advantage, anywhere from 14.4% to 15.6%, so you probably want to avoid it as much as possible. The other two bets are much safer though they don’t leave much room for wagering.

The house edge on the banker bet is only 1.06%, lower if you’re playing a single-deck game. The low house edge means the banker bet is one of the safest casino wagers around. As for the player bet, the house edge is only slightly higher at 1.24%. Successful baccarat players will stick mainly with the banker hand, throwing in a player bet every now and again to change things up.

If you understand the rules of the game, and the smart way to bet, baccarat is a game anyone can play safely.

The goal in an established Singapore retail market is to give luxury shoppers distinctive products that are not easily obtained somewhere else. On the other hand, the challenge in Macau is just to establish it as a retail destination.

According to David Sylvester, Senior Vice President of Las Vegas Sands Corporations’ (LVS) Asia retailing operations, there will be around 50 more shops opening in September at the Marina Bay Sands casino resort in Singapore. With the addition of the new stores, including Dior and Hermes outlets, Marina Bay Sands will be home to over 150 stores. Marina Bay Sands will house about 300 restaurants and stores when totally operational, engendering estimated annual sales of over S$1 billion dollars. They currently have contracts to occupy about 95% of the mall capacity.

Back in 2006, LVS was granted a tender from the Singapore government to construct an integrated resort. On April 27, the initial segment of Marina Bay Sands opened. When completed, the resort will include a mall, convention center, 2,560 hotel rooms, a theater, a casino, and the SkyPark.

Despite difficulty obtaining consistent construction labor, the U.S. $4 billion dollar casino still has a target opening date for the third quarter of 2011. In just a few weeks, the Sands China Ltd.’s (1928.HK) delayed expansion project in Macau’s Cotai area will be advertised to retailers. Sites 5 and 6 of the Cotai expansion will be mid-range.

Even though many retail shops suffered during the financial crisis, most of the retail contracts at the Venetian million-square -foot mall have been renewed and sales are steadily improving.

Casino Rama made one man very happy when they handed him a $1.7 Million dollar check. The forty some year old man who asked not to be identified won the million plus jackpot after playing a 14 Mega Bucks Progressive slot machine for only a short period of time. He remarked that he always felt he was meant to be a winner since had had come close to winning at two other gaming sites in Ontario on two previous occasions. The play cost him a mere $20 bill.

Harry Oshanski, President and CEO of the casino, expressed his thrill to have another large slot jackpot winner. According to Oshanski, this was the fifth time the Mega Bucks jackpot had been won since it had been introduced. The other wins were in the amounts of $9M, $1.2M, $2.1M, and $1.8M.

Mega Bucks was introduced in Ontario in 2001. Besides at Casino Rama, it can be played at ten other different casinos including OLG Casino Thunder Bay. Casino Sault Ste. Marie, Niagara Fallsview, OLG Casino Thousand Islands, OLG Slots Georgian, Casino Rama, Casino Windsor, OLG Casino Brantford, OLG Slots Woodbine, OLG Casino Point Edward and Casino Niagara. The Mega Bucks jackpot starts at $1 million and continues to climb until a customer makes the winning combination.

Casino Rama opened in 1996 and offers more than 110 gaming tables, over 2500 slot machines, online casino games, 10 restaurants, a full service hotel and a 5000 seat entertainment center. It is operated by Penn National Gaming, Inc.

PokerStars.net, title sponsor of the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the world’s largest online poker site has declared that during EPT Season 7, it will make a return to the stunning Austrian capital, Vienna. In Vienna, it has been six years since the EPT was last staged and it will return in spectacular style with a five-day €5,300 event with a €500,000 first prize guarantee. Taking place in the stunning 19th century Renaissance-style Concord Card Casino, the event will run 26-31 October.

Austrian Team PokerStars Pro Johannes Steindl said, “I am really looking forward to playing in an EPT event held in my new home town. I have been living in Vienna for three months and it is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. I’ll be playing my best game to try and take home the €500,000 guaranteed first prize!”

Once home to Beethoven, Mozart, Johann Strauss, Hedy Lamarr, Maria von Trapp and Schubert hence Vienna is known as a cultural capital of Europe. On the Austrian capital, expect plenty of local poker talent to converge. The list may include Sebastian Ruthenberg, Sandra Naujoks, Team PokerStars Pros and Austrian-born team member Johannes Steindl and PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker.

In the beautiful Estonian capital of Tallinn, EPT Season 7 will kick off next week, €4,250 event running from August 11-16. From there the tour will visit the stunning Algarve resort of Vilamoura. Here, players will be able to take part in an exciting new two-day challenge, €5,300 Main Event, competing on the green grass of the golf course.

Slot-machine maker International Gaming Technology did have some good news for Wall Street and online casino business today, slowed by the continuing recession. A 52% profit increase was shown by the slot machine manufacturer in their fiscal third quarter. To tax gains, the profit was attributed.

Shares fell 1.2% to $16.50 in after hours of trading, although International Gaming Technology’s did show an impressive profit. IGT stock has fallen eleven percent, so far this year, as Wall Street investors have been disappointed with the stocks’ performance.

Patti Hart, Chief Executive said the third quarter profits “reflect meaningful progress at IGT.” When it comes to the slot industry, Goldman Sachs is not as optimistic. Goldman Sachs analysts have gone on record saying, until 2012, they do not expect a full recovery.

Revenue from gaming operations is down 3.5% and revenue from outright machine sales is down 7.6%, in which IGT leases the machines and shares in the profits. From the leased machines, IGT heavily relies on gaming revenue. 56% of their total sales are their total revenue from their leasing agreements.

$92.1 million was the IGT total reported profit, 31 cents a share, which is up from $60.6 million, or 20 cents a share over last years’ reported profit.

This week at the 35th Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship, Lars Bentzon of Denmark was crowned the world’s new backgammon champion.

At the event at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo, Bentzon, also a professional poker player wrapped up the world title. Bentzon, nicknamed “Buster”, is best known as pro poker player Gus Hansen’s former manager and a fellow Dane.

For the first prize, Bentzon won €60.000 and now in backgammon, he owns the most prestigious title. In the finals, Bentzon beat Spanish/Lebanese Ricardo Mala 25-9, after beating Pia Jeppesen, fellow countrywoman, and one of the leading female players in backgammon 23-16 in the semifinals.

With a field of 158 backgammon players, on July 11, started the main division of the 35th Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship. The Intermediate and Beginners’ divisions, which featured semi finalists, Pia Jeppesen of Denmark and Olivier Décultot of France, dozens more, entered the same. Ilhan Koc and Fuat Erdag of Turkey won the Doubles Tournament.

To win the World Backgammon Championship, Lars Bentzon is the fifth Dane. Lars Trabolt preceded him. The title was won by Peter Jes Thomsen (1993), Mads Andersen (2002), Peter Hallberg (2004), and Trabolt, who won the 2008 title (and the Super Jackpot event in 2010). Japanese Masayuki Mochizuki (Mochy), last year’s world champion returned as a semi-finalist at the second consolation event, although he has dropped already at the second round.

If Video Poker players want to hit the jackpot, they have to hurry. Well, state of North Carolina’s players at least does the same.

The popular electronic games video slot machines and video poker games have been embraced by other jurisdictions. At hundreds of North Carolina Internet cafes, business service centers and various other places, computer-based sweepstakes games have officially been banned.

On a Tuesday afternoon, as widely expected, a bill was signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue that bans the electronic games starting Dec. 1.

The North Carolina legislature, in early July agreed to extend the 2006 ban to games designed to attract consumers to purchase phone or Internet time, on video poker machines. To get around the previous ban, this was a way, said the ban supporters.

However, many video poker operators say that thousands of jobs will be eliminated by the ban.

The governor likely would sign the bill into law, Perdue’s office had said earlier this month. No bill-signing ceremony was held there.

Mary McMahon of Colorado was playing the quarter slot machines June first at Wildwood casino at Cripple Creek when it became what she thought was her lucky day. She hit the progressive jackpot on her machine, and soon thought that she was a millionaire. The machine flashed the progressive jackpot amount of $1627.82, but also strangely flashed other numbers which were responsible for her thinking she had won millions. The other numbers that were also displayed were $11,000,600. Ms. McMahon thought she was rich.

Her world came tumbling down however, when she was told that the amount displayed on the machine was only an error. In fact it was a human error that caused all of the commotion. When the machine’s jackpot was won, it should have displayed the amount won, along with the new progressive jackpot amount. On May 12th, someone by mistake entered the wrong numbers into the machine. The machine should have only displayed $600, but it displayed $11,000,600.

Colorado gaming officials stated that the amount entered into the machine for the new progressive jackpot would have to have been approved by casino staff. Officials stated that this was not possible that any of the staff members would approve an amount this large in that type of machine. The division of gaming took the controller in to be investigated. This is the second time in the last three months that an incident such as this has happened in Colorado.

Mary McMahon stated, “I think they should fix the machines, because if you win a big jackpot, you’ve won it,” however, at the same time she told reporters that she will be satisfied with winning any amount of money.

Regardless of the opposition the B.C. provincial government has shown, First Nations leaders have decided to set up their own gaming authority. For the provincial government, casinos, casino games and online casino generate a billion dollars of revenue each year; aboriginal people believe that some of that money should be used to fund First Nation projects.

Than non-native Canadians, the aboriginal people of British Columbia suffer a higher rate of unemployment and poverty. In these communities, business and employment opportunities lack. The First Nation people believe that the B.C. provincial government should make an effort to close that gap in the citizenry. The government feels different.

They decided to create their own gaming authority for casinos to be built on their native lands, when the First Nations realized that there would be no help from the government. Stating that gaming revenues should benefit all British Columbians, the government is opposed to this measure. They have promised to shut down any illegal gaming places, even on Native land.

Despite opposition, leaders of the First Nations have stated that they will continue with their plan. To decide at a later date, it has been stated that authority to control gaming will need to be left up to the courts.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission gave approval on Wednesday to Avenue Capital Management to own Trump Entertainment Resorts over a bid by investor Carl Icahn who has filed an appeal against the decision. The New Jersey commission also approved the bankruptcy reorganization of the company formerly owned by Trump.

Avenue Capital Management is known for buying distressed companies, turning them around and absorbing the profit. They plan to own the Entertainment Resorts at least five years and are expecting a huge increase in equity.

The structure of the new ownership includes a majority ownership of 21.7 percent by Avenue Capital Management with Trump retaining 10 percent. Bankruptcy proceedings are expected to cut the company debt 80 percent, from 1.8 Billion to 334 Million. Marc Lasry, CEO of Avenue Capital, has stated that he hopes Trump will remain “as involved as he wants to be”. Trump says he will remain as involved as his schedule will allow.

Lasry has said that Avenue Capital will continue with prior efforts to sell Trump Marina which is one portion of Trump Entertainment Resorts. He says that closing it is not an option. They are willing to make additional investments, renovate and keep it if they are unable to find a buyer. They are, however, currently fielding several offers. Besides Trump Marina, Trump Entertainment Resorts also owns Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Trump Plaza Hotel Casino, all famous for the casino games.