Issue 153
August 18-24, 2003
Volume 3
page 1
 

This Issue

Gaming News
Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower to Add More Thrill

Some Nevada Bettors Doing Better

GoddessPoker.com Launches to Attract More Female Poker Players

Park Place Offers New Comps Program

Tattoo Parlor Planned for Casino

Schwarzenegger on Ballot and Slot Machines?


Show Time

Nero couldn't sing and Augustus couldn't dance, but when the Latin rhythms of Gloria Estefan take over The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, October 10-19 (dark October 13, 14 and 15), the entire Roman Empire is sure to shake


Column
How Odds of Winning Rounds Affect Session Prospects

Check out our entertainment highlights & upcoming tournaments

See the lucky winners

 

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Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower to Add More Thrill

LOGAN, UT - The Martians Have Landed. No, just the ultimate thrill ride coming to The Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas this October. And, it just got bigger.

Industry leader Interactive Rides of Logan, Utah is building the ultimate extreme thrill ride in their backyard - Project X Sky - a new state-of-the-art amusement attraction that will send riders over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower's Outdoor Observation Deck almost 900 feet above the Las Vegas Strip. The vehicle, which was originally set to travel approximately 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere's Observation Deck, has now been extended to 31 feet, giving patrons the greatest thrill possible.

"An extra four feet over the edge of Stratosphere Tower will seem like a mile," said Bobby Ray Harris, senior vice president of operations at the Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower. "We opted for the maximum thrill and speed by adding additional footage to the ride experience and because of this, the ride will now open in October," he said.

The ride consists of an open, floorless vehicle that holds eight passengers in "escape proof" seats. The vehicle is attached to a pivoting track that propels the passenger vehicle over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower at 30 miles per hour. Riders will experience free-fall maneuvers while racing back and forth repeatedly from the edge.

Built in Utah, the huge structure will make its way to Las Vegas in September, where it will be hoisted up the side of the Stratosphere Tower by way of commercial helicopters, to its home on the observation deck. An unobstructed view of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip rewards those riders brave enough to ride
Project X Sky.


Some Nevada Bettors Doing Better

/Las Vegas Gaming Wire/ - NEVADA - Nevada casino gamblers lost 2.8 percent more money betting on slots and table games during fiscal 2003 than they did in fiscal 2002, but some games didn't contribute to the turnaround.

According to the Gaming Control Board's fiscal year-end numbers for the 12-month period ended June 30, casinos won less from blackjack, minibaccarat and bingo players. The top game in the state's casino pits, blackjack continued its recent slide, as the game won $1.08 billion from bettors, down 4.2 percent after decreasing 5.4 percent in fiscal 2002.

Blackjack's share of table game win decreased to 33.6 percent of the $3.22 billion total, down from the prior year's 36.4 percent mark. The state's 140 minibaccarat tables won $163.2 million from gamblers, down 12.42 percent, almost the mirror image of upscale cousin baccarat, which won $437.5 million, up
16.49 percent.

The state's 43 bingo parlors won $2.5 million from bettors, down 34.7 percent during a year when a late-summer bingo scam at several Station Casinos properties prompted state regulators to shut down the use of some electronic bingo card minders, called GTIs, that allowed players to watch television while simultaneously playing dozens of bingo cards at a time.

Dollar, quarter and nickel slot denominations all reported declines in fiscal 2003, but control board statistical analyst Frank Streshley said the comparisons with prior years are skewed by the separate "multi-denomination" category.

In past years, operators with games that allowed players to choose from more than one denomination were allowed to categorize those devices as either multi-denomination or as one of the denominations on the device. Operators must now report those machines' results only as multi-denomination slots. Multi-machines won $863.5 million from gamblers, up 135.3 percent, a change Streshley attributed to the new reporting requirement and to the spread of multi-denomination games. The change also contributed to drops of 8.1, 6.8 and 5 percent for nickel-, quarter- and dollar-denominated machines, he said.

Nickel slots solidified their hold as the second biggest money-making denomination, winning $1.51 billion, 23.9 percent of the total slot win. Nickel devices provided only 12.1 percent one decade earlier, in fiscal 1993. Quarter slots won $1.97 billion from gamblers, 31.1 percent of the total slot win, down from 47.2 percent in fiscal 1993. Dollar slots won $1.25 billion, continuing a steady decade-long decline to 19.8 percent of total slot win, compared to 33 percent in fiscal 2003.

Among the table games with improved results were craps, baccarat, roulette and pai gow poker.

Craps, the state's second winningest table game, won $445.4 million, up 5.9 percent. Baccarat tables won $437.5 million, up 16.5 percent. Roulette tables won $262.4 million, up 1.1 percent and pai gow poker tables won $119.6 million, up less than one-tenth of 1 percent.

The state's 159 sports books reported a 12.8 percent increase in the amount won from sports bettors, to $124.4 million. Football bettors dropped $51.5 million, up 33.3 percent; basketball bettors lost $33.7 million, up 12.2 percent; and baseball wagerers lost $12.2 million, down 16 percent.

Casinos' most lucrative sports betting segment, parlay cards, won $23 million from gamblers, up 20.1 percent. Nevada's 125 race books won $85.5 million, down 1.4 percent.

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