Casino City Newsletter: Issue 183Volume 3 Page 1



Issue 183	March 15 - 21, 2004	Volume 4	page 1

This Issue

Gaming News
Harrah's Sets Table for 2004 World Series of Poker

SHOOTING STARS: Fox's 'Casino' completes initial work at Golden Nugget

Anuvu Fuel Cell Powers Hydrogen Car at Mohegan Sun

Bingo machines set to take off in US

Singapore mulling an offshore luxury casino-resort complex minister

Show Time
Celine Dion, performs in "A New Day" at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Column
Home Sweet Home By Barney Vinson

Check out our entertainment highlights & upcoming tournaments

See the lucky winners

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Harrah's Sets Table for 2004 World Series of Poker

LAS VEGAS -- Poker players, gather around the table: The richest event in all of sports is on, as scheduled, at its historic downtown Las Vegas home.

Harrah's is re-opening the legendary Horseshoe on April 1, just in time for the 35th annual World Series of Poker. Thirty-three events will be held between April 22 and the finale of the World Championship event on May 28. This year's tournament, which will continue the rich tradition Benny Binion created with the first event in 1970, promises to be the most thrilling gambling event in history as thousands of poker players from all over the world are expected to descend on the Horseshoe.

Based on the expected number of participants, the total prize money in 2004 World Series of Poker will be more than $20 million and could easily exceed $25 million. The World Championship event (May 22-28), alone, will award more than $10 million in prize money, with 100 or more players expected to win cash. Based on the number of participants, the winner will take home an estimated $3 million, up from last year's total of $2.5 million.

Harrah's will offer multiple mini-tournaments called "satellites," which enable poker players to gain entry into the tournaments at a deep discount - sometimes for as little as $50. Last year's world champion Chris Moneymaker qualified to play in an online satellite tournament and walked away with $2.5 million. And tournament director Matt Savage says with a huge field expected to play in the 2004 World Series of Poker there is a "really good chance" that another first-time entrant like Moneymaker will win the championship.
Players interested in registering in advance for the tournament can call 877-FOR-WSOP and then pay the registration fee for the event they want to enter via a wire transfer. Players can also register on site at the Horseshoe during the tournament. Registration materials can then be picked up at World Series of Poker registration desk. You must be 21 to enter. Requests for room reservations at the Horseshoe can also be made through the toll-free line. Rooms are also available at Harrah's Las Vegas or the Rio by calling 1-800-HARRAHS.

Moneymaker believes the field will be wide open this year. "So many people are going to be in it this year. The unknowns outnumber the pros. It's highly probably that an unknown will wind up at the final table," he says.
Players who won World Series of Poker events at hundreds of satellite stations throughout the United States and around the world will be traveling to Las Vegas to play in the World Championship. Additionally, players may also buy into any of the events directly, with entry fees ranging from $1,500 up to $10,000 for events ranging from limit, pot-limit and no-limit Texas Hold'em to Seven-Card Stud, Omaha High-Low and other popular forms of poker.

SHOOTING STARS: Fox's 'Casino' completes
initial work at Golden Nugget
As reported by The Las Vegas Review Journal

Luck's always in season in Las Vegas. Especially on St. Patrick's Day.
This year, however, St. Patrick's Day becomes a red-letter day at the Golden Nugget for another reason: the end of principal production on "The Casino."

The Fox reality drama, which debuts in June, will capture additional background footage and pick-up shots following Wednesday's official finale, according to executive producer James Bruce.
But "people are starting to go home Thursday" following 45 days -- and nights -- of action at downtown's Golden Nugget.

"We came here early and started with a few cameras," Bruce recalls. On Feb. 2, however, "The Casino" expanded to round-the-clock coverage of new Nugget owners Timothy Poster and Thomas Breitling, staffers and an ever-rotating guest roster.

Some 18 camera crews followed "The Casino's" cast of real-life characters, shooting about 270 hours of footage for each hour-long episode.

That's about average for a reality series, explains Bruce -- who's worked with "The Casino" executive producer Mark Burnett on such reality hits as "Survivor" and "The Restaurant."

The current "Casino" has more in common with the latter, Bruce comments -- although he likens it to " `The Restaurant' times 10."

After all, "in `The Restaurant,' you had one room and one building," unlike the expansive Golden Nugget, where cameras followed characters from guest rooms to gaming tables and everywhere in between.

In one sense, Bruce comments, the show "is like `Love Boat' in a casino -- who are the guests, who are the gamblers?" he says. With Poster and Breitling as the captains and hotel staffers as the crew, individual "Casino" episodes will be "more geared to the guests, hence the `Love Boat' analogy."

And because a never-ending stream of guests provides constant variety, "The Casino" could become a long-running reality version of "Law and Order," with owners Poster and Breitling anchoring the drama.

And coming soon to a casino near you: the syndicated "The Luck Show," which will test contestants on their knowledge of Vegas trivia and table games. As always, stay tuned to Shooting Stars for more details.