The economic condition in the United States has brought everyone done. The casino and casino hotel industry knows this fact very well. They have seen numbers drop in almost every avenue of the business. Some casinos and casino hotels, particularly in Atlantic City and Las Vegas have been forced to close their doors, some have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Even some of the big names have been rumored to be in more debt then they would normally be able to handle.

Harrah’s Entertainment, one of the largest, most well known casino hotel companies and the largest by revenue was though to be headed toward bankruptcy last year. As late as December 31, 2008 Harrah’s Entertainment was sitting on a mound of debt to the tune of $23.1 million. It seemed that doom was around the corner. Most experts thought the company would file for Chapter 11 and undergo a massive restructuring project.

There is good news for the Las Vegas based casino company. They have reached agreements with their lenders that will allow them to stay out of the bankruptcy courts for a little longer. Most of Harrah’s Entertainment’s debts were scheduled to mature by 2013 latter part of this year. However, an announcement was made this week that stated the maturity date would be extended for two additional years, 2015.

Harrah’s Entertainment made significant strides in the last part of 2009 to chip away at some of its debts on casino, hotel, and entertainment properties. Even though gaming revenue was down (as it was for everybody) Harrah’s Entertainment posted a profit in the final quarter of last year of about $298 million. Sadly only 30 percent of these profits came from their most famous casinos in Las Vegas. They did see the purchase of nearby Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, and they are hoping this expansion in their customer base will help bring profits up in 2010.
As for now the casino industry is temporarily safe from debt maturation. Harrah’s Entertainment was the closest. Hopefully, in the years to come, this will no longer be an issue.

Most casino goers will sign up for the casinos loyalty program. These programs are prevalent most service and entertainment businesses. They award points to players and members each time they make purchases, place bets or other activities. Members can use these points to earn discounts, free plays, first or exclusive rights to other promotions and goodies, and personal recognition. I even know people who have signed up for a loyalty program just to gain access to free parking. Online casinos also host loyalty programs. With the exception of the free parking, they offer the same sorts of things. It is a very valuable tool when trying to entice players to stay at a particular online casino or, at least, remain within its family of online casinos.

The Fortune Lounge Group which is responsible for online casinos such as Royal Vegas, Vegas Towers, Platinum Play, and Fortune Room, has been hosting a promotion that appeals to their loyal members, even their new loyal members that don’t even realize it yet. Fortune Lounge’s Diamonds are Forever promotion is responsible for giving away thousands of online casino credits, millions of loyalty points, and even a lifetime Diamond Status to go along with 2 million of their loyalty points. The online casinos from Fortune Lounge Group are kidding around. Already they have handed out 3,650 online casino credits, 3.5 million loyalty points and Diamond Statuses to 57 players.

This is week nine of the Diamonds are Forever promotion. It is still going strong and online casino regulars to Fortune Lounge Group’s casinos are raking it in. Just as Frank K. He has already won month long Diamond Status and 1 million points to go along with it. Players participating in the promotion keep playing because players like Lori L. are winning online casino credits. She, herself, won 750.

Fortune Lounge Group and its family of online casinos are hosting their Diamonds are Forever promotion for almost a whole other month. Join up and you could be one of the winners that gets elevated to Diamond Status and is able to take advantage of special and exclusive offers.

Companies in the casino industry are constantly updating themselves. This is especially true for the casino software providers, and goes double for the online casino software providers. The advantages of always being one up on the competition are enormous, not to mention the fun it provides for the players. Prime Gaming and its Prime ScratchCards division are very proud of their continued dedication to updating themselves and offering new products. They are doing everything in their power to remain a leader in the newest form of online gambling.

Online instant win scratch off cards are quickly becoming a popular form of online gambling. Players enjoy their ease of play and quick results. They can also be a nice complement to other online casino games. Players can satisfy their gambling needs playing an online instant win scratch off card while waiting for sporting results to come in or card hands to be played out.

Back to Prime ScratchCards. Recently, in a press release, they sang their own praises and made their argument as to why they have been so successful. The lay claims to providing online casino players with over 40 of the best quality instant win scratch off cards. They also claim that new games are being launched every month and their design team is always updating and improving their website.

What Prime ScratchCards feels sets them apart is their business model during this uncertain economic time. Most companies in and out of the casino business have been downsizing and cutting costs to help keep their head above water. Prime ScratchCards has been doing the opposite. They have invested quite a deal in new technologies. They have also expanded their staff, which is something hardly anyone is doing right now. Prime ScratchCards also is boasting of one of the highest conversion rates in the online casino industry. They have practice players in almost every online casino market and regular players that are right behind. Prime ScratchCards is very proud of not only their dedication to excellence in the online casino and gambling industry, but to their commitment to doing their share in these tough economic times.

The Miami, Florida based Opium Group have been in a lot of trouble. The Opium Group operate nightclubs and lounges in Miami and Las Vegas. Right now they are most famous (or infamous) for operating the Prive Nightclub and the Living Room Ultralounge in the Las Vegas Strip casino hotel, Planet Hollywood. Last year Opium Group and operators of the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino were slapped with some pretty serious fines. The nightclub owners fell out of favor with the Nevada Gaming Condition when it was discovered and confirmed that operating practices in the Prive Nightclub were illegal. They were charged with admitting underage guests and permitting excessive drinking. Intoxicated patrons were “dumped” into Planet Hollywood’s casino floor and that was all that could be tolerated.

“All that could be tolerated,” that is a nice segue. This February Harrah’s Entertainment bought and took control of the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. This was a serious deal for them as it greatly expanded their customer base and gave them control of almost an entire city block on the Las Vegas Strip. Harrah’s Entertainment is in no mood to deal with the defunct nightclub owners. Opium Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Miami, but Harrah’s Entertainment wants them out of their new casino hotel.

According to a settlement made between the Opium group and the former owners of the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino, the owners of the Prive Nightclub agreed to pay an upfront payment of $125,000 and five monthly payments of $50,000. This was to go straight to the fines imposed for the disorderly conduct. Harrah’s Entertainment claims that Opium Group still owes $500,000.

Now Harrah’s is simply asking the Opium Group to leave the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. They owe rent, fines, and a reputation that Harrah’s Entertainment is used to. The Opium Group has asked for an extension on their lease while they decide if they want to stay in the Las Vegas property.
The ordeal between the Prive Nightclub and the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino has been saga worthy. This is just the latest chapter. Now there is a new character, Casino super-name Harrah’s Entertainment.

The Red Flush Online Casino is quite confident they offer the best online gambling and casino experience on the internet. They feel so strongly about this they state on their website that they have an “…unparalleled choice in internet gambling, and offers an online casino that is second to none in quality functionality.” The Red Flush Online Casino is constantly offering exciting promotions, tournaments, that are both distinctive and inventive. Their Slot Survivor is a favorite among online slot players. They have set the standard even higher with their newest and most radical promotion. It will be part video game, part gambling fun, and part epic adventure.

The Red Flush Online Casino is combining the wild popularity of the Tomb Raider series of video games and movies and its star Lara Croft with the casino fun players have come to expect from Red Flush. The Lara Croft Bonus Adventure will take place over an exciting thirteen weeks. Red Flush is billing the Lara Croft Bonus Adventure as less of a tournament and more of an epic in the form of a quest. There are six adventures in the quest. Each one will be about two weeks long with the climax taking place during the final thirteenth week.

The big prize Red Flush Online Casino is offering with the Lara Croft Bonus Adventure is a staggering all expenses paid luxury cruise for two aboard the Oasis of the Seas, which is one of the largest, most expansive cruise ships in the world. The ship itself could be an adventure. As if that wasn’t enough the winners will be cruising in style for nine days a grand suite. There will also be weekly mystery and bonus prizes which could total close to $50,000.

To qualify for each level of Red Flush Online Casino’s Lara Croft Bonus Adventure players need to deposit a minimum amount and acquire points along the way. Each adventure will require a certain amount of points. As mentioned before this new promotion from Red Flush Online Casino is less of an online casino tournament and more of an online casino adventure

Back in the early 1990’s Iowa, the plain state almost smack dab in the middle of the United States, (and future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk), became one of the first states to approve measure to allow casinos on riverboats. This was a big step for the casino and gambling industry. When the United States and gambling were mentioned in the same breath it usually meant Las Vegas, Reno, or Atlantic City. From time to time it could mean one of the regional casinos run by Native American tribes, but during this time they were small, smoke filled casinos which hosted little more than slots machines, keno, and possibly a sports book.

With the riverboat casinos, the regional gaming market to a big leap forward. Riverboat casinos are casinos that are basically a on a riverboat by name only. It harkens back to the old days of the mid to late 1800’s when boats would steam up and down America’s great rivers like the Mississippi and the Missouri. In order to host a casino these new riverboats basically had to keep their gambling to a structure that was technically floating on the water. However, smart gambling entrepreneurs quickly realized that They could build hotels, restaurants, and convention spaces around these casinos and increase their draw. (Consequently the Native American casino operators found the same thing, and thus the boom of the regional casino market.) Now riverboat casinos can be found in states like Louisiana, Missouri, and Iowa.

Iowa which already hosts seventeen riverboat casinos and two Native American operated casinos now is looking at adding four more. Governor Chet Culver is wants Iowa’s gaming regulators to approve licenses in four different counties. He is citing jobs, revenue and economic stimulation for those counties. “It’s important that Iowans know that I want to bring these jobs to Lyon, Webster, Wapello and Tama counties,” he stated. He also confirmed that voters in the respective counties approved of the measures that would allow the expansion of gambling. When one thinks of Iowa they think of farms, and maybe Captain Kirk (if they’re nerdy enough). Maybe they should think of a casino resort vacation.

The Pokie, or the gambling machines that have been a staple in this area are now under fire and are threatening to be removed in the near future. There has been an increasing amount of concern about how much these machines are causing harm on the people in the surrounding areas. Gambling and addiction are some of the issues that they are facing, so now the government is working toward phasing out these machines in an attempt to eliminate these problems.

There are many concerns with eliminating the Pokies once and for all. The first of which is the idea that these machines are helping employ many locals that would soon be out of a job. Currently the hospitality business is running strong and if these machines take gambling out of the hospitality field, then many employees will suffer the consequences. The Hospitality Association in Tasmania is protesting the Tasmanian Greens plan to eliminate all of the Pokies.

What does this all mean to those who are currently gambling at the pokies? Well for starters they are raising the maximum bet to $1.00. This could sway many of the gamblers away just because of the fact that this will not be enough to hold their attention for long if they plan on spending some serious money on gambling.

Let’s not neglect the fact that if there are problem gamblers in the area, they will still be at the machines no matter what the price is to play. According to Tasmanian Hospitality Manager, Steve Old, “What the Greens fail to acknowledge is that even ardent anti-poker machine politician Nick Xenophon believes Tasmania is far ahead of any other state when it comes to preventing problem gambling.” He also feel that the impact of the 23,000 employees in the hospitality field could be severely detrimental in these poor economic times. Once this impact hit these venues, surrounding business would also feel the aftershock.

This has been a very difficult winter for many businesses in the United States. It seems to have come early and lingered longer than the usual years. To go along with that they have been more brutal in places that aren’t used to receiving that kind of treatment. When snow reaches all the way down to Georgia, you know that th NorthEast has been beat up pretty bad. Snow days are once again on the maps, and the New Jersey Casinos are well aware of that fact.

When it is too hot outside, people don’t want to leave their houses unless they are planning on staying inside wherever they go. The same holds true with winter, however, when snowstorms play into the equation, people can’t even leave their houses if they wanted to. This winter in New Jersey has seen a decline in tourism as even locals are confined to their houses. Many businesses and casinos have been dealing without power, and therefore have to forfeit opening their doors to the public. This harsh reality has hit many people this year.

The Borgata Hotel and Casino has lived through these trying times and are still trying to get back on track. The snowstorms that occurred in the end of last year caused the casino to close it doors which lead them to lose nearly $5 million. As many know with new casinos popping up in neighboring states, this is not the time to lose out on any potential customers in the area.

Boyd gaming fears it ahas not seen the last of the casino attacks that winter will cause. Since the weather has not let up at all, and has in fact drawn more cold and windy, it is a good possibility that these casinos in the Atlantic City area will continue to suffer. Unfortunately the neighboring casinos and reacetracks that offer gambling are not having as difficult a time in keeping themselves busy with customers.

Ontario has been holding out as one of the Canadian provinces that still has not adopted online casino gambling. Canada as a whole has been very methodical about introducing the online gambling into the nation a little bit at a time. It has only been within the last year that they have even ventured out to accept this form are are now seemingly ready to continue to expand.

The Premier, Dalton McGinty has spoken about it becoming a reality for the province as it has with other neighboring provinces. The widespread battle about accepting this new form of gambling is that there are many unknowns since it has only been around for a little more than 10 years. While still in its infancy stage, many countries are still trying to find ways to prevent addiction, and new way to utilize this form of entertainment to help balance the economy.

Casino gambling has been a long form of entertainment, but online gambling is still finding out all the little nooks and crannys that hackers and third party vendors can access online accounts. Therefore the need to protect the citizens becomes one of the most important parts of allowing this gaming to be in existence. The harsh reality however is that many countries including the United States are now suffering economically and this is a multi billion dollar industry that can help out in many ways. Right now it seems to be compared with the legalization of marijuana, but the truth is the black market for gamble does in fact exist and is pulling out billions of dollars every year to offshore accounts. This money could be very beneficial to the countries and that is what is helping sway them into putting it into practice. So for now, the province will decide how to regulate online casino gambling then will find the best way to implement it. The difficulty also lies in timing it out so that they don’t lose all their customers to off shore betting sites before it is implemented.

At the end of February, Chile was rocked by an earthquake that registered nearly 8.8 on the Richter scale. This has been a devastating year in many parts of the world as we still have not fully recovered from the devastation that occurred in Haiti. Aid is still going out to this country and now Chile has suffered severe damage. Many businesses including casinos were affected and many lives were lost.

Now weeks, later some businesses including the Santiago Chile casino are still closed due to the damages that they suffered. The casino is run by Sun International Ltd. the largest hotel and casino company in chile. Montecello, the casino was prepared financially for the natural disaster in that it was covered through its insurance, however the damage that it sustained was beyond what they had ever imagined.

Now to get back what they lost, they will be paying in nearly $8 million to the insurance company just to make repairs and open again for business. The end is nowhere in sight as the earthquake actually triggered a Tsunami to roll through the area. SO far over 700 lives have been claimed in the incident and the countryside has be littered with debris. Although this was the largest quake, they keep feeling more and more tremors in that area. In the past few days two earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and higher registered offshore, as well as another sparking in at 4.9. This is clearly a very volatile area these days and preparedness is a necessity before they can begin to get themselves back on a normal everyday track.

The casino will do its best now to begin their repairs as they realize more of their damage. They will now have to move in stages to get back up to speed. According to Chief Executive, David Coutts-Trotter, “There has been significant damage to the casino and retail complex including the convention centre and administration areas, some of it due to the quake and aftershocks and some due to the sprinkler system.”