The MGM Mirage has been in the news lately under great scrutiny concerning the CityCenter development. Dubai world recently filed a lawsuit claiming that the MGM Mirage mismanaged approximately $9.1 billion in the development of the CityCenter.

The MGM Mirage claims that Dubai world lawsuit was without merit, and they are continuing to stifle the reservations of shareholders.

The lawsuit was filed on Sunday in Delaware Chancery Court by Dubai world as they attempted to terminate their obligations concerning their 2007 joint venture agreement.

Alan Feldman, MGM Mirage Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, e-mailed a statement on Tuesday in an attempt to remove the theories created by Dubai World.

He stated: “Dubai World is well aware of our written commitment to meet our funding obligations and that MGM Mirage has available cash to satisfy those obligations.” He then followed up by saying, “MGM Mirage is ready, willing and able to fund its share of the costs to complete CityCenter, including a required payment this week.”

Feldman stated that their company is willing to work “with Dubai World to resolve any outstanding issues and complete this landmark project.”

A possible reason for Dubai world’s fears in his joint venture could possibly be that they themselves are running short in the area cash flow. According to Wall Street Journal story the United Arab Emirates loan Dubai $10 billion to cover outstanding debts.

One concern by gaming analyst, Andrew Zarnett, is that there building a CityCenter loaded with hotel rooms when I continue levels are at a low.

“(The) lawsuit … raises doubts over the completion of CityCenter,” Zarnett told investors. “We view a CityCenter postponement as a net positive for the overall Strip demand and supply dynamics, which is currently lopsided towards oversupply.”

Another gaming analyst Dennis Farrell Jr. stated that this particular lawsuit could cause MGM Mirage to file for Chapter 11. “Due to the size of MGM Mirage’s capital structure, we believe an out-of-court restructuring would be challenging,” Farrell said.

Herbst Gaming in Las Vegas , has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After filing, the company will lose 15 casinos will still maintain control of its slot machines.

Herbst Gaming Chief Executive Officer Troy Herbst revealed that there is over $847 million that the company was in debt. Although they have lost ownership in these 15 casinos the management team and employees will remain intact and will continue to receive pay and benefits.

“Today’s action is the most effective means to implement our debt restructuring and achieve a capital structure that fits current business conditions,” Herbst said. “We are pleased to have found a solution to our burdensome debt load that allows the company to preserve jobs and ensure normal daily business operations.”

Herbst will continue to maintain operations at all these casinos. These casino locations range from Nevada, Iowa and Missouri, however their largest asset is their slot machine root which is touted as the state of Nevada’s largest route. This route has over 600 locations in 6800 slot machines.

The company has been hit hard with the drowning economy and last year’s increasing gas prices. To make matters worse, the smoking ban recently enacted in casinos has also affected business. This has driven away many Southern California players away from the Las Vegas casinos.
“Since we already have an agreement in place on a restructuring with our secured lenders, the company expects to confirm the plan of reorganization expeditiously and without disruption to our business,” Herbst said.

“We have been dealing with our lenders on this issue for a long time, and this ends up being a good result,” Higgins said. “The Herbst family will control the route and has the ability to rebuild that operation into a viable and profitable business entity.”

By filing for bankruptcy this will allow the Herbst family to begin a restructuring program using their slot machine route to help rebuild their finances.

Changes are happening with the MGM Mirage and Phil Ruffin appears to be behind it. As of Thursday Ruffin is taking over the casino Treasure Island from the MGM Mirage. This small acquisition totaled $100 million.

The plan of attack for Ruffin is that he will pay $775 million price for the treasure Island Casino. However, instead of putting up 500 million up front to attend to pay a total of 600 million and then find the other $175 million.

The Treasure Island hotel and casino originally was created and operated by Steve Wynn, and Ruffin has set a goal to complete this transaction by the end of the month, therefore being the new owner operator.

Ruffin is no stranger to owning casinos as he was the former owner of New Frontier Casino which was sold and demolished in 2007.
“I wanted to accommodate (MGM Mirage) and we’re getting in at a good time,” Ruffin said. “The (NCAA) basketball tournament is going on, which is very good, and it will be good to get that summer business.”

Ruffin said: “They could use the cash, and we are happy to take over sooner.” Ruffin at 73 took a 20 month hiatus from the industry before returning to take over the treasure Island Casino.
“This is a breath of fresh air what you’re doing here,” commission member Dr. Tony Alamo Jr. told Ruffin.

Currently the MGM Mirage is facing debt trouble as are many Las Vegas casinos. Although the deal appears to be moving swiftly MGM may still face bankruptcy suit. “The Treasure Island is a positive development on two fronts,” said MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Murren. “Closing the sale sooner causes less disruption to our employees and we can get the cash quicker.”

Ruffin appears excited about the new takeover and becoming president: “We’ve had an office there for a while and we’re ready to go.”

A report has just been released in Ireland that online gamblers risk the possibility of being denied a mortgage because they are seen as a high risk. This report came from the Independent Mortgage Advisors Federation also known as IMAF, and was released to the Irish Times newspaper and the BBC. Spokesperson, Michael Dowling, spoke on the idea that banks have a negative perception of gamblers.

Due to the economic crisis that all countries are facing, banks are forced to be more stringent and suspect a person looking for loans. With that in mind, these high risk takers pose a threat to the banks as the appearance of such gambling may cause banks to fear nonpayment of the mortgages. Dowling spoke on the subject and remarked that just because someone engages in this high-risk hobby is not guarantee that they will be disqualified for a loan.

“The banks will never admit it, but it is . . . being discussed,” said Dowling, as he also spoke about “they are looking for any excuses” in terms of rejecting applications.

Dowling continued by saying, “I don’t think online gambling is to be encouraged if people are making a mortgage application in particular if there are regular amounts going out. In a market where money is tight and the availability of credit is limited, banks are cherry-picking the type of customers they want to lend money to. If you are gambling online on a regular basis, say for example you have €150 per month, the bank will take that amount of money from your gross income and it does reduce the amount of money you can borrow. Banks are paying a lot more attention to bank statements now and if they see even €150 going into an online gambling account each month they frown on it.”

As things begin to go the extra mile to search for reasons to reject mortgage loans, online gamblers will be forced to find new and creative ways to appease the banks.

Every once in a while you come across a law, that is so outdated that the mere mention of it send people into hysterics. What many don’t realize is that every state has them, even many cities have them. To add insult to injury the number of laws that fit into this category are in the hundreds. At this point you may be wondering why these laws haven’t been changed, but the truth is that they have been lost, forgotten, or the date back so far that people never knew they existed.

Such is the case in Arkansas, where law created around the use of gambling has been brought to the attention of the courts. The current law in effect allows players who have committed a violent crime the ability to claim an attempt to recover a gambling debt as a defense. By today’s standards this is obscene. Then again it ranks right up there with a couple other outdated laws such as:
School teachers who bob their hair will not get a raise.
OR
Alligators may not be kept in bathtubs.
OR (my personal favorite)
It is unlawful to walk one’s cow down Main Street after 1:00 PM on Sunday.

So as you see the need for overturning these laws becomes very critical especially when dealing with cases of violent crimes.

Monty Davenport, a state representative, has introduced a bill to overturn this law. As common sense would dictate this law should not be difficult to overturn. This law came into perspective when Arkansas Supreme Court cited the decision that aggravated robbery did not apply to situations with gambling debts. The decision that was cited was over 70 years old.

Paul Blackwater, a legal representative says, “US law concerning gambling is like that old drawer where mismatched socks accumulate. They can never match up, and are basically useless, but for some reason you haven’t thrown them out. It’s time for spring cleaning of casino and gambling statutes.”

Apple is at it again, this time, their innovation is getting them in trouble at the casinos. The iPhone and iTouch now have a downloadable app that allows users to achieve card counting. Administrators in the casinos in Nevada have been warned of this new program as it helps players to illegally count cards and beat the house in games of blackjack.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal it is not illegal for players to count cards as long as they do it independent of any devices. Aides, especially electronic devices are considered illegal to use in this capacity.

The iPhone and iPod Touch are common devices for listening to music while playing games in the casinos, but now with the technological advances, programs such as this are creeping into use.
The discovery of such programs was found in a northern California casino and immediately reported to the California Bureau of Gambling Control. From there Nevada Gaming control board administrators were warned of this occurrence and began to crack down on the use of these devices.
Randy Sayre of the Nevada Gaming Control Board has since made public that players using such devices as iPhones or iPod Touches will be detained and subject to arrest under the Nevada Gaming laws. Currently Sayre has not reported any uses of this device in the Nevada Gaming circuit, however, they will be keeping a watchful eye on the situation.

Allegedly this program can be installed through Apple’s iTunes software and be launched to perform one of four different strategies of card counting techniques. Along with these strategies comes a separate mode where players can place their devices into a “stealth mode” in which the screen appears black while the player operates the program without exposing the program. Now that this issue has surface Sayre has assured the public that they will be on the watch for it.

With growing concern in the United States about the legalization of online casino gambling, California has reportedly decided to test the waters for itself. Representatives from California legislation will attend the upcoming iGaming conference to check out prospective online poker operators.

News from Gambling911.com states that California is looking toward new options with the recent decline in the economy. Currently California suffers from the second highest foreclosure rate in the United States, as well unemployment reaching into the double digits and a $42 million budget deficit. By legalizing online casino poker, California, under the leadership of governor Arnold Swarzenegger would be hoping to draw in new cash flow into the devastated economy.

Although California seems to be making a last ditch effort to make great strides towards improving the economy, they still are hold strong against collaborating with PartyGaming. Anurag Dikshit who is the online operator of PartyGaming was slapped with a $300 fine recently after pleading guilty to a charge before he was even charged with a crime.

California is looking towards 888.com a reputable online casino outfit known for its service and fair play. Along with a tremendous service account, 888.com also has publicly traded stock which helps legitimize their participation in legalizing online poker play. The state has also tried, with the assistance of the US government, to pin down companies that took bets from US players in 2006, however, they have not been successful in finding the lawbreakers. By adding 888.com to their partnership, California will also add access to some of the top named games in online casino gambling.