Casino: Newcastle FC Owner Loses £1m in Gambling
Newcastle United football club owner Mike Ashley, in just a couple of hours gambling at a casino, blew up a staggering 1million pounds. Ashley and team manager Alan Pardew went on to lose a huge amount on craps, a game of dice, in a single session. Pardew had initially hit a winning streak and he scooped up 130,000 pounds. They were in the casino for just a couple of hours.
At around 2 a.m., forty seven-year-old Ashley embarked on his disastrous run, apparently losing the first 30,000 pounds in just 'about ten minutes'. At 4 a.m., both finally left and by that time, had lost 970,000 pounds. Ashley had a smile on his face while tipping the dealer 700 pounds and he didn't seem to be bothered at all by the loss.
A source claimed to the Sun that he covered the table with bets. He bet thousands at a time, tens of thousands sometimes. His gesture to tip the dealer 700 pounds was unusual as people usually only give a tip if they've won. He had lost 1 million pounds. With a game of 'spoof', Ashley had once apparently resolved a £200,000 legal bill.
Ashley is not the only celebrity to have been spotted trying their hand at gambling. Katy Perry and Russell Brand were recently seen playing blackjack. They were celebrating the birthday of Perry's grandmother. At the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, couple was at a party put on for 90-year-old Ann Hudson.
Casino: MGM Resorts International To Entice Customers
Casino operator MGM Resorts International, to entice customers is relaunching its gambling loyalty program with an 11-week sweepstakes, with potential rewards.
On Tuesday, the Las Vegas-based company launched M Life as part of a new company effort to better track the spending habits of its customers. On gambling, the program will track and reward spending and will do the same for non-gambling spending at company resorts later this year.
The sweepstakes include prizes including a Detroit Tigers baseball weekend at the MGM Grand in Detroit or a weekend stay at a suite at the Aria Resort & Casino, VIP ringside seats at a prizefight.
On the Las Vegas Strip, the introduction of the loyalty program competes with MGM's rivals, many of whom offer loyalty programs and players clubs, thanks to association with larger brands. Customers are currently allowed to earn loyalty points and redeem rewards at various hotels and retailers by the Venetian and Palazzo (both part of the InterContinental Hotels Group system) and the Cosmopolitan resort (part of Marriott's Autograph Collection). However, by introducing gaming and the casino into the mix, MGM Resorts' program goes beyond traditional hotel loyalty program.
The program will allow "players" to gamble their way to hotel benefits including free rooms and upgrades, pre-sale tickets to concerts and shows and VIP services. The program will have four tiers (Sapphire, Pearl, Gold and Platinum). To instantly redeem rewards, the Express Comps feature will enable guests to use their card anytime.
The company said that the rewards are also more personalized. For example, a guest might receive an offer for an upcoming Lady Gaga show, if he or she attends a Madonna concert. A concertgoer could receive an offer for the Country Music Awards, if he attended a Trace Atkins show
At a shareholders' meeting in June, MGM Resorts first announced its M Life program when the company changed its name from MGM Mirage. On the all-inclusive membership card in Las Vegas, the company is the latest to cash in. For more than a year, Caesars Entertainment’s Total Rewards program has been tracking nongaming spending.
Snowfall Hit Casino Business Hard
In 2010, winter brought a January to remember, and the effects were felt in many industries across New Jersey as storms left snow accumulation across the state.
The Casino industry in Atlantic City was amongst the hardest hit from the intense snow storms around the state, despite receiving a mere 5 inches of reported snow. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa lost a reported five million dollars because of the snow storm and anticipated another five million dollars lost in consequence. This hotel was not the only one affected though as there was a reported 20% decreases in revenues reported in some Casinos in the region and 8.5% loss in revenue amongst the Casinos in the same area.
From tourists looking to escape and spend money as they wild on vacation, casinos receive the majority of their profits. This is where the snowfall comes in. People are not likely to have a weekend trudging through a blizzard in their snow shoes to escape the pressures of the daily grind. Even if people had the desire to do so, the flights are cancelled, postponed, etc.
In the end, weather has a tremendous effect on casinos. Over Atlantic City, Las Vegas is able to hold an advantage in this manner. The luxurious pools and retreats look even more attractive under the rays of the sun, when those temperatures go up in Vegas it may even produce a better atmosphere for their visitors. The winter temperatures cause us to bundle up and the heat causes us to wear less, which is a good thing in the eyes of far too many in the world today.