High rollers are helping the Strip weather the economic downturn but lower rollers might just be keeping Nevada’s entire economy afloat. And these folks don’t wager millions at baccarat. Their game is “penny” slots — devices with countless “paylines” that allow wagers of as little as a penny per spin, although most players bet on more than one payline and more than one coin per line.

Bei den Betreibern der Spielcasinos am Strip in Las Vegas schrillen die Alarmglocken. Denn den Unternehmen drohen höhere Steuern. Dabei geht es um ein Thema, das in der Bevölkerung mit breiter Zustimmung rechnen kann: Bildung und Ausbildung der Kinder. Die Lehrer-Gewerkschaft geht jetzt auf die Barrikaden und fordert eine Erhöhung der Spielsteuer um drei Prozent. Nachdem einige Anträge abgelehnt wurden, wollen Schulen und Universitäten den Weg über einen Volksentscheid nehmen.

Nevada casinos posted a 1.8 percent gain in winnings during 2007 despite a soft economy, hanging onto USD 12.85 billion of the nearly USD 170 billion bet by gamblers during the year, according to a state report released last week. While the win was the lowest since 2002 and down from the 8 percent gain in 2006, Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley said an increase during tough economic times shows the gambling industry’s resiliency.

A judge rejected last Friday two ballot initiatives to raise taxes on Nevada’s biggest casinos to about 20 percent and generate up to USD 2 billion a year for teachers’ pay, highway construction and other projects. Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox said the initiatives, filed by Las Vegas lawyer Kermitt Waters, don’t comply with a state law requiring an initiative to be limited to one subject.

In Washington, D.C., leaders have been proposing economic stimulus packages, trying to figure out ways to jump-start the nation's sagging financial picture and calm fears of a recession. Las Vegas has its own way of surviving economic downturns -- build more Strip resorts. History has shown the Las Vegas economy rebounds from any economic slump when the Strip goes through a building boom.

Eine vom renommierten Wirtschaftsprüfungsinstitut Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) durchgeführte Studie hat ergeben, dass der US-Finanzminister allein in den nächsten zehn Jahren zwischen 8,7 und 17,6 Milliarden Dollar an Steuern für Online-Poker einnehmen könnte. Voraussetzung: Eine Lizenzierung, Regulierung und Versteuerung, die von PWC auf zwei verschiedenen Basis-Ansätzen berechnet wurde. Sportwetten sind in dem Zahlenwerk noch gar nicht nicht enthalten.

Shuffle Master appealed the District Court of Nevada’s last February 1, order granting summary judgment to VendingData Corporation, now known as Elixir Gaming Technologies, in regard to Shuffle Master’s claims of patent infringement against VendingData’s Poker-1 shuffler. The court has not yet ruled on Shuffle Master’s separate summary judgment motion requesting the return of a USD 3 million deposit the company was compelled to make with the court in November 2004...

A new report shows Nevada’s major hotel-casinos posted their highest net income ever in fiscal 2007: a combined USD 2.3 billion. The report released by state Gaming Control Board showed that the 270 resorts had nearly USD 5.8 billion in earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization, the indicator that analysts watch most closely.

A lack of big special events and fewer high-end gamblers figured in a 14 percent drop in the November win for Nevada casinos, to USD 981.1 million, compared with the same month a year earlier, regulators said last week. The state Gaming Control Board reported that the best evidence of fewer high-rollers was the baccarat win for the casinos in November - down nearly 61 percent.

The casino industry lobby has filed legal challenges against two petitions that propose a tripling of the state’s gaming tax. The Nevada Resort Association claims that the petitions amount to taxation without representation because they would allow other states’ tax rates to influence Nevada’s. Under the petitions, the gaming tax rate in Nevada would be set at the average maximum rate applied in the 11 other states with casino gambling.

Las Vegas (AP) - The casino industry lobby has filed legal challenges against two petitions that propose a tripling of the state's gaming tax. The Nevada Resort Association claims that the petitions amount to taxation without representation because they would allow other states' tax rates to influence Nevada's. Under the petitions, the gaming tax rate in Nevada would be set at the average maximum rate applied in the 11 other states with casino gambling.

Carson City, Nevada -- A USD 17.7 billion purchase of casino giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. by private equity buyers Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group -- the world's largest casino buyout deal -- won final approval Thursday from Nevada regulators. The state Gaming Commission voted unanimously for the deal, already approved by Harrah's shareholders and by several other states in which Harrah's Entertainment operates.