Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks

Vegas defenders: This time sorry isn't good enough

(NEWSER) - When President Obama said yesterday that families saving for college shouldn't blow money in Vegas, it was the second time he'd singled out Sin City as an example of excessive spending—and his words came as salt in the wounds of a tourism-dependent city hit hard by the recession. "I'll do everything I can to give him the boot," the Las Vegas mayor told the AP . "This president is a real slow learner." More»

(NEWSER) - The many states hoping gambling will revive their troubled budgets are in for an unpleasant surprise, writes Nate Silver for Esquire. Gambling is supposed to be recession-proof, but that hasn’t been the case this time. "The year 2008 was the first time in history that total casino gaming revenues declined throughout the United States," writes Silver, of FiveThirtyEight.com fame. In Las Vegas, they were down a whopping 12%, and they’ve fallen another 15% this year. More»

(NEWSER) - Penny-pinching gamblers are flocking to casinos for a cheaper bet these days: penny slots. The machines enable them to play longer with the same amount of cash, and, thanks to modern paper payouts, no longer burden them with noisy bucket-loads of coins. Casinos don't mind the games, either. "Their house edge is bigger" on them, one slots expert told the AP. More»

Downturn starts to hit formerly recession-proof city

(NEWSER) - Tougher times are starting hit the Sunset Strip, the New York Times reports. Las Vegas has been mostly immune to downturns in decades past, but this time the gambling mecca is feeling the pinch as consumers tighten their belts. Hundreds of casino workers have already been laid off, and a long downturn could mean a glut of hotel rooms as boom-time projects are completed. More»

Casinos make play for the young and active

(NEWSER) - After years of catering to the little old lady crowd, slot machine manufacturers are reaching out to the video game generation with a line of skill-based games, the New York Times reports. “We need to appeal to new buckets of players, or we’ll die,” said one slot exec. New machines will sport joysticks, multiplayer modes, and advanced graphics. More»