Coming at you on Twitter too
Domain transfer is now in progress. We should be the owners of our little space on the web pretty soon.
We are now on Twitter. You can find us at @realvegas (yeah, someone already had @kingsofvegas).
Under New Ownership
Hey, Kings of Vegas is under new ownership. We still have a couple details to workout, like completing the transfer of the domain name and moving to a new server, but we should be in to the full swing of things by the end of July.
“We” are three buddies spread around the country who meet up in Vegas about 3-5 times a year. None of us are locals – anymore – so we probably won’t have the juicy inside info on what’s going on, but we do plan on recruiting a couple folks at ground zero to help fill in the blanks.
What you can expect: Football, UFC, Boxing, Drinking, Gambling, Food, Stories and more.
See you soon.
Hooters Hotel & Casino – We Hardly Knew Ya
Apparently, others hardly knew ya as well. In the last 9 months of 2006, the casino lost over $16 million, see its demise in just over 1 year.
I said a year ago that the Hooter’s theme seemed awfully tame for Vegas, and by the numbers, we weren’t alone.
Vegas on Broadband: RawVegas.tv
Today marks the launch of a RawVegas.tv, an internet tv network devoted to all things vegas.
Up first is Vegas Wars, hosted by Brandon “They made a god damned movie about me don’t you know” Lang, and Chris Jordan. A show we can only describe as an interstellar tout-fest of sports picks that may or may not win.
Update:
I’ve since worked my way through most of the intitial video offerings. Production quality of the site and video segments are high. The content is relevant and well segmented by the feature shows, and most of the hosts have enough charisma and on-screen presence to keep people coming back.
There are couple shows I’ll probably catch on a regular basis, but it would be very nice to have a video podcast download.
Hawaiian Tropic Zone Expanding to Vegas
The Hawaiian Tropic Zone, with one established location in Times Square, is expanding their ‘sexy’ restaurant/bar/entertainment to a new location within the Desert Passage (soon to be Miracle Mile) at the Aladdin (soon to be Planet Hollywood).
(Photo courtesy of Flickr user heikoworld)
Michael Vick’s Water Bottle
Sources close to us have forwarded images of the now infamous Michael Vick water bong bottle confiscated by security at the Miami International Airport.
The bottle was found to have a compartment that contained “a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana,” the police report said. The compartment was hidden by the bottle’s label so that it appeared to be a full bottle of water when held upright, police said.
Vick entered an airport concourse Wednesday morning with the 20-ounce bottle. His initial reluctance to turn over the bottle aroused suspicion among airport security screeners, a police report said. He eventually handed it over and boarded his flight to Atlanta.
Update:
All kidding aside, we’ve received word that Michael Vick was using the following product marketed as a diversion safe and is available on Amazon.com.
First the Gambling Ban, then Pinnacle Sports, Now: NETeller
The Gambling Ban’s far reaching effects are continuing to shred the online gambling industry. Now NETeller has announced they have shut down their US operations this morning after the arrest of two of their founders by US authorities. (Tip o’ the hat to GridIronPicks.com)
Local bookies: Welcome back to relevance. I’m not quite sure how an illegal street-level operation managed to get the congressional lobbying power to institute the Internet Gambling Ban, but this Buds for you 
Harrah’s Hits Jackpot with Buyout Offer
Harrah’s received an unsolicited offer today which sent the share price soaring.
From Yahoo News:
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET – news), the world’s biggest casino operator, on Monday said it had received a $15 billion buyout offer from private equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. (TPG.UL), sending shares of the whole gaming sector up.
The proposed deal, which would rank as the fifth-largest leveraged buyout on record, signals new interest in the gambling sector for heavily funded private equity groups, which have struck big deals this year in health care, media and technology.
Las Vegas-based Harrah’s — which owns or manages more than 40 casinos, mainly under the Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe brands — gave no indication that it would accept the deal. It said it had formed a special committee of its non-management directors to review the proposal.
US Online Gambling Set For Collapse
Now that the Internet Gambling Ban has been approved and will likely be signed into law within the next two weeks, many London-based online casinos are already starting to shut down US-focused operations.
From the TimesOnline.co.uk:
AMERICA’s $6 billion (£3.2 billion) internet gambling industry is facing meltdown after the US Senate pushed through a Bill at the weekend outlawing the processing of bets by banks and credit companies.
The surprise move, which is expected to spark a massive share sell-off, will prompt London-listed 888 Holdings to announce this morning that it is halting its entire US-facing operation, accounting for half its business.
PartyGaming, the world’s biggest internet gambling company, said last night that it was “still evaluating the situation”, although industry sources believe it will also announce a cessation of its services to American punters.
While I initially thought that there would be enough loopholes to get around the account financing issues, I’m not as optimistic at this time.
I think the implications of this bill will only drive gambling back into an underground industry. Local bookies, welcome back.
