Las Vegas Sands

Bethlehem Patch:

Yu aroused the suspicion of a casino employee who was dealing the card game War on New Year’s Eve. The dealer noticed that Yu was consistently winning with $200 bets when dealt face cards, but losing on smaller $10 bets when he was not dealt a face card.

After notifying a floor supervisor, that same dealer later noticed a small indenture on an ace in the deck he was dealing from. He once again notified a supervisor. Yu quickly left the casino with winnings of $1,100. In War, players sit around a dealer and are each dealt one card. The object is to get a card higher than the dealer. The winner is paid even money for a bet.

When Sands security personnel analyzed security video of the table, they found an accomplice, “an unidentified Asian male,” who marked about 25 face cards between 7:44 p.m. and 9:23 p.m. on December 31. The man marked the cards by pressing the edge of the casino chip into the center of a card. More surveillance video revealed that the two men arrived at the casino together in Yu’s car. Read the rest of this entry »

Great article by Virginia Postrel:

Business became more like sports or fashion: a topic of social conversation, a source of rooting interest and an expression of personal taste. The cultural, or even religious, war between Apple and Microsoft devotees would have been as inconceivable in 1981 as a “brand evangelist” or a corporate chieftain who appeared in public without a tie.

Now, by contrast, people far removed from the executive suite, working in entirely different companies or even completely different industries, have strong opinions about what strategies Apple or Microsoft or General Motors or Wal-Mart or Amazon should pursue.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work,” Jobs said in a 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, which has been much quoted in recent days. “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

That inspiring philosophy offers the promise of greatness and self-fulfillment, but also perpetual dissatisfaction. If business isn’t just about making money, if it is about finding a version of true love and leaving a cultural mark, the stakes are much higher. Your work becomes your identity.

Nobody ever asked why Steve Jobs kept working after he was rich. Everyone understood.

Read the whole thing.

VEGAS INC: “Shows, restaurants and even resort rooms were once just bait to lure gamblers into Las Vegas casinos. But with the economy flat-lining and competition for gamblers growing in other markets, top casino executives now consider gaming to be just one tool in their arsenal to attract tourists and their dollars to the Strip.” Isn’t this what Sheldon Adelson has been saying for years?

VEGAS INC: ”Panelists discussing table game trends at the Global Gaming Expo today had an innovative way to start their program. They passed out coupons and drew three winners for $50 cash each. The point: Sometimes, all it takes is an occasional surprise to generate enthusiasm.” A surprise win at MEGABUCKS tonight would certainly generate my enthusiasm. (Hat Tip: Eric James Miller)

ABC NEWS: “Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died in California. Jobs was 56. The homepage of Apple’s website contained a full-page image of Jobs with the text, ‘Steve Jobs 1955-2011.’” Bummer.

Time to dust off those high heels. At The Palazzo Las Vegas on December 3: “Dash for cash, charity and fabulous prizes at the first ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Stiletto Dash…. Sacrifice your sole for charity and a chance to win $5,000 when you compete in a 50-yard sprint through The Palazzo Las Vegas casino. Join a celebrity host to help raise money for the charity of their choice.”

Well, that’s some good news. Sands sees no drop in business in Macau: “Sands China Ltd is not seeing any negative signs in its gaming business, despite the current fears of a slowdown, said Michael Leven, president of parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp. ‘When you’re on the ground and see what is happening, it’s very, very hard to be pessimistic,’ Mr. Leven said at an industry conference, quoted by the Wall Street Journal. ‘We haven’t seen any problems there and we continue to be very, very, very bullish on the Chinese situation.’”