Casino [ptz]

SITE NEWS

Summaries of the WSOP through 1985 are up.

I am redesigning the resources section and adding several new areas.

WELCOME TO THE TERRORDAQ

A BBC News article explains why a "terrodaq" (I guess that's like the NASDAQ of terror) is inevitable, and why that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing:

Professor Leighton Vaughan Williams, director of the betting research unit at Nottingham Trent University has been researching the accuracy of the predictions on websites which trade event-based futures, such as the Ireland-based Tradesports.com which happily takes bets on the fortunes of both Saddam Hussein and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And his conclusion? When real money's at stake, the predictions are very accurate indeed - and significantly more correct than the results of shadow markets such as the BBC's Celebdaq which use pretend money.

Indeed so accurate are the predictions, he maintains, that people reading newspapers in the run-up to the Iraq war had "much lesser insight" into when fighting would start than people who were keeping an eye on what trades were going on.

Finally, a great quote from the Department of Defense, in defense of the idea that got them into hot water:

"Research indicates that markets are extremely efficient, effective and timely aggregators of dispersed and even hidden information "

Read the full story here.

BORGATA APPEALS TO YOUNGER CROWD

From the Courier Post, a story about how the Borgata is (allegedly) drawing a younger crowd. Anecdotal reports, though, seem to indicate that they are drawing many older people, as well.

"We will reach consumers who are not coming here," said Robert Boughner, Borgata's CEO and visionary. "Our goal is to take significant share away from our competitors and, over the longer term, increase the size of the market, both demographically and geographically."

Not that Borgata rejects the bread and butter, buffet and slots market. In a conference call Wednesday, Boughner said 63 percent of the names on the casino's database are over 50. Only 21 percent are under 40. But those percentages should change as the hotel casino grows the market.

"Borgata is targeting a younger crowd, like Trump Marina. It's going for the traditional customer but is also trying to expand the customer base," said Lawrence Klatzkin, an analyst with Jeffrie & Co.

Clearly, Scott and Twana Davisson, both 31, from Montclair, are not Atlantic City regulars. Indeed, they'd fall into what Boughner dubs Atlantic City rejectors. They perceived the resort as run-down, the opposite of the fantasy land known as Las Vegas.

Word of mouth

"I never had an occasion to go here," said Twana, a first-time visitor to Atlantic City. She and her husband, Scott, waited in line last Saturday night for a table in Noodles of the World, with friends Kirk Taylor, 31, of San Diego, and Dirk Digger, also 31, of New York.

The group heard about the Borgata and its Las Vegas-style atmosphere through Taylor's mother, a travel agent.

That they chose to try the Borgata sight unseen speaks to the import of word of mouth buzz.

A big deal

"People are making presumptions," Boughner said. "It's the first new place in 13 years. That's an advantage. New is a big deal. Clean is a big deal. Fresh is a big deal. We also have the luxury of real estate with access and visibility."

But the Borgata is depending on more than word of mouth. Its advertising campaign includes a series of ads - some two-page spreads - in upscale lifestyle and consumer magazines, and come fall, prime time television. The ads are in magazines such as Details, Maxim, Playboy, Stuff, Passport, Philadelphia,, Boston and Surface. They also run in Hamptons Magazine and Gotham Magazine, publications skewed to a younger and hipper audience.nificant share away from our competitors and, over the longer term, increase the size of the market, both demographically and geographically."

Not that Borgata rejects the bread and butter, buffet and slots market. In a conference call Wednesday, Boughner said 63 percent of the names on the casino's database are over 50. Only 21 percent are under 40. But those percentages should change as the hotel casino grows the market.

Read the full story here.

SUBURBAN XANADU UPDATE

amazon.com sales rank: 892,362; 2 reviews. Moving slightly up.

barnesandnoble.com sales rank: 115,019; 2 reviews

Rank on the Love and Casino War list of best-selling Vegas books: At 100 out of 100, holding onto bestseller status by my fingernails.
posted by Dave at 9:56 AM