What kind of Harrah's casino will Cincy see?

Now that the world's largest casino company has been tapped to run Cincinnati's future casino, the question becomes: Which of Harrah's Entertainment's three marquee casino brands will gamblers here see?

Harrah's isn't saying, but industry observers don't expect to see a Casears Cincinnati. That nameplate is the company's luxury brand, reserved for markets that specifically court international gamblers. Only four Caesars casinos exist in the world: Las Vegas; Atlantic City; Windsor, Ontario; and Cairo, Egypt.

• Photos: A look at Harrah's casinos

"I'd be very surprised if they did the Caesars brand in Cincinnati -- it's very high-end," said Lyle Berman, chief executive of Minnesota-based casino operator Lakes Entertainment, which has an option to buy up to a 10 percent interest in Cincinnati's casino.

"When you open a casino in Middle America, you want to be all things to everybody," Berman said. "You want something that appeals to a broad group of people."

More likely is a Harrah's or Horseshoe brand casino, observers said. Harrah's namesake concept has appeal beyond gambling, emphasizing shows and other entertainment to lure gamblers in.

Harrah's slightly higher-end Horseshoe brand, meanwhile, is marketed more as a pure gambler's casino. The Horseshoe originally was founded by legendary gambler Benny Binion, founder of the World Series of Poker.

"I can see it both ways, but I'm partial to a Binion's Horseshoe brand," Berman said. "What brand they'll use I'm not privy to -- we're strictly a passive investor."

Whatever brand Harrah's settles on for Cincinnati, it will go head to head with the region's dominant casino - the newly expanded and movie-themed Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg in Southeast Indiana. Hollywood is run by Penn National Gaming, another large casino company that will own and run casinos also upcoming in Columbus and Toledo.

David Katz, a gambling analyst with Jefferies & Co. in New York, said Harrah's will fiercely battle to take the lead in the local market when it opens in 2012. He said the new casino's downtown location will be a huge advantage, assuming there's enough parking and adequate access to the site at Broadway Commons.

"There's no question you're in for a dogfight," Katz said. "Harrah's is a strong competitor and compete they will."

Other industry observers agree.

"The most successful casinos are those located next to major metro areas. Convenience and proximity are very important to the player," said Steve Ferguson, president of French Lick Resort, which operates an Indiana casino.

Hollywood Casino prepared for battle

Penn National has prepared for a fight. In the last few years, it has remade several of its casinos with the Hollywood concept to maximize their appeal.

Penn National already announced it will brand its future casinos in Columbus and Toledo with the Hollywood nameplate. Lawrenceburg's upgrades have grown the casino's local market share from about 60 percent to nearly two-thirds of gambling dollars spent locally.

Tony Rodio, general manager of the Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, said the prospect of future competition in this region was part of the reason Penn National spent more than $300 million to upgrade his casino in the past few years. Since unveiling its new theme concept with a larger gambling boat last summer, Penn National has continued to upgrade the casino with new restaurants and the Boogie Nights nightclub.

"We knew eventually competition was coming to the region," Rodio said.

Rodio said Penn National expects Lawrenceburg to take an unspecified hit, but the revenues from new Columbus and Toledo casinos will more than offset the drop. Furthermore, Penn National is developing a loyalty card program that will allow it to cross-sell its three casinos.

Katz said Harrah's is the industry leader in collecting customer data to boost its marketing. He said the one disadvantage Harrah's will have will be Ohio's smoking ban. Not letting gamblers light up might turn off some customers.

"It's kind of like selling a peanut butter sandwich without jelly," he said.

Nonetheless, analysts aren't worried about financial struggles for the future casino.

Once it opens in 2012, it's projected to draw 6 million visits a year and rake in nearly $520 million in annual gambling revenue. That's more than the 4.1 million visits and the $470 million that Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg is on track to collect this year. While Cincinnati's new casino is expected to take a bite out of the three riverboat casinos in Southeast Indiana, the overall region's gambling market is expected to grow from nearly $700 million to around $1 billion.

Unlikely candidates

Harrah's has other casino concepts, such as Paris, Rio and the Flamingo in Las Vegas. But experts say those are the result of several acquisitions over the past decade.

Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada in Reno, said keeping different concepts in destination markets makes sense. It's a way of offering different casino products in big markets like Las Vegas, but it's unlikely the concepts would be expanded elsewhere.

Eadington notes some storied brands have lost their allure over time. Harrah's owns The Flamingo - the first resort casino in Las Vegas built by gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Segal.

While the casino has been rebuilt since its post-WWII founding and boasts an elaborate network of interconnected swimming pools, the casino has been supplanted in Las Vegas by other iconic destinations, such as Harrah's Caesars Palace.

"Their acquisition strategy of the past 15 years has maybe given them too many brands to be useful," he said. "The Flamingo had cache 30 years ago, I doubt they're going to use that concept elsewhere."

Poker Gigolo: Rob Schneider

If you've been following the celebrity highway may be you've missed the road signs along the way that told you what celebs are playing lately, which games and where – playing poker and notable charity poker tournament at casinos.

Either way, whether you see them or not, they are there, at these popular celebrity poker player Rob Schneider was once spotted at Rio All Suite Hotels and Casino in Las Vegas in a very notable cause of Ante Up For Africa – A 3^rd Annual Celebrity-Charity Poker Tournament where he compete with other co-celebrities and professional poker players.

Rob Schneider with Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Jason Alexander, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Montel Williams, Herschel Walker, Hank Azaria, Brad Garrett, Marlon Wayans, Sarah Silverman, Casey Affleck. The proceeds from the Ante Up For Africa tournament will once again go to charities The Enough Project, that provide aid and assistance to the survivors of the crisis in Darfur, Sudan and support activism dedicated to resolving this crisis. Previous Ante Up tournaments have raised more than $2,000,000 for the cause.

About Rob Schneider: With a true hot blood Filipino that encompasses a true great skills and talent. And whatever talent may be, from actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live. Name it, he has it! Robert Michael Schneider started his stand-up comedy career shortly after high school.

The Pacifica, California native played Bay Area nightclubs such as the Holy City Zoo and the Other Cafe, and was a regular guest on local radio programs. After opening a show by comedian Dennis Miller in 1987, Schneider won a slot on HBO's 13th Annual Young Comedians special, which was hosted by Miller. Schneider's appearance on the HBO special led to a position as a writer for NBC's long-running sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live.

A graduate of Terra Nova High School in 1981, Schneider started the "Rob Schneider Music Foundation" in 1996. The foundation brought back music education to Pacifica's elementary schools, by paying the teachers' salaries and providing funds for instruments and other equipment. Prior to the establishment of Schneider's foundation, twenty years had passed without music education in those schools.

Rob Schneider has appeared in a number of comedies starring Adam Sandler, another Saturday Night Live alumnus. The comedic characters Schneider plays in these films include an overly enthusiastic Cajun man who utters the catch-phrase “You can do it!” an amiable Middle Eastern delivery boy; and Sandler's one-eyed Hawaiian sidekick Ula.

Rob Schneider honed a persona that was hapless, but vulnerable and sweet-natured. He has made good use of that guise as the star of feature-film comedies, starting in 1999 with the box-office and video success Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo - the cheerfully scatological tale of a fish-tank cleaner who incurs a massive debt and is forced to become a "man-whore" with an inept pimp (comedian Eddie Griffin).

This was followed by The Animal, about a nebbish who is given animal powers by a mad scientist; The Hot Chick, wherein the brain of a petty thief (Schneider) is mystically switched into the body of a pretty, but mean-spirited high-school cheerleader Rachel McAdams; and the sequel Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, reuniting Schneider with Griffin. In 2006, Schneider co-starred in the baseball-themed family comedy The Benchwarmers, along with his fellow SNL alumnus David Spade, and Jon Heder of the cult film Napoleon Dynamite and his latest comedy movie, Big Stan.

Celebrity Gambler Confession: Britney Spears

They’re stars, they’re famous, and they have money. And what better thing for stars with money to do than to engage in a little gambling. After all, if you’ve got a big bankroll then you stand to win a lot of money through casino games or sports betting and also stand to have lots of fun watching the bets prevail in the process.

Britney Spears was once struggling from gambling addiction. She was an avid gambler of cockfighting in Lafayette, Louisiana, the cockfighting capital of the United States. "My parents took me to cockfights when I was a little girl, That was my reward for doing well at my dancing lessons. There was always lots of other kids there. We used to draw in the dirt with chicken feathers. It was real family entertainment.” said Britney Spears.

Her leisure time was turned into obsession on cockfights, a practice she continued after success had taken her far from her Kentwood, Louisiana, home. Betting on cockfighting, she explained to startled Hollywood friends, was a way of "keeping it real" and maintaining a connection to her roots. Besides, "that's what we do back home. We're country”.

In addition, there were news that spreads all over the Internet right now is that the pop star has been partying hard with Paris Hilton in Vegas, but she may be doing more than strip teases in Sin City. Rumors are that she was also in Vegas this past week working out a 20 week deal that could net Britney more than $15 million. Britney Spears plans to use the money to buy a home in Florida after she sells her Malibu home that she shared with her ex-husband Kevin Federline.

About Britney Spears: A trained dancer and capable singer who wanted a shot at singing, dancing and acting and had the determination and stamina to get to the top, Spears started her career in the entertainment industry early, too early in fact for producers of the revamped “Mickey Mouse Club” who turned down the talented young girl because of her age when she first auditioned in 1990. In 1997, Spears signed with Jive Records, beginning the partnership that would make her a household name. She toured the malls of America a la teen pop star Tiffany in 1998, getting her image into the minds of the people while getting her promo tape into their stereos.

Her debut single “…Baby One More Time” was a smash in the last days of 1998, thanks in part to the precocious, provocative schoolgirl-uniform sporting music video that accompanied the catchy and oddly edgy tune. While the fresh-faced teen sensation improbably crooned “My loneliness is killing me”, audiences of all ages were transfixed, from the middle-aged man staring at the singer’s short plaid kilt and midriff-baring blouse, to the 7-year-old girl hopping around in the playground, strangely pleading “Hit me baby, one more time.” Spears’ debut album went multi-platinum while her single stayed at the top of the charts in the first months of 1999.

Appearances on myriad specials and awards shows and a guest stint on the ABC sitcom “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” helped keep her in the minds and hearts of the public, and when she released her follow-up effort “Oops!… I Did It Again” in 2000. Though potential roles in the TV series “Dawson’s Creek” and the feature “Scary Movie” (2000) came to naught reportedly due to her busy schedule, new projects with Spears’ name attached sprung up frequently.

Rumors of her co-starring with Ricky Martin in a sequel to the 1987 romantic hit “Dirty Dancing” weren’t realized, but the singer/dancer made a major impression on television with a second erotically charged performance on the MTV Music Video Awards, undulation with an albino python to her song “I’m a Slave For U” and a saucy live concert, “Britney Spears Live in Las Vegas” in 2001 that aired on HBO, a production that demonstrated her adult sex appeal as much as it did her propensity to lip-synch.

Not satisfied with just conquering the music market, Spears tried her hand at publishing, co-authoring with her mother Lynne the autobiographical tome “Britney Spears’ Heart to Heart” in 2000 and the novel “A Mother’s Gift” in 2001, the later of which was turned into the ABC Family Channel telepic “Brave New Girl” in 2004, which Spears and her mother executive produced.

The wild child beneath the surface was bubbling over into her public persona, with the mainstream and tabloid press endlessly chronicling every juicy aspect of her behavior–which allegedly included late night partying and hook-ups with celebrity lotharios Fred Durst and Colin Farrell; the dam seemingly broke loose in January of 2004, when the singer shocked her fans with a surprise marriage to her childhood friend Jason Alexander (not the much-older “Seineld” actor of the same name) in an apparently booze-fueled New Year’s Eve wedding in Las Vegas, something she called “a joke that had gone too far.”

The marriage was annulled within 55 hours (with a lucrative payoff to Alexander), but that didn’t stop Spears’ shocking second rush to the altar later that same year, this time to dancer Kevin Federline (yet another a source of controversy, as Federline was an expectant father invloved in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson–who’d already bore him one child–at the start of their romance). Their engagement was announced in June, with plans for a fall 2004 wedding.

Somewhere between romances, Spears continued to self-promote with faux-relevatory documentary specials on MTV, ABC and E!, and she performed a surprisingly unispired live version of her universally panned Onyx Hotel tour for the HBO special “Britney Spears: Live in Miami” in2004. The blonde idol pulled out of the final leg of her poorly received tour after injuring her knee in June of that year, requiring arthroscopic surgery and four months of recuperation (she also admitted that her head “really wasn’t into” the tour).

Bio Courtesy of : Britney Spears Hollywood.com

Sexy Celebrity Player: Jessica Biel

Jessica Biel is known for a number of things; first and foremost she has the sort of body that could get anybody with a drop of Greek blood in them all charged up to sack Troy again. Helen may have had the face that launched a thousand ships, but Jessica is the sort of total package that could get a pacifist to consider nuclear war.

She also has made a number of forgettable, but still entertaining films and in regards to her current relationship with her boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, it is quite obvious she is the “man” in this pairing (we are not calling her manly, but rather I am expressing my personal opinion that Justin is the type of guy who probably has a subscription to Ladies’ Home Journal). The world poker player rarely, if ever, makes it into any description of this young lady.

Okay, Poker Player is a bit of a generous description regarding her prowess with the cards. On one shining night of short lived poker brilliance though, she did manage to make some gains against some established poker professionals.

During the opening of the Ivy Hotel in San Diego, CA, Jessica was somewhere in the vicinity of the poker table when she was asked to sit down and play a few hands. She declined. According to a member of the hotel staff, she did so because she didn’t want to match her skills against the poker pros that were at the table. Eventually she was talked into it by the pros. They were playing for her charity, Make a Difference, after all. A little participation on her part was to be expected.

Jessica opened strong, and actually held her own, and better against the professionals. The early momentum eventually disappeared though, and her stack of chips was quickly eliminated. Whether or not she was encouraged by her early progress, and has continued playing is unknown. She would be a fun addition to any poker show though.

About Jessica Biel: Jessica began modeling and performing in musical theater at an early age. In 1996, she got her breakthrough role as a preacher's daughter on the WB's 7th Heaven. When she was 14, she won the role of Mary Camden on Aaron Spelling’s wholesome WB show 7th Heaven, about a reverend and his large family.

At the height of 5'7" Jessica Biel towers over the majority of young Hollywood, and the self-described gym bunny's toned body gives her an older, sexier appearance than girls who are just naturally thin. There's little wonder why Esquire named her the Sexiest Woman Alive in 2005.

These days, Jessica is causing a paparazzi-crazed stir with boyfriend Justin Timberlake, she’s finished the movie "Powder Blue" with Patrick Swayze, Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker and Riki Lindhome, where she plays a stripper and has a few topless nude scenes from that role.

She’s reportedly in talks for the Wonder Woman role in the upcoming Justice League film.

Robert Pattinson To Hang With Casino

As I googled some infos for my blog update, I stumble upon at Bodog.com blog. There's a topic there that top 15 celebrities for you to hang out with at the casino, and one celebrity caught my attention is no other than Robert Pattinson.




Yes! Robert Pattison is one of the best celebrity that tops off for the celebrities people you should hang with at the casino and the poker table.

About Robert Pattinson: Robert Pattinson, born May 13, 1986, is an actor from London whose name has been dominating the news headlines these recent years. Robert also got involved in modeling, although his career was short-lived. In 2004, he took on a role on the TV series, Ring of the Nibelungs, and was given a role for Vanity Fair, although his scene there was cut.

It was only in the next ye, 2005, that he got his real break. Being cast as Cedric Diggory, the Hogwarts Heartthrob, turned him from a relative nobody to a big, huge, celebrity. All of a sudden, fan girls were screaming his name and fan sites were being made in his honor. Getting his first big break as Cedric Diggory in the ever popular Harry Potter Series in the year 2003, Pattinson has been a mainstay in the limelight ever since.

After his role as Edward in the movie Twilight last year, Robert has been blazing. He won the 2008 Best Actor Award at the Strasbourg for his astounding performance as the character Art in How to Be. He also received the 2008 New Hollywood Award, given by the Hollywood Film Festival Award Committee.

His role as Edward Cullen skyrocketed his career, and now Robert Pattinson is snagging roles left and right.

According to a report, the “Twilight” actor is up for the role of Britain’s Prince Harry in a future film about the highs and lows of the young price’s royal experiences. The role is reportedly still in talks and, word has it, Pattinson is up against “Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint, who is also being considered for the part of Prince Harry.

The movie is set to begin filming next year in both the UK and the Middle East and will include Harry’s trials and tribulations, such as the death of his mother Princess Diana, and his time spent on the front line of the Army in Afghanistan.

The Poker Diva: Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey's high-octave act has ensured that she remained high in public visibility stats throughout her career. She is an icon in the music industry. Her button-popping body has hordes of fans wanting more.




Her quirky off-stage behavior keeps her name in the papers even after being in the limelight for quite some time. Mariah Carey has been seen playing poker and has also graced a few celeb poker events.

Visting a nearby casino Carey walked away with her booty after just three rounds of the game, though she admits her success may not have been all down to skill.

Mariah Carey won $27,000 at a poker game in Las Vegas last september 2005. The poker diva, who won $27,000 after just three rounds of the game, confessed she's not a poker player, so the winning was not on account of her skills.

"I used to play poker with my sister. But I think my low-cut dress put some of the guys off." Mariah Carey explained.

About Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey distinguishes herself as a hit songwriter as well as a diva with a compelling five-octave range. Her 1990 hit single, "Vision of Love," was the beginning of her rise, which has resulted in more top singles than Elvis Presley.


Patricia Hickey discovered Mariah’s talent for singing when she was just three years old. While preparing for a role in an opera production, Patricia noticed that baby Mariah was mimicking her exact same notes. Patricia, a former vocal coach, immediately began Mariah’s vocal training.

She began working with musicians when she was 13, and at 16 she started writing songs with Ben Margulies, a young composer who collaborated with her on six of the 11 songs on "Maria Carey" (Columbia, 1990). Her big break came in November 1988 when Brenda K. Starr, a dance-pop vocalist with whom she had worked in clubs, took her to a party to celebrate the inauguration of WTG Records, a CBS-affiliated label run by Jerry Greenberg.


Mariah Carey’s new “E=MC2” (Island Def Jam), lost 61 percent of its sales in its second week out, but it’s still the No. 1 album in the country. It moved 182,000 copes, according to Nielsen SoundScan, bringing its two-week total to 645,000.

She also had a successful albums including The Emancipation of Mimi and Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel which has a controversial single “Obsessed” that allegedly her song to Eminem.

The World Music Awards recognized her as the world's biggest-selling artist of the '90s and declared her the best-selling female pop artist of all time in 2000. She has produced every one of her ten studio albums, except the debut one and directed music her videos.

Yancey Arias

Actor Yancey Arias was a poker player at the World Poker Tour's Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas in December, 2005, where he competed alongside such celebrity participants such as James Woods, Vince van Patten, Kane Hodder, Dule Hill, Kirk Acevedo, Philadelphia Phillie Lenny, and Kato Kaelin.



However, despite such an array of celebrity talent, it was an unknown from Denmark, Rehne Pederson, who took down the monster 1st Place prize, walking with just over $2 million.

Most people may recognize Yancey Arias as an actor who stars in such television series as "Thief" and "Kingpin." But this television actor has also been appearing in motion pictures. Read on to find out more about the life of Hollywood actor Yancey Arias inside and outside of show business.

Born in New York City on June 27, 1971, Yancey Arias had always been interested in acting as a child, which is why he decided to take up theater when he went to college at Carnegie Mellon University. What really jumpstarted his career was his opportunity to be one of the cast members of the Broadway production titled "Miss Saigon." That was in 1992 and since then, he has started to receive offers in the entertainment industry.

Some of the television programs and films that he has starred or guested in are "The Division," "CSI: Miami," "The Shield," The Time Machine," "JAG," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Sopranos," "Law & Order," "New York Undercover," "Pro-Am Poker Equalizer," "Live Free or Die Hard," "Walkout," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and "American Family Season 2."

Yancey Arias will also star in several motion pictures that will be released in U.S. cinemas in 2008, including "Fire Bay," "Street Dreams," and "Hotel California." Despite his busy schedule in television and film, Yancey Arias still finds time to work on stage.

After his participation in the Broadway production "Miss Saigon," he also starred in the theatrical production "The Wild Party" in 2000 wherein he played the lead character.

Yancey Arias, who is of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent, is also one of the actors who play poker well. This celebrity poker player can be seen in several poker events. In fact, it was in December 2005 when he joined the Five Diamond Classic event of the World Poker Tour.

It was held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the famous Bellagio Casino. These celebrity poker player here may not have won in such event, but it was a great opportunity for him to have competed against his fellow celebrities, namely, Kato Kaelin, Phillie Lenny, Kirk Acevedo, Dule Hill, Kane Hodder, Vince Van Patten, and James Woods.

Such Five Diamond Classic event was one of a kind because nobody won among all the celebrity poker players who attended. The person who took home more than US$2 million was not a celebrity or was not known at all.

So, aside from guesting or starring in television programs and motion pictures, this celebrity poker player also knows how to have fun by playing poker with his fellow celebrities or just about with any poker player.

And when this celebrity poker player is not playing poker, he makes it a point that he spends his time with his wife Anna Carolina. The couple has been residing in Los Angeles, California since 2001.