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Bulgari Hotels and Resort is a joint venture of Marriott Corp. and Bulgari S.p.A. Marriott's Ritz-Carlton chain has not derived the benefit that was expected from the arrangement.

Native American casinos are regulated by the tribes who own them, with very limited state and federal control. As the number of casinos expands, so does concern over the potential for improprieties and criminal activity.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. will relaunch its Westin hotels brand. The move is part of Starwood's attempt to convince travelers that the hotel brand represents a higher level of luxury.

MGM Grand Inc. has made an offer of $3.4 billion to acquire Mirage Resorts Inc. The bid came unexpectedly from corporate raider Kirk Kerkorian.

Hilton Hotels Corp., along with its spinoff Park Place Entertainment Corp., posted pro forma earnings for the fourth-quarter of 1998 that were lower than expected. However, the company's shares increased as a result of optimism about Hilton's talks over the acquisition of approximately $1 billion worth of hotel assets. Hilton posted $35 million in quarterly net income. During the same period in 1997, the company posted a $5 million loss.

Horshoe Gaming LLC of Las Vegas, NV, has agreed to buy for $450 million in cash and a $150-million debt assumption the casino company Empress Entertainment Inc. Horshoe currently operates casinos each in Mississippi and Louisiana, and the purchase is an expansion into the US Midwest from local operations in the south. Joliet, IL-based Empress is an operator of two riverboat casinos in Indiana and Illinois. Horshoe Gaming president Paul Alanis said the company hopes to conclude the purchase in around six months following securing approval from state regulators.

Deutsche Bank AG, based in Germany, will refinance the Trump Marina in Atlantic City, NJ, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc.'s most troubled casino, at a cost of $320 million. With the loan, Donald Trump is expected to launch a tender offer for the property's burdensome high-yield debt. Trump Hotels intends to exchange bonds with an interest rate of 11.75% for a bank loan from Deutsche bank at about 8.75%. Aside from offering to pay 94% of the par value for the bonds, Trump's company will retire another $67 million bank loan and a series of pay-in-kind bonds.

Hilton Hotels Corp. will acquire three Mississippi properties from Minnesota, MN-based Grand Casinos Inc. for $650 million in stock. The deal, which will also include the assumption of $550 million Grand Casinos debt, will help the firm secure a tax-free status under the Internal Revenue Service as it splits its hotel and casino companies into separate operations. Hilton said it will split its operations to free the firm's hotel from the decline of its casino operations. Hilton will spin-off its Indian casino management business and other assets to its shareholders as part of the deal.

As a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, travel agencies, and related companies in the U.S. and Europe have revised their refund policies.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has developed over the years research on gambling behavior.

Kerzner International Ltd. will develop an Arabian-inspired resort in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The resort,which will developed similarly to the company's Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, will cost $650 million (572.3 million euros) to develop.

The Pritzker family of Chicago is planning a major restructuring of the Hyatt hotel chain. The family plans to reorganize Hyatt by way of expansion and acquisitions.

Entrepreneur Hugh Osmond is close to making an acquisition bid for Six Continents PLC. Osmond will make a bid of around 5.6 billion pounds (8.16 billion euros) for the hotel firm.

Best Western is planning to open a new chain of hotels in the European region. The new 'premier' hotels will offer a wide variety of amenities and services.

Marriott International Inc. posted an increase of 2% in its net income to $103 million for the 2002 third-quarter. The company also revealed new financial details in order to respond to concerns among investors about its accounting practices.

Marriott International Inc. posted a $116 million (133 million euros) net loss for the 2001 fourth-quarter. The company, which still provided a positive forecast for future profits, posted $149 million in net income during the same 2000 period.

Frank Han, the co-founder of eToys Inc., has been appointed by Park Place Entertainment Corp. to run the company's electronic commerce and online technology expansion. Park Place is attempting to go against the traditional model of a casino firm.

Peninsula Group has terminated its plans to expand its operations into the resorts industry. The company, which was planning a resort chain, ended its plans because of financial restrictions and absence of expertise in the resort industry.

The hotel industry in the United States is expecting to see a series of layoffs as a result of the September 2001 World Trade Center attacks. Union leaders and hotel executives are calling for some form of aid from the government.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. posted an increase of 24% in its net income for the 2001 first-quarter. The company posted $62 million (69.3 million euros) in net income for the period.

MGM Mirage is expecting to post higher-than-expected earnings for the 2000 fourth-quarter. The company expects to post 40 to 45 US cents (42 to 47 European cents) per share in earnings for the period, compared to analysts' expectations of 39 cents.