IN BRIEF

Analysts see promise ahead for slot makers

Two gaming analysts have given slot machine makers a reason to smile. Both told investors that prospects for equipment manufacturers are high going into the next few years.

Potentially, 70,000 new slot machines could find their way into Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland and Pennsylvania. In addition, California and New York are taking steps to add games while Massachusetts and Kentucky may consider gaming legislation.

"The upcoming fall season brings a number of important catalysts for the equipment companies," Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill wrote. "It will give insight into the magnitude of the new slot supply coming online."

Said Goldman Sachs gaming analyst Steven Kent, "When we upgraded the gaming equipment sector to Attractive at the end of 2008, our primary reason was our belief that states would look to expand gambling to raise revenues to plug tax shortfalls."

The analysts said International Game Technology, WMS Industries and Bally Technologies should all benefit.

Pinnacle advised to continue expansion

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins believes Pinnacle Entertainment should proceed with a planned gaming development in Lake Charles, La.

Las Vegas-based Pinnacle already operates L'Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles and has proposed the $407 million Sugarcane Bay on neighboring land.

Simkins believes the two-resort complex, which would surround a Tom Fazio-designed golf course, could grow the Lake Charles market into a nearly $2 billion-a-year gaming destination.

The L'Auberge/Sugarcane Bay complex could give Pinnacle one of the largest commercial casino facilities in Louisiana with 1,395 hotel rooms, 3,100 slot machines and 112 table games.

Houston, with 5.6 million residents, is the prime feeder market for Pinnacle's Lake Charles complex.

NV Energy promotes marketing executive

NV Energy said Tuesday that it has promoted Robert Stewart from vice president of marketing to senior vice president of customer relationship.

Stewart joined the power utility in February 2008 and has added customer service with his new role. He has about 25 years of utility experience with a focus on marketing, management and strategic planning.

NV Energy also announced its hiring of Rob Stillwell as executive of corporate communications.

Stillwell spent the last 14 years with Boyd Gaming Corp. as vice president of corporate communications. He replaces Jack Leone, who retired.

ATLANTIC CITY

Investors group gets OK to operate Tropicana

New Jersey regulators approved a plan Wednesday for the former corporate parent of Atlantic City's bankrupt Tropicana to operate the business again as a reorganized company owned by a group of investors led by billionaire Carl Icahn.

The state Casino Control Commission revoked Tropicana Entertainment LLC's casino license in December 2007 after finding that cost-cutting by its former owner, William J. Yung III, left the casino understaffed and dirty.

The commission found that the company had been sufficiently transformed through the bankruptcy and had cut its ties with Yung.

The Icahn-led investment group acquired the casino earlier this year by buying its $200 million in debt. The sale is still working its way through bankruptcy court.

TiVo sues Verizon, claims patent breaches

TiVo Inc., the pioneer in digital video recording services, sued Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. claiming infringement of patents used in their digital video recorder systems.

TiVo, in complaints filed in federal court in Marshall, Texas, is seeking damages for past infringement and an order stopping the infringement. The company claims infringement of a so-called "time warp" patent and two others.

The time warp patent is under dispute with Dish Network Corp., the second-largest satellite-TV provider, and EchoStar Corp., who were ordered in June to pay $192.7 million to TiVo and to stop providing the Dish DVR service. The ruling is under appeal.

DALLAS

Unapproved parts said to be used to fix jets

Federal officials say a maintenance company hired by Southwest Airlines used unapproved parts for repairs on some jets.

The parts will have to be replaced, but as they are not considered an immediate safety threat, officials will let Southwest keep flying the planes for 10 days while it decides how to fix the problem.

Southwest said Wednesday that the incident led it to ground 46 planes -- nearly 9 percent of its fleet -- for several hours last Saturday. That led to 15 canceled flights and widespread delays -- Southwest said its on-time performance fell to 68 percent, down from 78 percent in June, the last month for which government statistics are available.

An investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration raised questions about the parts during an inspection Friday of a facility that maintains planes for Southwest. The parts, called exhaust gate assembly hinge fittings, are used in deflecting hot engine exhaust away from wing flaps. Southwest uses only Boeing 737 aircraft, which have an engine on each wing.