BUSINESS BRIEFS
Eateries trying to prevent fraud
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Restaurant chains, under mounting pressure, are serving up new ways to shield customers from credit card fraud.
Ruby Tuesday today will announce that it will be the first national restaurant to offer an ultra-secure credit card processing system that leaves no credit card information with the restaurant. The system that will be in all of its 900 locations by mid-April sends the data to the bank in an encrypted form.
Meanwhile, some smaller chains — including Legal Sea Foods and Hooters — are testing devices that let patrons pay at the table so the credit card never leaves their sight. Some of these new steps mirror methods already common in Europe.
CHECK-IN WOES AT US AIRWAYS
LAS VEGAS — US Airways' expectations of business as usual the first day under a new computer system were quickly dashed yesterday morning as long lines of travelers formed after self-service check-in kiosks failed.
The Tempe, Ariz., airline, which switched to a new computer reservations and ticketing system overnight, saw snaking lines in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Las Vegas.
US Airways spokesman Phil Gee said the airline does not expect many passengers to miss their flights in Las |Vegas. He said Charlotte, the airline's busiest hub, had the longest lines and the most passengers that missed flights.
STORIED VEGAS HOTEL TO BE SOLD
LAS VEGAS — Owners of the Sahara Hotel and Casino, a Rat Pack hangout and the setting of the original "Ocean's Eleven" film, have agreed to sell the aging property to an investor group.
Officials from Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment Group LLC and San Mateo, Calif.-based Stockbridge Real Estate Funds said they've entered into a contract to purchase the Moroccan-themed casino and hotel from Gordon Gaming Corp. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The sale includes a 17.5-acre parcel on the north end of the Strip and the hotel-casino with 1,720 rooms. The Sahara is one of the oldest properties on the Strip.
