Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Ecuador is closing down all gaming, including 32 casinos in 5-star hotels. A decree from President Rafael Correa (l.) last week ordered the immediate stop of all gaming and the closure of the casinos and legal bingo halls in six months. The move followed a May referendum to end all gaming in the country.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The Massachusetts House moved quickly to pass a gaming bill that authorizes three casinos and one slots parlor. More than 150 amendments fell by the wayside. House Speaker Robert DeLeo (l.) guided the bill to an overwhelming approval. Now the Senate will take up the bill.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The Malaysian casino company, which plans a $3 billion resort in Miami, could be good to go as early as spring 2012. But the Las Vegas Sands investment is iffy, as discussions about integrated resorts continue in Florida.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The European Union is ready to take a step closer to figuring out what to do about online gaming. Or not. Discussions at committee level are set to start September 19, but members of that committee will have 271 amendments to address—plus the green paper that spurred those amendments.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
State finance officials in Delaware are ready to hold talks with owners of the three racinos on cutting the revenue tax, but any deal faces an uncertain future with lawmakers. Delaware House Majority Leader Pete Schwartzkopf (l.) is having none of it, however.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
While Wynn Resorts announced last week that it had been granted permission by the Macau government to proceed with development of its latest resort in the Cotai region of the SAR, an official says “not so fast.” Wynn’s new unnamed resort is just east of the City of Dreams (l.).
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Even though Station Casinos is the leader in the locals Las Vegas market, the company announces a generous new awards program that will consolidate the different programs into one and triple the points players can earn.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
What will be the impact on existing and planned tribal casinos if New York legalizes commercial casinos? Tribes want the state out of the gaming industry and to keep its legal word. The Senecas (l.) held a rally to protest the plan.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
How will the gaming industry create growth going forward? Can we count on traditional methods like gaming expansion or the replacement slot market? Or will it be something new?
Sun, Sep 11, 2011
This week the Global Gaming Business Podcast continues a series of interviews leading up to October’s G2E. In this installment, GGB Editor Frank Legato interviews two executives from up-and-coming slot manufacturers, Bob Miodunski (l.), the president of American Gaming Systems, and Steve Walther, the vice president of sales and marketing for Aruze Gaming.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
One of the companies running the Goa casino boats is reportedly looking for U.S. casino partners. Sources say Delta Corp. has contacted MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment to feel out their interest.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The scandals that grew from the revelations from the website Wikileaks have hit the political and diplomatic circles hard. The latest leaks have implications for companies operating in Macau. Former Counsel General Joseph Donovan (l.) claimed organized crime control over VIP operators.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Macau casinos are facing a partial smoking ban that will start January 2013. The properties will have to create special smoking areas, which can be 50 percent of the total public area but which also must be physically separated from the no-smoking zone.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The anticipated gaming bill for Ukraine has been introduced to the parliament. If passed, casino gaming would be allowed but only in hotels of a certain category.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The Senate of the Northern Marianas is refusing to bow to House pressure on the casino gaming issue for Saipan. The pro-casino House wants a bill to legalize casinos, while the generally anti-casino Senate wants to let Saipan’s citizens vote on the matter.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
A judge has ordered the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority to rehire its chair, Kirk Goodtrack, after he was removed for “conflicts of interest.” Goodtrack says he was ousted for attempting to reduce board costs.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
On April 1, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation City switched from Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to the International Financial Reporting Standards. As a result, the Town of Rayside-Balfour could lose $73,000 annual in slot revenue payment.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Barona Resort & Casino has expanded its gaming options with a new free-play online poker site available to select Club Barona members. The site will offer up to six poker games, rewarding customers with prizes specific to the resort. And Michael Gaughan (l.), the owner of South Point Casino, will team with internet operator Zen Entertainment to launch a free online poker site. The site is Gaughan’s first step in positioning his company in the future of online wagering.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
California’s lawmakers are nearly unanimous in their desire that the federal government not pass legislation that prevents states from regulating internet gaming within their own borders.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (l.) of Arizona recently introduced a bill to stop the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino in Glendale. The bill would make changes in a 25-year-old settlement between Congress and the Tohono O'odham Nation and would ban most gambling on replacement lands in Pinal, Pima and Maricopa counties that are taken into the reservation system for the tribe.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
A group of Canadian online gamblers have filed suit against Full Tilt Poker, one of the sites shut down by the Black Friday indictments in April, accusing the site of stealing their deposits. In addition, the company began layoffs at its Irish headquarters last week.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Mark Davies, founder of the online gambling group Betfair, is suing his law firm Speechly Bircham for £4 million after the company allegedly did not properly register his Betfair shares.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Goldman Sachs asks a district court to install one of its executives to oversee the Las Vegas Hilton until it is sold. In the short run, however, not much will change.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The resort-class casino at the Valley Forge Convention Center in Pennsylvania is on track for a spring opening. It will be the state’s first “resort” license, with different regulations than the other gaming facilities.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Illinois lawmakers are starting to get antsy for Governor Pat Quinn to state what his objections are to a massive gaming expansion bill, even though they haven’t officially put it on his desk. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (l.) continues to pressure the governor to sign the bill.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Nine of Atlantic City’s casinos are embroiled in contract negotiations with the service workers union Local 54 of UNITE-HERE. Though the current contract has expired, the parties continue to talk in hopes of avoiding a strike. Disputes over wage concessions and demands that casino workers pay into their own health care and pension benefits remain the sticking points for closing a deal. While Local 54 President Bob McDevitt (l.) says a strike is unlikely, the threat still looms in the struggling gaming market.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Reservations are being accepted for rooms at the Octavius Towers at Caesars Palace, which will open by January 2, 2012. Caesars Entertainment originally announced the expansion in July 2007, when construction on the Las Vegas Strip was booming, but it was put on hold in 2009 following the economic downturn.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The Siena Hotel & Spa, located in Reno’s downtown riverfront, has been exceeding its owners’ expectations since its $4 million renovation debuted on April 21. The property, which employs 400 people, features a casino with 425 slots and 16 table games, an 8-story hotel, lounges, restaurants, a café and sushi bar and 1,000-bottle wine cellar with a 1945 French Bordeaux priced at $12,000.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Kentucky legislators may consider two bills sponsored by Rep. Mike Nemes (l.) regarding expanded gambling. BR 189 would have voters in the 2012 general election approve a constitutional amendment to expand gambling in the commonwealth. BR 246 would establish regulations regarding implementing expanding gambling.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Pinnacle Entertainment’s River City Casino, located just south of the St. Louis city limits, recently announced an $82 million expansion that will add a 200 room hotel, multi-purpose event center and 1,700-space parking structure. Construction will begin early next year and be completed by late 2013.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Ohio’s four casinos are moving forward toward completion. First to open, in the first half of 2012, will be Hollywood Casinos in Toledo (l.), followed by its Columbus location in the second half of 2012. The casinos are expected to generate $470 million in tax revenue once all four are up and running.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Retroactive compensation is probably in the cards in the case of two casino hotels that stopped deducting union dues. Who will pay is in question since the two hotels are now closed.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. is selling off parts of its casino holdings to pay down its $305 million bankruptcy debt. The company’s former office building and warehouse are the latest assets up for sale. Both the Trump Marina Casino Hotel and the legendary Steel Pier have been sold this year, raising speculation that Trump Plaza (l.) may be the next property on the block.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The international, award-winning architecture firm EwingCole has reveled its new casino design for Florida’s Hialeah Park Race Track (l.). Created with an eye for historic preservation and to honor the area’s horseracing heritage, the expansion will include a 1,250 slot gaming floor, a poker mezzanine with 36 tables, a 90-seat casino lounge and a 180-seat dining village.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
A survey released by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Policy Analysis reveals that 36 percent of all visits to the Foxwoods (l.) and Mohegan Sun casinos come from Bay State’s residents. With Massachusetts now considering legalized gaming, can the state of Connecticut meet the coming competition?
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue still have not reached an agreement about including live dealer games at the tribe’s Cherokee Casino. Several key revisions to the tribe's compact with the governor are pending, sources say, because the two parties cannot come to terms about revenue sharing.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
An alliance of several gaming tribes in California is highly critical of a decision by the Department of the Interior to allow two tribes in the Golden State to put land into trust off-reservation.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
For the second time, Phyliss Anderson has defeated controversial Miko Beasley Denson for chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The tribe has made the news as a result of an FBI raid at its Pearl River Resort & Casino in July and the downgrading of its debt by Moody’s.
Richard G. “Rick” Hill recently joined Tribal Financial Advisors as chairman of the company’s Tribal Board of Advisors. Hill was the chairman of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin from 2008 to 2011.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
In its commitment to diversity and economic development, the American Gaming Association has recognized five minority or woman-owned companies that work with the gaming industry with the Diverse Vendor of the Year Award.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Aristocrat has introduced its wide screen Viridian WS series of games to the Portuguese casino market. The Casino da Póvoa in the north of the country belongs to the Estoril Sol group, which has major casinos in Lisbon and the seaside resort town of Estoril.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The QuickFire software platform from online gaming supplier Microgaming is almost one year old. QuickFire has now signed an agreement with operator Victor Chandler to provide casino gaming for mobile devices.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
A leading international supplier of computer platforms for slot machines establishes a foothold in the U.S. with an office in Las Vegas.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
JCM Global was selected as the exclusive provider of bill validator equipment for slots at the new Resorts World Casino New York City.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The Innovation Group of Companies announced the formation of Innovation Sports & Entertainment as a new advisory group on event planning.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
The online gaming trade show for primarily the French market has been canceled. The second annual Monaco iGaming Exchanges was cancelled a bit more than three weeks before scheduled, due to low registrations and last-minute exhibitor withdrawals.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
Slot supplier Novomatic may opt to sell bonds instead of a previously discussed initial public offering because of a dip in the Austrian stock index.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
A wild finish in a college football game last weekend caused headaches for several Las Vegas sports books and winner and losers get paid—or not.
Sun, Sep 18, 2011
A giant replica of the Monopoly board game has been constructed on the Boardwalk at Bally’s Atlantic City. Working with Hasbro, the casino is offering $1,000,000 in prizes with two chances for Total Reward members to win.
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