Trump Taj Mahal may not close in mid-November after a federal bankruptcy judge allowed the casino to cancel its contract with Local 54 of UNITE HERE, the city’s largest casino union. Prospective new owner Carl Icahn will invest $100 million in the property if some state and city tax payments are reduced or delayed. Should it be forced to shut down, the Taj would be the fifth Atlantic City casino to close since the beginning of the year, leaving just seven still operating.
A group of investors led by former Pinnacle Entertainment CEO Dan Lee (l.) wants to overthrow the current board and management of Full House Resorts Inc., based in Las Vegas. Full House has fired back, saying it may sell. The shareholders criticize money-losing investments and executive compensation.
Governor Chris Christie (l.) last week signed a bill in hope to clear the way for sports betting to be allowed in New Jersey. The state is trying to work around a federal ban on sports betting by allowing un-regulated sports betting at casinos and racetracks. Ultimately, however, the decision will rest with a federal judge scheduled to hear arguments on the state’s plan next month.
It’s the homestretch for 16 development teams competing for up to four new casino licenses in New York State. For months, a casino siting board has been sizing up the proposals and hearing from bidders and the public. Gaming commissioners may announce the winners this month. But bidders for the Grand Hudson Resort & Casino (l.) are said to be “tax cheats.”
New Jersey regulators, in a move they hope will improve business in beleaguered Atlantic City, are calling for submission of skill-based games that can attract new players.
A federal judge rejected an argument by New Mexico’s Pojoaque Pueblo to obtain a new gaming compact with the U.S. Interior Department without the approval of the state. The tribe promises to appeal, but the compact will expire in June 2015. Pojoaque Pueblo Governor George Rivera (l.) isn’t happy.
Macau welcomed more than 900,000 visitors during the popular Golden Week holiday, a new record. But that didn’t translate into gaming revenue, which analysts say fell steeply in comparison with last year in line with the downward trend of the last four months.
A controversial agreement with the state of Victoria provides Crown Resorts’ Melbourne flagship with insurance against the costs the casino might accrue from problem-gambling policies that don’t exist yet. Critics are appalled and say the terms will tie the hands of future governments.
Operators are beginning to pull out of Singapore’s now-illegal web gaming market. First to the exits were Bet365 and IBC Bet, while 888 and SBOBET have stopped accepting new accounts from the city-state. The law, which takes effect next year, entails steep fines and jail terms for violators.
Las Vegas Sands reported their quarterly earnings last week and it appears that their executives are as confused as the analysts about what is happening in Macau. Is it VIP weakness or mass market? And what role is being played by the Chinese government?
This week, the GGB Podcast features a discussion with Eric Meyerhofer, the president and CEO of Gamblit Gaming, a company that hopes to exploit the current interest in social games in the gaming industry.
Seventeen of the city’s 35 casinos now have airport-style smoking lounges in place to comply with a new prohibition on smoking in public gaming areas. Eleven more have applied for approvals, as operators quickly pivot to adjust to a ban that is much stricter than anticipated.
The United Kingdom's retail betting chain William Hill recently was named among the country's highest performing outlets in undercover tests conducted by Serve Legal, an independent ID check auditing company. William Hill scored 86 percent compared to the national rate of 82 percent for approaching underage individuals.
Just prior to Canadian Thanksgiving on October 13, the 800 union-member employees at the Great Blue Heron Casino on Scugog Island in Ontario reached an agreement with the managers of the gaming facility for a new three-year contract. Previously 91 percent of the unionized employees had voted to support a strike over benefits and schedules.
Casino operators in Mexico say they’re behind legislation to better regulate the industry, but they suggest the 10-year licenses the measure provides for are too short. The bill, currently under review in Congress, spells out licensing rules and establishes a national gaming watchdog.
MGM Resorts International does not own a casino in New York. It is not among the bidders vying for the first four commercial casino licenses in the state. Yet it is lobbying hard for legal online poker in the Empire State, and pushing the idea through its Let NY Play campaign.
Britain’s new online gambling regulations have survived a challenge from online betting firms based in Gibraltar after a court dismissed the challenge. The new law requires any firm seeking to take bets bin the UK to be licensed.
Ladbrokes intends to withdraw from Switzerland, Norway and Hungary. The withdrawals come before the introduction of new licensing conditions in the UK. The company has already exited the Canadian market.
The Czech Republic doesn’t particularly like online gambling, but it does like the taxes. New rules have been proposed that will open the market to the rest of the EU but will keep a close eye on domestic gambling and limit individual wagers.
NYX Social Gaming has launched an affiliate program for its Trophy Slots social casino brand in partnership with Income Access. It will be powered by the Income Access platform.
Jeffrey Haas, poker director for bwin.party, sat down with Bluff magazine and discussed a wide range of topics including Party Poker’s venture into New Jersey online poker. Haas acknowledged that online providers in the state need to improve in virtually every aspect of the customer experience and said PokerStars expected arrival in the state should be a game-changer.
The Northern Bear casino was billed as Saskatchewan’s first online casino, but after two years the site is now closing. Though the site never generated revenue, its operators say it was still an important step to protect First Nation people’s constitutional rights.
The dying racetrack that hoped for a new life with a casino proposal by the Mohegan tribe has asked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to reconsider its decision to award a casino license to its rival, Wynn. However, the commission doesn’t look anxious to grant Suffolk Downs Racetrack’s request. But a union that represents workers at Suffolk Downs is suing, along with the city of Revere, alleging the commission violated the law.
Mere months after its star-studded grand opening in August, the SLS Las Vegas has laid off some of its work force. The adjustment was small; less than 2 percent of employees were let go after the resort “evaluated its staffing needs,” a spokesman for the property said.
Although Indiana casinos are steadily losing revenue to competition in neighboring states, Governor Mike Pence (l.) and anti-gambling Republican lawmakers won't allow gambling "expansion." But some lawmakers believe if Majestic Star casino gives up one of its two gaming licenses, casinos could move onto land and racinos could get live table games without "expansion."
A $1 million renovation has been completed at the recently reopened Gold Dust Casino & Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota. The project included a new kitchen, restaurant, walls and ceilings as well as new games among the casino's 180 slots and tables. A major storm last fall delayed the scheduled reopening.
Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein says he will buy the Pier Shops at Caesars in Atlantic City, getting the $200 million structure for $2.5 million. Blatstein did not announce specifics for the four-story shopping complex, but said he intends to make it a tourist destination all its own. Blatstein is also competing for a casino license in Philadelphia.
The rise of video gambling, which has been legal in Illinois for two years, could be the cause of declines in casino revenues in Illinois, according to the recently released annual report from the state Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Atlantic City’s casino revenues for September showed a mixed bag as casino closings hurt the total casino revenue for the month—down about 13 percent—but five of the city’s remaining casinos showed revenue increases. Only two casinos showed declines. The results suggest that after four casino closings this year, the remaining casinos are picking up some of the former players from the closed properties.
In a recent poll by the University of South Florida, 43 percent of respondents said more casino gambling would take the state in the wrong direction; 29 percent said more casino gambling is the way to go. Still, the state's casinos and racinos brought in $408 million in tax revenue last year.
Although the 23-year old Texas lottery raised a record $1.2 billion for education last year, lawmakers and others are calling for its elimination, claiming it targets the state's poorest population. A joint legislative committee recently met to weigh the lottery's pros and cons.
For years the northern end of the Strip in Las Vegas has been struggling to reinvent itself with new resorts designed to draw more visitors to the area, which is far from the most of the Sin City action. But one resort sees no need to change, says Don Thrasher, Circus Circus president and CEO (l.). Low room rates and a kid-friendly kitsch keep Circus Circus going strong.
If Colorado voters approve Amendment 68, allowing a casino at Arapahoe Park racetrack near Aurora, backers said they would provide an additional $34.5 million in local taxes, including $17 million for road improvements, in response to concerns expressed by Aurora city officials.
Cannibalization is all the talk in New England states in the current election cycle. In Massachusetts, planned casinos would be the cannibals, keeping gambling money at home. In Maine, existing casinos said they'd be cannibalized by two proposed new operations.
Golden Gaming’s recent rebranding of four Irish pubs under the Sean Patrick’s moniker could be the start of a larger growth strategy, says company COO Steve Arcana. The owner of PT’s Pubs and Sierra Gold bought the four Nevada pubs from the Morrissey Group.
D'Iberville, Mississippi officials said the Scarlet Pearl Casino, scheduled to open in December 2015, led the way in nearly $141 million issued in building permits in the last fiscal year. As a result of the casino, developers are interested in building housing and hotels in the downtown area.
The chief executive officer of Valley Forge Casino Resort has been suspended by the state gaming board for allowing underage women to access the casino.
MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa at Stateline on Lake Tahoe’s south shore will soon begin more than $24 million in renovations to its 437 rooms, casino floor and convention center, owner Tropicana Entertainment has announced.
The HQ nightclub at Atlantic City’s closed Revel casino is fighting to re-open despite the casino being shuttered. The nightclub’s owners have asked a bankruptcy judge to stop Revel from blocking a re-opening.
The Argosy riverboat, home of the Belle of Sioux City casino, departed Sioux City, Iowa last week for a trip down the Missouri River. It's destined for an Illinois shipyard, where the vintage riverboat will be salvaged or sold.
Malaysian casino giant Genting is known for doing things big. Its Resorts World Las Vegas, no under development on the Strip, is the biggest project the city has seen in years. The sprawling $4 billion resort, with 100,000 square feet of gaming space, will open its first phase sometime next year.
A California casino, Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, is losing $1 million every day it doesn’t operate continues to be closed at the orders of a federal judge who insists that feuding factions sit down and talk. Some say the casino could remain closed for months. Former National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Phil Hogen (l.) calls it an “explosive” situation.
One tribe in California will directly benefit if Proposition 48 passes: the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. But the referendum could have massive effects on Indian gaming in the state if it fails to pass. Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro (l.) says the vote is about a Las Vegas casino company forcing an issue.
Wisconsin legislators and others are becoming increasingly frustrated with Governor Scott Walker's slow pace in making a decision about the proposed Menominee casino in Kenosha. Walker (l.), who's running for re-election, requested and was granted an extension until after the November 4 election.
The federal government is seeking comments on a fee to trust application for a San Diego, California tribe, the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians that wants to build a casino in Barstow, more than 100 miles from its reservation.
Within two months, a new gaming compact between the state of South Dakota and the Oglala Sioux Tribe is expected to be approved. The agreement would allow the tribe to offer blackjack and poker and up to 750 slot machines. The tribe currently operates 250 slots at its Prairie Wind and East Wind casinos.
Tribes that have been waiting decades for the federal government to reform its rules for recognition have hopes that new rules proposed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs new proposed rules will be adopted soon.
The Northern Arapaho tribe recently was granted a 20-year extension by the U.S. Department of Interior to operate the Wind River Casino on its Casper, Wyoming reservation. Tribal officials said the extension will allow them to receive financing for expansions and improvements at the casino and on the reservation.
The Nez Perce tribe wants to build a $14 million interchange its Clearwater River Casino, three miles east of Lewiston, Idaho. But funding the project and making sure it doesn't disturb waterfowl present two major challenges.
The Harvard Business Review list of the world’s top 100 CEOs includes some well-known names from the gaming industry: Steve Wynn, head of Wynn Resorts Ltd., and Edward Tracy (l.), president and CEO of Sands China Ltd.
Caesars Entertainment Corp. has appointed Keith Causey as the company’s new chief accounting officer. Causey steps into the role formerly occupied by Diane Wilfong, who has left the company “to pursue another opportunity,” Caesars said in a press release.
Richard Mirman, a former executive at Harrah's Entertainment, recently was named interim publisher and chief executive at the Orange County Register and the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspapers, owned by Freedom Communications. The struggling company recent closed the Los Angeles Register, positioned as a Los Angeles Times competitor, five months after starting publication.
At the end of the month, Mark Jones will take over as managing director at the Rank Group's Grosvenor Casinos. Jones joined the company in 2009 and previously held positions as chief executive at Pizza Hut UK, chief executive officer at Yates Group and executive chairman at Premium Bars and Restaurants.
In mid-2013, Caesars Entertainment’s social games nudged aside Zynga for the No. 1 spot in online gaming, with Slotomania as the stronghold. Gamers do not play for cash, but can buy add-ons and other perks that make the field a real moneymaker. How much? How does $2.7 billion sound?
MGM Resorts is testing four-player tables with touch-screen wagering tables at its sports book, with internet-connected stations supplied by Suzo-Happ.
