Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie is reportedly working on a deal in which Sol Kerzner (l.) would replace Sarkis Izmirlian’s Baha Mar Ltd. as the operating partner of the new Baha Mar Resort. Kerzner was the original development of the Atlantis, the country’s other massive casino resort in Nassau, as well as being a major player in the gaming industry in the 1990s.
A ruling by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that daily fantasy sports is illegal gambling specifically named DFS giants DraftKings and FanDuel, but reports have surfaced that Yahoo fantasy sports are also being targeted. Yahoo has long been known as a provider of traditional, season-long fantasy sports services, but launched daily fantasy contests in July. Meanwhile, reviews of daily fantasy sites continue in many states and Massachusetts’s attorney general released potential consumer protection rules for DFS sites operating in the state.
Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on (l.) says the city can expect more contraction in its gaming industry. But the economy will stabilize in time, and the decline will not “affect the population’s lives.” Predictions of a $25 billion market for 2016 is less than half of what was reported in 2014.
Consolidation in the supplier industry continued last week when Ainsworth Game Technology decided to step up its presence in the U.S. market with a plan to acquire a slot supplier with a 1,300-machine presence in Indian casinos across 11 U.S. states. CEO Danny Gladstone (l.) said the deal is accretive to the company’s North American business.
Concerns that the casino product that MGM Resorts will bring to Springfield, Massachusetts were alleviated a bit last week when company President Bill Hornbuckle appeared at a city forum to explain how and why the changes to the project are necessary and even more expensive.
A key state House committee in Pennsylvania has cleared a bill that would legalize a complete slate of online casino games to be linked to the state’s land-based casino licensees. Sponsored by the committee’s chairman, Rep. John Payne (l.), the bill now moves to a vote in the full House.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head appears to have seen its dreams to build a bingo hall in a former community center (l.) on Martha’s Vineyard dashed on the rocks. A federal judge has ruled that its 1983 agreement with the state that it would obey local and state laws trumps the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which gives tribes the right to open Class II casinos.
Although doubts remain about the consolidation that created the giant gaming vendor Scientific Games, it’s so far, so good, as synergies, talents and direction have eased worries about debt.
This week the GGB Podcast visits with David Lucchese, the executive vice president of games for Everi Holdings, about how the former Multimedia Games has prospered following the purchase by Global Cash Access and the formation of Everi.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority of Connecticut, known as Mohegan Sun, has confirmed it will apply for a casino license near South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. The tribe will partner with the airport authority on the $5 billion project (l.). The deadline is this week.
Could Sihanoukville (l.) displace Poipet as the top casino destination in Cambodia? Could be, as more gamblers seek out coastal resorts, and Chinese investors look to add to the city’s 14 gaming halls.
The majority owner of Macau’s newest casino resort has reached an agreement to modify a US$1.4 billion loan agreement. Melco Crown faced default because it did not get 400 tables at the US$3.2 billion Studio City.
Lawrence Ho’s Tigre de Cristal, the first casino in Russia’s Primorye gaming zone, marked its grand opening November 11 with some controversy: an appearance by a caged endangered tiger.
Frontier Capital Group, about to acquire the Casablanca Casino in the Philippines, could benefit big-time from the expansion of the local airport. Frontier plans “an aggressive growth strategy” to take advantage of it.
Ladbrokes investor Dermot Desmond (l.) says a merger of the UK bookmaker with rival Gala Coral is all wrong. Desmond said Lads needs to boost its online outreach and should not “give away half the company.”
Sky Betting and Gaming has announced it plans an £11 million (US$16 million) expansion of its resort property in Yorkshire, UK. The project is expected to create 200 new jobs in the area.
The financially embattled country and its lenders have agreed to raise the gaming tax to help raise revenues. The plan calls for a 5 euro-cent tax, which is expected to generate €300 million to €400 million per year.
British Prime Minister David Cameron (l.) is being slammed by his own party after reportedly blocking a review of fixed-odds betting terminals, called the “crack cocaine of betting” in the United Kingdom.
Australian gaming giant Echo Entertainment Group and its partners have finally inked a deal with the Queensland government that will allow them to build an AU3 billion (US$2.1 billion) casino in the capital of Brisbane.
SkyCity Entertainment Group, which enjoyed a 14 percent hike in earnings for the first four months of the financial year, will begin a US$215 million expansion of its Adelaide Casino in southern Australia.
No merger will take place between the Tatts Group and Tabcorp, two of the largest gambling companies in Australia. The firms were not able to strike a deal that would have resulted in a giant gambling company worth a total of $7 billion. No further talks are planned.
Reports say Quebec is preparing to block online gambling sites operating in the province under consumer protection provisions in the provincial budget adopted in April. Finance Minister Carlos Leitao (l.) calls it a consumer protection measure.
It may be a major victory in China’s fight against internet wagers by mainlanders. State police have arrested 98 people connected to online gambling networks that reportedly handled a staggering $78 billion in bets.
Greentube has signed a content agreement with Belgium’s Circus Group to provide a platform allowing the operator to offer Novomatic Games on its website.
Amaya Inc.’s Full Tilt poker has joined Valve’s online gaming platform Steam, the first online poker site to use the platform. The site was approved to join Steam by a vote of its users.
Huuuge games has announced a Series A investment of $4 million in the company led by Korea Investment Partners. The company plans to use the investment to fund an expansion into the Asia/Pacific markets.
Irish betting firm Paddy Power posted a 9 percent rise in net revenue and a 23 percent increase in online sports betting between July 1 and November 15, meeting corporate expectations. The company started regulatory filings with the UK CMA and Ireland’s Irish Competition & Consumer Protection Commission regarding its planned merger with Betfair.
Philadelphia City Council unanimously approved zoning for Stadium Casino LLC’s new casino, despite allegations of racial discrimination on the part of partner Cordish Companies.
The downtown promotion group Central Atlanta Progress Inc. has set a deadline of December 10 for applications to complete a study regarding the impact of gambling in Atlanta. The study is to be completed by March 15. Meanwhile lawmakers are considering a measure to allow six Georgia casinos, including two in Atlanta, one possibly at Turner Field (l.), the former Olympic stadium and recent home to the Atlanta Braves.
Milton McGregor insists he'll reopen VictoryLand Casino in Shorter, Alabama by Christmas. The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled the state does not have to return 1,615 electronic bingo machines seized in a 2013 raid. McGregor said he may lease new machines, although vendors could be unwilling to do business in Alabama.
Opposition to the proposed Lago Casino and Hotel (l.) in Tyre, New York, heated up during a protest at the Capitol in Albany, with those opposed saying it will steal jobs and cause economic harm to other communities. Supports of the casino project say protestors are just trying to protect existing gaming operations and don’t want any competition.
Many formerly stalled projects are being renewed or completed, and several others are near completed, like MGM’s Las Vegas arena (l.), or underway in Las Vegas as hotels report high occupancy rates and tourism dollars continue rising and generating a renewed era of booming development and investor interest in a city that was among the nation’s hardest hit during the Great Recession.
Tiverton council members voted 6-1 last week to ask the Rhode Island legislature to schedule a referendum so that state voters and city voters can approve or not approve of a casino in the community just a few hundred feet from the Massachusetts line.
Developers of the proposed Asian-themed Lucky Dragon hotel (l.) near the north end of the Las Vegas Strip lost their bid for a tax break on the project, but say they have most of the financing in place to complete the $127 million casino, which would have a 200-room, nine-story tower and cater to Asian gamblers.
UNITE HERE, which represents more than 90,000 casino workers, asked the Indiana Gaming Commission to block the sale of Pinnacle Entertainment's 14 casinos to Gaming & Leisure Properties for $4.75 billion. The union claims the deal would give GLPI more than two properties allowed by Indiana law.
Visiting Fremont Street should be more family-friendly now that new rules are in place that better regulate street performers while making the popular covered walking mall a better place to visit for people of all ages. Performers are restricted to 6-foot performance circles and must stay at least 40 feet away from other street performers.
With a legislative plan to secure Atlantic City’s casino taxes currently awaiting action, Moody’s Investor Service released a report saying the plan—if enacted—will not solve the city’s financial problems. Meanwhile, discussions on the rescue plan for the city’s finances continue.
The Nugget in Sparks, Nevada, is undergoing a $50 million renovation that new CEO Carlton Geer says is intended to draw more locals, while continuing to improve out-of-state visitations. Just one of two casinos in Sparks, Geer wants more business from locals in the Reno area, while giving the casino a vibrant, modern, and new feel.
Leading up to the unveiling of its $164 million expansion, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia contributed $1 million—twice its usual annual donation—to the Penn Treaty Special Services District, which assists organizations in neighborhoods surrounding the casino. Since opening in 2010, SugarHouse has contributed $3.6 million to the PTSSD.
Atlantic City’s eight casinos saw a 1.3 percent decline in revenue for October compared to 2014. Revenue from online gambling, however, was up by more than 35 percent. The figures represent the first year-to-year comparison without taking into account casinos that closed in 2014.
Las Vegas Events agreed to take a $2 million annual loss to continue hosting the popular National Finals Rodeo each December. Las Vegas Events previously profited about $1 million annually from the event, but competition from other locales required it to accept a loss, which the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority agreed to offset.
The proposed Biloxi Pointe Resort and Casino moved a step forward as the Harrison County, Mississippi board of supervisors granted developers a $7 million tax abatement for its share of the $20 Back Bay Loop connector road, which would link all Biloxi casino properties and provide Biloxi Pointe with access.
Creditors for amusement rides on Atlantic City’s famous Steel Pier are seeking to repossess the attractions, but pier owners say they are confident they can restructure the debt. The owners of the pier have plans to build a $14 million observation wheel that may be threatened by the debt issues.
A new Nevada tourism ad promotes the state’s many outdoor and other destinations rather than the traditional gambling-focused marketing appeals. The aim is to boost tourism among those who are less likely to visit a casino and more likely to take advantage of Nevada’s 20 state parks and other destinations.
Ohio State University, notoriously protective of its trademarks, has sued the Horseshoe Cincinnati casino to prevent it from calling its concert venue “The Shoe” because they also call their football stadium (l.) the Horseshoe or the Shoe.
The Genting Group has spent more than $50 million on preliminary planning for its $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, which it says should open in 2018. Genting topped off one of two garage structures and says thousands of construction jobs will be created after the planning and permitting process is done.
The third quarter of 2015 continued producing financial losses for the SLS Las Vegas casino, but not as badly as a year ago. The casino reported $38.7 million in net losses, down from nearly $46 million a year ago. Meanwhile, the Cosmopolitan reported a $4.7 million profit, after posting a loss a year earlier.
Z Capital made an about $700 million offer to buy remaining shares in Affinity Gaming, in which Z Capital owns 40.5 percent of shares, making it the Las Vegas company’s largest shareholder. The offer is the fourth made in two years and would pay $13 per share, up from $11.50 per share offered in May and subsequently rejected.
Despite a record setting day in July when Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh ran at the Haskell Invitational, New Jersey’s Monmouth Park racetrack still saw a decline in its average daily handle for its 58-day meet and only a slight bump in total handle.
A bill in Congress that would prevent the Tohono O’odham Nation from opening its $400 million Desert Diamond-West Valley resort and casino near Glendale, Arizona appears unlikely to pass in time. But passions on both side are keeping the issue alive down to the wire.
The state of California has been ordered to return to the negotiating table to craft another tribal state gaming compact with the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, even though the Golden State’s voters last November overwhelmingly rejected the first compact. U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii ruled that Governor Jerry Brown (l.) acted in bad faith by refusing to renegotiate a compact after the vote.
Tribes have for several years sought to remove themselves from the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. Last week the House of Representatives passed the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015, H.R. 511, which would do that.
The Oklahoma Attorney General recently ruled the Cherokee National Gaming Commission may not license non-gaming employees--those involved in food, beverage, hotel and entertainment--at Cherokee Nation casinos. CNGC Director Jamie Hummingbird (l.) said that means looking at the job descriptions of 1,297 non-gaming employees.
Casinos in Arizona and across the nation are looking into ways to make millennials more interested in spending time and money inside casinos, and interactive slot machines that play more like video games are high on the list of desired gaming changes, while table games prove more enticing to millennials, who crave interaction.
Viejas Casino & Resort in San Diego County last week opened its $50 million expansion with a high-flying tightrope act by Tino Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas.
Among the topics expected to be discussed at the annual compact meetings between the state of Iowa and the Omaha Tribe was the tribe's possible marijuana business. The Nebraska-based tribe, owners of the Blackbird Bend Casino near Onawa, said Iowa was the most likely location for the venture.
A new study indicated Native American tribal gaming in 2014 contributed $4.2 billion to the Oklahoma economy with a $6.2 billion economic impact. The study also showed education in the state has benefited from $1 billion from tribal gaming over the past 10 years. Tribal gaming now is Oklahoma’s 19th largest employment sector.
Local opposition to a proposed Catawba Indian gaming casino in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, increased when locals voted to replace the city’s pro-casino mayor with a candidate who isn’t as supportive, and a local advocacy group intends to lobby the new city council to reverse its prior support of the proposed tribal casino project.
The White Earth Nation recently broke ground on its second Shooting Star Casino, located near Bagley, Minnesota. The 21,400 square foot facility will provide 61 new jobs. The tribe also recently announced construction will begin next year on a third Shooting Star Casino near Dent.
When the $65 million renovation at Creek Casino Montgomery (l.) is completed by the year's end, it will have a new name, Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Montgomery, and a new Beale Street-based theme. The Poarch Creek Indians operate a 46,000 square foot casino there, plus casinos in Atmore and Wetumpka, Alabama.
The Chickasaw Tribe and the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University have developed a certification program in Native American Enterprise Management. The 200-hour program, which takes one year to complete, is designed to enhance the state's enterprise workforce and offer a program for career advancement in enterprise management.
A petition for federal recognition was approved for the Duwamish Tribe in Washington the day before the Clinton administration ended. But the Bush administration reversed the approval eight months later. Last month the tribe asked Interior Department Sally Jewell to restore recognition, and peaceably demonstrated at her Seattle home, but she has not responded.
Since the Illinois lottery announced prize payouts of $600 or more would be delayed, ticket sales have plunged. October sales fell $21 million to $215 million, the lowest this year. The high point was $260 million in March. The state budget impasse between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner (l.) and Democratic lawmakers behind the situation.
5 Card Cash sales and payouts are temporarily on hold at the Connecticut Lottery. Officials said the poker-like game has been suspended because some retailers may have manipulated the reporting mechanism on lottery terminals for their personal benefit. The state has launched an investigation.
Macau’s top gaming regulator will be Assistant Public Prosecutor-General Paulo Martins Chan. Chan will follow Manuel Joaquim das Neves, who announced he will leave the post this week.
Scientific Games Chief Financial Officer Scott Schweinfurth will retire at the end of the year after more than a decade with the company and the former WMS Gaming.
Rock Gaming, which is taking over full ownership and management of its two Ohio casinos and one racino, has named former Station Casinos executive Mark Tricano as senior vice president of operations to oversee those three properties.
Melco Crown Philippines has appointed a new chief operating officer for City of Dreams Manila. Geoffry P. Andres took the job effective November 16, replacing Kevin Sim, who reportedly left for “personal reasons.”
A former Indian lawmaker, gaming commissioner and founder of a public affairs lobbying group, Matt Bell, has been selected president of the Casino Association of Indiana.
Bill Rubenstein, a former consumer affairs commission in Connecticut has joined the board of MMCT Venture, which seeks to build a satellite casino that would be jointly owned by the state’s two gaming tribes.
Amaya Inc. CEO David Baazov has acquired an additional 60,000 common shares of the company he heads, bringing his stake in the company to 18.42 percent.
Renowned New York City-based Chef March Murphy (l.) recently opened Grey Salt at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Florida. The 250-seat Mediterranean-inspired restaurant will create 130 new jobs and will feature locally sourced fresh fish, artisanal flatbreads, handmade pastas and rotisserized and grilled meats, plus a world-class bar selection.
Mr. Chow has opened a new gourmet Chinese restaurant in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, after prior failed attempts to open in Sin City. The two-story restaurant seats up to 277 people among three dining rooms and enclosed patio dining areas, and is open for the holiday. The restaurant is the seventh for Mr. Chow, who intended to open it at another location, but design flaws to the Harmon tower of CityCenter canceled that plan.
Increasing the number of non-stop flights from Asian airports to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is the best way for the gambling Mecca to boost its international tourism dollars, particularly from Asia, a new study by Global Market Advisors concluded. Asia is poised to greatly increase international travel to Las Vegas, mostly from China, the paper states.
Slots being released by Florida-based Banyan Gaming provide powerful customer insights, increased efficiency and increased revenue, according to the company. CEO Jason Seelig (l.) calls it a “game changer.”
Two new interactive, park-style attractions based on The Avengers and Transformers are coming to the Treasure Island in Las Vegas in March and help to maintain the resort’s family friendly theme. Each will have its own exhibit space in the casino’s new retail area, and visitors can interact with characters during self-guided walking tours.
UK bookmaker Ladbrokes has launched the country’s first gamification project, which will allow players to accumulate scratch cards and then redeem them for cash bonuses.
Located in SHILLA Hotel on Jeju in South Korea, Majestar Casino recently launched the Majestar Casino Mobile Game, developed with BIGMAN GAMES and offering 11 slot machine games, blackjack and baccarat on android devices. The iOS version will be available later this month. The games will be serviced to 150 nations excluding South Korea.
The organizers of ICE Totally Gaming in London say they have confirmed that the 2017 event will draw its largest-ever attendance of international regulators.
May 7-9, 2024: SBC Summit North America, Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, NJ. Produced by SBC Events. For more information visit sbcevents.com.
May 14-16, 2024: Cage Conference + Connect User Conference, Gila River Resorts & Casinos Learn about new technologies that enhance profitability and network with industry leaders who have proven success in Cage, Revenue and Player Services. For more information visit skiild.com/cage-conference/.
June 3-5, 2024: SiGMA Asia, SMX Convention Center, Manila, Philippines. Produced by SiGMA Group For more information visit sigma.world/.
June 4-6, 2024: G2E Asia 2024, The Venetian Macao, Macau, SAR. Produced by RX and the American Gaming Association. For more information visit g2easia.com/.
June 18-20, 2024: Canadian Gaming Summit, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada. Produced by SBC Events. For more information visit sbcevents.com.
July 16-19, 2024: iGB L!VE 2024, RAI Amsterdam, Netherlands Produced by Clarion Gaming. For more information visit igblive.com.
