An Aussie company and a Hong Kong firm with Chinese investors are making progress in long-stalled resort projects in Australia. James Packer’s Crown Resorts has made a number of concessions to push his Sydney casino development (l.) forward. In Queensland, Tony Fung has gotten more investment in his Aquis development near the Great Barrier Reef. These Australian developments, including Star Entertainment’s massive resort in Brisbane, could vault Oz forward as a major player in Asian gaming.
Wynn Resorts co-founder Elaine Wynn has sued the company and ex-husband Steve Wynn (the couple in happier times at left) to gain control of her company stock and assailing Steve Wynn’s business practices. Elaine Wynn was ejected from the board of Wynn Resorts last year at the same time shares owned by Kazuo Okada were seized.
The receivership controlling the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas has appointed Colliers International to find a buyer for the unfinished $3.5 billion property. Receivers for the stalled project are requiring that prospective bidders sign a promise not to talk to either of the two warring parties—developer Sarkis Izmirlian and builder China Construction America—whose feud forced the development into liquidation last year.
Junket operator Kim Wong (l.), who has been described as a “missing link” in an $81 million money-laundering case in the Philippines, says he knew nothing about the illicit transactions, which have Philippine officials calling for a change to AML laws in the country.
The Alabama Supreme Court last week ruled that the electronic bingo machines were slot machines and therefore illegal under the state constitution, which means the devices seized from VictoryLand and Greenetrack greyhound tracks will not be returned. But committees in the state House and Senate voted yes to e-bingo for both venues, however passage of the bill seems unlikely.
Once again federal judges have shot down an attempt by rival gaming tribes and the state of Arizona to prevent the Tohono O'odham tribe from operating the Desert Diamond West Valley casino in Glendale. This time it was the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of the tribe.
Amaya Chairman and CEO David Baazov (l.) will take a temporary leave of absence as he answers charges of insider trading by Canadian regulators stemming from Amaya’s acquisition of PokerStars. The leave will be unpaid and voluntary, the company said. Baazov has denied the charges and said he will vigorously dispute them. Amaya is also continuing to explore a bid by Baazov to acquire the company.
Regional casino giant Pinnacle Entertainment’s love affair with the REIT concept is getting a little sweeter via a deal that will see Pinnacle acquire the Meadows (l.), a Pennsylvania casino and racetrack outside of Pittsburgh, from Gaming and Leisure Properties. Later this month, the two are expected to close on a $4.5 billion sale to GLPI of the real estate under Pinnacle’s 15 casinos in eight states.
Scientific Games treated customers from around the world with its Empower conference, which offers a sneak peek at next-generation technology for the casino.
With a referendum set up to decide whether to expand gaming in New Jersey outside Atlantic City, it’s just the latest blow for the Boardwalk town. But GGB Publisher Roger Gros (l.) uses his deep knowledge of Atlantic City and its history to offer seven steps to defeating gaming expansion in New Jersey.
This week the GGB Podcast features an interview with Bill Hornbuckle, the president of MGM Resorts, on the new developments on the company’s drawing board, starting with the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, opening this week.
The government of Macau has not requested an increase in visitor arrivals from Mainland China or any expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme policy, according to the city’s Chief Executive, Fernando Chui Sai On (l.).
Salient Ventures, a subsidiary of SV International, has announced a sweeping plan to buy up land in and around the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville in order to develop casinos and hotels and thus turn it into “the Macau of Southeast Asia.”
Six firms are in the running to acquire the Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex (l.), a casino resort in Laos. The short list includes Iao Kun Group Holding Co. Ltd.; Macau Legend Development Ltd.; a consortium led by RGB Macau Ltd.; Silver Heritage Ltd.; and U.S. investment firm PGP.
The Goa government is taking its time deciding where four casino cruise ships will be relocated. The four vessels, now anchored in the Mandovi River, were supposed to have been moved by March 31.
A buyer identified as “LiC.K.,” who has purchased Macau Legend Development’s Pharaoh’s Palace Casino (l.) in the MSAR, is actually Li Chi Keung, a shareholder who holds a 12 percent stake in the company. Macau Legend is recovering from a difficult 2015, in which it saw net losses of HKD268.5 million.
Law enforcement in Guangdong Province have intercepted an internet and telecommunications scam that resulted in the theft of RMB140 million (US$21.5 million). The thieves set up bogus casino websites using the names of real Macau gaming halls.
Aspers, operator of casinos in East London and Buckinghamshire, England, has been selected to run a £450 million (US$646 million) gaming hall (l.) in Southampton. The waterfront casino is expected to open in 2021. Other bids came in from GGV, Grosvenor and Kymeira.
Russian media report that the government will introduce a new tax on bookmakers and totes in keeping with amendments to the tax code. The new tax, which is expected to be introduced in January 2017, has been earmarked for regional budgets.
The Tasmanian government wants to allow two more casinos, which would mean a total of four gaming halls in the Australian state. The Federal Group currently enjoys a monopoly on casinos (Wrest Point casino at left), poker and keno on the island, in an exclusive deal that will expire in 2023.
Brokerage firm CLSA says a bribery probe involving Tabcorp could cost the Australian company up to AU$120 million (US$90.4 million) in damage control including costs and penalties. The firm allegedly tried to bribe a relative of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (l.) as it sought a gaming license in the country.
After only one week in full operation, PokerStars is already averaging more online players at its tournaments than any other operator in the state. The site has averaged 170 cash game players with a 24-hour peak of 441 players.
Lawmakers in France are working on a bill that would legalize eSports in France by separating it from gambling regulations and promoting large events. French officials say eSports could generate significant revenues as it continues growing in popularity. Meanwhile, Las Vegas casinos are embracing eSports and hosting a championship event.
With state lawmakers looking for ways to pay for a $150 billion budget and including revenue from online poker in its budget projections, New York residents could be playing online poker from their home computers in a few months. An enabling bill already met approval in one Senate committee, and stands a good chance of making it to the governor’s desk.
Smaller daily fantasy sports operators have formed a trade association to oppose a plan to charge DFS operators a $500,000 licensing fee in New York saying only the two DFS giants—FanDuel and DraftKings—could afford it. The move marks one of the first times smaller operators, like the Fantasy Football Players Championship (l.), have become involved in discussions over a state’s plans to legalize and regulate fantasy sports. Meanwhile, DSF legislation advanced in Colorado, Connecticut and Tennessee.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zhaid Hamidi says the government will address online gaming at its next cabinet meeting. Though there are currently no laws banning the activity, news reports say it is still considered illegal.
Bwin.party is seeing a steep increase in eSports betting that should see it overtake even betting on the Champions League in soccer. Betting on eSports is already up more than 300 percent in early 2016.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will review the ownership of the planned Philadelphia Live! casino (l.) to ascertain whether the partnership complies with state gaming laws.
Atlantic City’s government has asked its union workers to accept a new pay schedule—which amounts to once a month—in hope of staving off a planned government shutdown on April 8. The new schedule would push their paychecks into May, when the city should begin receiving quarterly tax payments. Meanwhile, Governor Chris Christie said he will oppose expanding casinos outside of Atlantic City unless a state takeover of the city is approved in the state legislature.
If the Massachusetts Gaming Commission allows two casinos to operate in the southeast region, one tribal and one commercial, the state stands to lose $28 million a year, according to a study by Spectrum Gaming Group. The commission then must decide between the Mashpee Wampanoag’s First Light Casino or Rush Street Gaming’s casino in Brockton (l.).
Another casino bill has died in the Granite State legislature. But this one may blow Taps for the century-old Rockingham Park (l.) in Salem, New Hampshire.
A more diversified Las Vegas economy is showing many positive signs that 2016 will be a bountiful year, and not just at gaming tables. Since the Great Recession, Las Vegas properties have added more events space and diversified their revenue streams, enabling them to continue thriving, as gaming gradually reduces its hold on the local economy, leading to greater arrivals at McCarran Airport (l.).
No more action is expected on a bill that would have authorized a $500 million casino in Southern Maine. The bill was defeated last week by a vote of 18-16.
No one knows for sure who is trying to get a measure on the ballot in the District of Columbia to allow a small casino in Anacostia. But the measure being promoted bears a marked resemblance to one that was first promoted in 2006 by gaming promoter Shawn A. Scott. The measure would need 25,000 signatures to make the ballot.
MGM Resorts International has a big week planned as it opens the Park (l.) and T-Mobile Arena during the first week of April. Special events are scheduled for each property, which complement one another and continue more events-oriented developments for MGM, which, along with AEG, spent $365 million building the 20,000-seat arena, which might become home to an NHL franchise.
An investor consortium headed by China-based Anbang Insurance Group made a $15 billion offer to buy Starwood resorts, which includes the huge Sheraton brand (l.), besting a prior offer by Marriott International by more than $1 billion. Anbang later dropped out, leaving Marriott the winner with its $14 billion offer.
The Saratoga Casino and Raceway is adding a 117-room hotel and other amenities as part of a $40 million rebranding effort to enhance the visitor experience. The rebranding effort also is designed to stave off competition from the under-construction Rivers Casino & Resort in nearby Schenectady, which will have live table games.
The Missouri Gaming Commission unanimously approved allowing Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment to transfer three casinos to the Gaming and Leisure Properties real estate investment trust (REIT), leaving one state left to give Pinnacle approval to place all of its casinos in the REIT. The Unite HERE labor union opposes the move, saying it stifles competition.
Although Ohio’s casino revenues aren’t the biggest in the Midwest they are the fastest growing. Revenues from the Buckeye State’s four casinos and seven racinos increased by 13.3 percent last year.
The presence of asbestos in the former Riviera Casino in Las Vegas will slow down demolition of the property’s structures, which will cost $42 million to tear down. Contractor W.A. Richardson Builders says it will remove the smaller structures and all asbestos before imploding the casino’s two hotel towers this summer.
Protestors continued their opposition to a planned video lottery terminal at Belmont Park (l.) on March 26, saying it will increase crime, harm the local community, and is located too closely to six area schools. The group also opposes a similar gaming terminal in Suffolk County. Proponents says the terminals would be tied to the state lottery and generate $24 million more in revenue.
The Downtown Reno Courtyard by Marriott is the first major hotel construction underway in Reno in decades and anticipates a June opening of the non-smoking, non-gaming hotel. Its 135 rooms will average 250 square feet, while the hotel primarily caters to business travelers and those who aren’t interested in gaming.
Bally’s Atlantic City failed to release information on tests finding high lead content in some areas of the casinos guest rooms—including a high roller suite—for more than six months. The casino now says the readings were due to faulty testing, but acknowledged it erred in not notifying guests. The information came to light in a New York Post report after the New Jersey DEP ordered the casino to fix the problem.
A federal judge has set an October trial date in a lawsuit filed by Florida’s powerful Seminole Tribe in its fight to secure a new compact with the state allowing blackjack and other Class III games at its casinos. The case was to be heard this summer, but attorneys for both sides say they need more time. Meanwhile, the Blue Horizon casino cruise (l.) suspended operations in Palm Beach.
The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians who operate a casino (l.) in Coarsegold, California, have sued the governor of California to stop a compact that would allow the North Fork Reservation from opening a casino in Madera County.
La Center, Washington, a town with about 3,000 people, recently made a deal with the Cowlitz tribe to build a sewer line to serve a commercial development for the casino the tribe wants to build. La Center’s three card rooms have sued to stop the line from being built.
Mississippi lawmakers and longtime supporter Rep. Alyce Clarke (l.) continue to differ on the merits of a state lottery, a disagreement that has been running for more than two decades. The two sides don’t appear to be getting any closer either.
Patrick Dumont, Sheldon Adelson’s son-in-law, is the new chief financial officer of Las Vegas Sands and fills a two-year vacancy created when former CFO Kenneth Kay resigned in 2013. Dumont will earn a base salary of $1.2 million, plus bonus incentives, and options for 650,000 shares, which could double his annual salary.
Golden Entertainment Inc., based in Las Vegas, has added Sean T. Higgins as senior vice president of government affairs and business development. His new job allows him to leverage previous experience as a lobbyist and governmental strategist.
Interblock will focus on fixed asset optimization with the hiring of Dustin Dunn as director of global commercial strategy and analytics. Dunn previously worked for Scientific Games.
Electronic gaming machine manufacturer Paradise Entertainment Ltd. has announced the installation of 50 live multi-game terminals at the Flamingo Slot Club at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf. Those units are added to some 3,700 units at 18 casinos in the city.
NYX Gaming Group has signed a letter of intent to integrate its digital gaming and systems products for De Nederlandse Staatsloterij/De Lotto in the Netherlands.
