MGM Resorts will buy Boyd Gaming’s 50 percent share of Atlantic City’s Borgata (l.) casino for $900 million, giving it full control. MGM will sell the entire property for $1.18 billion to MGM Growth Properties LLC, and operate the property under a leaseback accord. MGM Resorts Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said the deal would complement the company’s growing East Coast casino presence, and would allow the company to use the Borgata customer list to market its new casinos in Maryland and Massachusetts.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson has reached a “comprehensive, confidential” settlement with Steven Jacobs (l.), former CEO of Sands China, in a wrongful termination case that spanned six years. The lawsuit brought scrutiny from governments on both sides of the Pacific Ocean and was characterized by a former board member as a “clash of big egos.”
The rebranding of the Monte Carlo casino was announced last week and it was revealed the company is partnering with New York-based Sydell Group on the $450 million renovation, which would create two hotels, the Park MGM and the NoMad Las Vegas.
As the Brazilian government contemplates legal gaming, multinational gaming operators are sizing up the market, which could already hosts bingo parlors, “jogo do bicho” (an animal-themed lottery style game, l.) and bookmaking shops. Casino resorts could be next.
The Indian state of Maharashtra could generate just shy of $280 million if it allows land-based casinos, says the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corp. The group supports casinos as a way to boost tourism and revenues.
A new poll finds that New Jersey voters are statistically deadlocked on a proposed referendum to expand casinos into northern New Jersey with 48 percent in favor of the referendum, and an identical 48 percent opposed. Meanwhile, a new report from Wall Street analysts predicts four of Atlantic City’s eight casinos would close if two new casinos are built in the north. A press conference was held last week by proponents of North Jersey casinos including Senator Paul Sarlo (l.), to kick off the campaign.
Reconsideration and votes on two separate measures that would legalize online gaming in Pennsylvania was tentatively scheduled this week. House Majority Leader Dave Reed (l.) says everything is in the mix, but slots in bars and restaurants might be a non-starter.
The recent groundbreaking of the First Light Resort & Casino (l.) owned by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is a real event, despite lawsuits challenging the project and reports that the tribe has taken on massive debt. And a second branch of the Wampanoag tribe, the Aquinnah, are not giving up on their hopes for a Class II casino on Martha’s Vineyard.
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. reported a net increase in profit for the six-month period ending March 31 of 105 percent compared to the same prior-year period. CEO Jamie Odell (l.) says he expects the company’s strong performance to continue.
This week in a special edition of the GGB Podcast, we sit down with John Acres, the founder and president of Acres 4.0 to continue our discussions on the future of the industry and the importance of true customer service.
Gaming revenue in Macau fell 9.6 percent in May, more than analysts’ estimates, as the world’s No. 1 gaming jurisdiction lurched into its third year of a historic decline. It followed a 9.5 percent drop in April. But the smoking ban may be modified to continue to allow the smoking lounges (l.) that most casinos have already installed.
The Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone, near Vladivostok, Russia, could contribute US$2.5 million in taxes to government coffers this year, says a local official. The zone is home to Lawrence Ho’s Tigre de Cristal (l.).
The first phase of Kazuo Okada’s multimillion-dollar Manila Bay Resorts (l.) is on schedule to open before the end of 2016, company officials say. It will be the third of four integrated resorts in Manila’s Entertainment City complex.
The government of the Indian state of Goa has repeatedly stated it will relocate a quartet of casino boats out of the Mandovi River to a new location. Now rumors are circulating that a fifth boat will be added.
Macau’s only sports betting concessionaire, Macau Slot Co. Ltd., will see its sports betting concession extended through mid-2021. Macau Slot enjoys a monopoly in the jurisdiction on all sports wagers except horseracing.
Vietnam may be limiting the value of its gaming industry with high barriers to entry like onerous taxes and strict limits on locals play. Casinos must be based at integrated resorts with a $4 billion minimum investment. The Banyan Tree Group has yet to receive approvals for a casino at its Laguna Lang Co (l.).
Asian casinos need to differentiate themselves from their competition in order to attract more customers says Tom Wucherer, chief executive of YWS Design and Architecture. That means giving them a more personalized experience.
Seabank is the lone bidder for land Malta’s Institute for Tourism Studies wants developed on its SmartCity campus and plans to build a Hard Rock casino and hotel (the existing Hard Rock Café in Malta at left), and the island’s largest mall on the site. Seabank wants to target high rollers for its proposed casino, which would occupy about 6,500 square feet and offer slots, table games, and a poker room.
The government of Argentina wants more oversight on the casinos that operate in its capital city of Buenos Aires, including the Princess (l.) in Puerto Madero. It just released new rules that crack down on financial reporting.
The recent approval of South Africa-based Sun International's merger of its Latin American portfolio with Chile-based Dreams will result in the region's largest gaming company, with 13 casinos, 7,000 slots and 300 table games. Sun International Chief Executive Graeme Stephens (l.) said the company also plans to expand into Peru and Brazil.
New Zealand-listed SkyCity Entertainment Group has signed an agreement with the South Australian government to expand its Adelaide Casino (l.) and the adjoining Riverbank Precinct.
Two gaming organizations with significant ties to New York are wary of a state lawmaker’s effort to legalize daily fantasy sports wagering in New York. The New York Gaming Associations says the state’s casinos have invested in local economies and deserve a cut of the action. In Illinois, just before the legislative session ended, state Rep. Michael Zalewski (l.) pulled a measure he sponsored that would have legalized and regulated daily fantasy sports websites.
A report in The Washington Post outlined how Major League Baseball has contracted with a London-based company to track betting on baseball. The league says the move was precautionary and not sparked by a specific incident.
A move to insert language favorable to a proposed ban on online gambling was withdrawn from a House Appropriations bill, meaning the language will not make the final appropriations bill. Senator Lindsey Graham had inserted such language in the Senate version.
The Czech Republic Senate approved a bill that would open online gambling up to international operators under new legislation. The country’s President Miloš Zeman now has the bill.
South Africa’s National Assembly has rejected a proposal by MP Geordin Hill-Lewis (l.) to regulate online gambling in the country. Critics say remote gaming is just another way to fleece the poor.
The 47th World Series of Poker is underway starting a seven-week run at the Rio Convention Center in Las Vegas. The $565 buy-in Casino Employees No-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament was the first of 69 bracelet events. The WSOP starts amid speculation that Caesars may be trying to sell the brand.
Playtech has acquired Swedish gaming studio Quickspin for $55 million, in a move to offer a proven slot games portfolio for its online gaming platform.
A San Francisco start-up company is offering a free-to-play app that ties private competitions to live sporting events that are occurring simultaneously.
Comments by the NBA commissioner, a prominent NFL owner and the AGA renew calls for the U.S. Congress to amend outdated sports betting laws. Jimmy Vaccaro, the oddsmaker for South Point casino in Las Vegas, says sports betting is “all above board.”
Bart Blatstein, the owner of the former Showboat casino, announced last week that he would reopen two of the three hotel towers, totaling 852 rooms, in July. He will not reopen the casino at this time.
Language on a ballot to amend the Arkansas constitution and allow three casinos has been approved by state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (l.), who rejected a previous version of the wording. Now supporters must gather signatures of 84,869 registered Arkansas voters by July 8 for the measure to appear on the November ballot.
Hearings will start this week before the Florida Supreme Court regarding whether a racetrack can install slots in a county where voters approved them in a referendum. Governor Rick Scott's administration argues legislative approval is required. The case could affect five other counties where voters supported slots in referendums.
Indiana lawmakers rejected a proposal by Dan Lee (l.), chief executive officer at Full House Resorts, owners of Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun, to move some slots and table games to the former Indianapolis airport. Lee said Centaur Gaming is behind the move. But he plans to pursue the proposal in the 2017 legislative session.
The U.S. Supreme Court will let stand lower court rulings that allowed Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal to end union contracts and worker’s benefits during Trump Entertainment’s bankruptcy filing. The city’s main casino workers union appealed the ruling. The casino has since been taken over by billionaire Carl Icahn, who tied his reinvestment into the casino to courts upholding the bankruptcy court decision to terminate the contracts.
The final bell will toll for Rockingham Park New Hampshire on August 31. The venerable racetrack, which introduced thoroughbred racing to New England in 1906, will close its doors and faces demolition. It faces being replaced by a “Tuscan Village,” development.
Two experts on Las Vegas transportation infrastructure and needs have differing views on the viability of a $400 million light rail system connecting McCarran International Airport with the city’s 150,000 hotel rooms. One says it’s too costly to build and maintain for the good it would do, while the other says the city has changed, and it’s what younger visitors want. It would not include the existing monorail system (l.).
Despite its best airport traffic numbers since before the Great Recession, Nevada casinos reported declining gaming revenues in April, partly due to an accounting quirk and partly due to April 2015 having been a strong month last year. Meanwhile, baccarat gaming revenues rose on the Las Vegas Strip, bucking a recent trend of losses, and helping casinos to improve their take from table games.
The NHL’s Board of Governors is slated to meet on June 22 and decide on whether or not the NHL would expand, by how many teams, and whether Las Vegas or Quebec City would get one or both potential expansion franchises. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said there are several options. And if the Oakland Raiders are to move to Las Vegas within three years, a decision on a stadium needs to be made soon.
Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel in Altoona, Iowa would lose $30 million in annual tax breaks if it loses its nonprofit status. The Internal Revenue Service contends it is a commercial enterprise, not a nonprofit. Officials said the racino lessens the government's burden by supporting the state's horse industry and giving money to the community.
Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall—the city’s largest entertainment venue—has recently received technical upgrades to enhance concerts at the facility. The venue has also upgraded its food vendor choices in anticipation of a busy summer concert season. Meanwhile, Bally’s Atlantic City has re-opened its revamped Wild Wild West Casino.
Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn says the proposed Paradise Park water resort project is exactly the kind of attraction that visitors will find irresistible and says he spends much of his waking hours obsessing over development plans, which include a 1,300-square-foot lake surrounded by a white sand beach and boardwalk, plus a 1,000-room hotel addition.
Naskila Entertainment (l.) recently opened near Livingston, Texas on the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe's reservation. The Class II facility poses a threat to Louisiana commercial casinos, said Louisiana Casino Association Executive Director Wade Duty. Tribal operations pay no state taxes, but Louisiana commercial casinos pay 21 percent on revenue.
Developers of the Asian-themed Lucky Dragon hotel and casino didn’t get the tax increment financing they sought from the city of Las Vegas, but they say they didn’t really need the tax break and just wanted the city to make it available for casino projects. They plan to open the 204-room hotel and casino on Sahara Avenue near the Las Vegas Strip later this year.
Wynn Resorts will have to answer a complaint by Elaine Wynn (l.) seeking control of her $900 million in shares during a February trial, Clark County (Nevada) District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ruled last week. Gonzalez denied Wynn Resort’s motion seeking to sever Elaine Wynn’s lawsuit to gain control of her Wynn Resorts shares from a separate lawsuit filed by former shareholder Kazuo Okada.
The Iowa Supreme Court upheld earlier decisions leading to the closing of the Argosy Sioux City riverboat casino, which operated on Penn National Gaming's Belle of Sioux City. But Penn National's lawsuit against nonprofit Missouri River Historical Development and MRHD's countersuit remain. Then there's the issue of $1.8 million in revenue-sharing payments Belle withheld from MRHD.
About two hundred students are learning how to deal blackjack, craps, roulette and other games at a class that began last week in Maryland. Graduates of the six-week course will have a chance to work at the MGM National Harbor when it opens later this year.
The Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (l.), owned by the D Las Vegas, and Las Vegas Village, owned by MGM Resorts International, each are about two years old and demonstrating the popularity of outdoor events venues in the Mojave Desert, while also showing how ingenuity can turn outdoor lots into revenue-generators.
Thoroughbred racetrack Monmouth Park in Oceanport NJ saw a big drop in attendance for Memorial Day weekend. The track has been hoping to benefit from the state’s effort to institute sports betting, but so far has been unable to as the state has been blocked in the courts.
Mark Twain Casino in LaGrange, Missouri faces disciplinary action including a fine of $2,500 for violating gaming rules relating to an on-site promotion in November. The Missouri Gaming Commission voted unanimously to recommend the fine after a promotional kiosk printed too many tickets, and an employee entered an incorrect starting time.
Tribes are watching anxiously to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will decide to take up the issue of whether the National Labor Relations Board has jurisdiction over tribal enterprises. The Obama administration would prefer that the Justices leave the issue alone. John Dossett (l.), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians, says it’s a battle between Indian Country and Big Labor.
The new Margaritaville at River Spirit Casino & Resort (l.) not only will bring more visitors to Tulsa, Oklahoma—it's also expected to spur more economic development along the Arkansas River, especially since Tulsa voters approved the Vision renewal package in April, assuring infrastructure improvements that will keep the river flowing.
The Seminole Tribe had promised it would spend $1.8 billion on expansions at its casino resorts in Tampa and Hollywood, Florida—that is, if the legislature approved a compact negotiated by Governor Rick Scott and Seminole Chairman James Billie (l.). But lawmakers balked and the tribe has drastically scaled back its plans.
The Memorial Day holiday proved to be an ideal time for the Washoe Tribe to open its Wa She Shu Casino (l.) near Gardnerville, Nevada, which contains a 4,600-square-foot casino, 130 electronic games of chance, and a restaurant and bar. The casino is the Washoe Tribe’s first and was built as a joint venture with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Alabama.
Pala Casino Spa and Resort in north San Diego County last week introduced a new type of poker tournament; a tournament designed to attract players who often travel to Los Angeles or Las Vegas for their tournament kicks.
Ground has been broken for the Fourwinds Market Complex in Siren, Wisconsin, an economic development initiative of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians. The 30,600 square foot complex will include a full-service grocery store, bottle shop with drive-thru, gas station and convenience store, touchless car wash, fast food drive-thru and a storage facility.
Scientific Games announced that it is the first in the lottery industry to receive data security certification to offer cashless purchases of lottery games.
The Wyoming Lottery (WyoLotto) pays about $3 million annually to the state’s treasury. It could pay about four times that amount if it could offer more games. However, that is very controversial idea.
Residents of Connecticut can now play Keno at 3,000 outlets, including bars and eateries. Although the games are now in play, Keno itself remains controversial in the state.
Gaming Laboratories International recently hired April Augustine, a 15-year veteran of managing integrated marketing plans, as director of marketing. In her new role, Augustine will lead GLI's international marketing activities. Previously she spent nine years in marketing at Bally Technologies, earning five Pinnacle communications awards from the American Gaming Association.
Nicole Fields has been hired as the new industry relations and program director for global Gaming Expo, the world's largest gaming trade show, presented by the American Gaming Association. Fields holds a leadership position at Global Gaming Women and also has worked at Cintas and Caesars Entertainment.
IGT reported revenues for the first quarter were up 51 percent over the first quarter of 2015, including an increase over revenues of both of its legacy companies. Lotteries worldwide contributed heavily to the revenue uptick, says CEO Marco Sala (l.).
Grosvenor Casinos in the U.K. will add the Neon casino management system provided by Playtech Retail, giving the supplier 90 percent of the U.K. system market.
Gaming Laboratories International announced the acquisition of Canada’s Bulletproof Solutions, Inc., an IT services company with a growing portfolio of products.
Las Vegas-based Red Mercury Entertainment will take over theater programming and box-office management at Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower, starting in July. Stratosphere will continue to manage entertainment operations. Current productions include the Michael Jackson tribute, "MJ Live," and "Pin Up," starring 2011 Playboy's Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair.
Kobetron announced the acquisition of the assets of Gaming Informatics, a software supplier that provides systems to track the inventory of electronic gaming equipment.
Player User Interface and EGM Media Display Interface, two new standards streamlining player-to-system interactions, were launched by the Gaming Standards Association.
"BraVeau," a new Cirque du Soleil-style show, recently opened at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, featuring Bello Nook performing on the Sphere of Fear and Wheel of Wonder. Also Harrah's Gulf Coast hotel completed a $14 million renovation.
The Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group is holding the first of its series of “Future of Gambling” seminars at the Palace of Westminster today.
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. will launch a new progressive link, a multi-game unit and the Arc Single cabinet for Latin America at next week’s Peru Gaming Show.
