A new player has entered the big leagues of regional casino operators. With its $1.7 billion purchase of Isle of Capri Casinos, Eldorado Resorts has grown from seven properties in five states to 20 in 10 states. The newest Isle casino (l.) opened in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 2010.
Atlantic City’s Revel will become the Ten, according to owner Glenn Straub, complete with a casino. But the past could inform the future as Straub seeks to get all the approvals necessary. Straub plans to reopen in early 2017.
A Rutgers Eagleton Poll shows 50 percent of New Jersey voters are against expanding casinos in the state outside of Atlantic City. The poll found only 40 percent of voters were for the expansion, a drip from previous polls. The results have contributed to the main group advocating for North Jersey casinos led by Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural (l.) pulling its advertising in support of the referendum.
State senators in Pennsylvania have only nine days of session time before the election to pass a bill legalizing online gaming. iGaming revenue was written into the budget in the spring, but now it must be legalized to realize that revenue. Time is of the essence since sponsor John Payne (l.) is retiring in November.
Junior creditors have signed on to a deal that would end the two-year Caesars bankruptcy. But will the senior creditors go along with the deal? And what will the company look like after the resolution? Only the quality of Caesars Palace will influence the final shape.
Bloomberry Resorts has withdrawn from the race for a lone casino license in the Republic of Cyprus. Observers speculate NagaCorp may be next to bow out, which would leave a solitary bidder: Melco-Hard Rock, which have a history of working together at the City of Dreams in Macau (l.).
The gaming tribes of Connecticut, through their development arm MMCT Venture, have extended the deadline for submitting proposals for the state’s third casino until October 15. But MGM Resorts has launched a campaign that trashes the process. MGM executive Alan Feldman (l.) calls it a “sham.”
The American Gaming Association will induct five individuals who have impacted the industry into the Gaming Hall of Fame's Class of 2016 on September 28 at the Global Gaming Expo. They are: John Acres (l.), Lyle Berman, Donald Brinkerhoff, Redenia Gilliam-Mosee and Richard A. “Skip” Hayward.
Philippine gaming magnate Enrique Razon (l.) is moving ahead with plans to build a multimillion-dollar Manila gaming resort despite turbulence in the industry sparked by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Eldorado Resorts jumps to “major player” status with last week’s purchase of Isle of Capri Casinos. Suddenly Eldorado can become a company that can reach $2 billion in annual revenue. And it’s just one of three unique Nevada companies to watch.
This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Felix Rappaport, the president and CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut about the improved performance of the property and the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Macau’s new kid on the block, Sands China’s French-themed Parisian Macao, has “exceeded expectations” since its opening September 13, according to analysts at Union Gaming. But how much is it impacting competitors, like nearby Studio City, which reportedly saw a reduction in foot traffic
Japanese billionaire Kazou Okada, now developing the fourth and final integrated resort in Manila’s Entertainment City, Okada Manila (l.), is in talks with several cruise lines about adding the Philippines to their itineraries.
Galaxy Entertainment Group says it kicked junket operator Iao Kun Group out of its Macau casinos, including Starworld (l.) on Macau’s peninsula. Iao Kun claims it left of its own volition. Either way, GEG has announced it will take legal action for breaches of contract.
Imperial Pacific International Holdings will offer a high-yield bond to fund the construction of the Imperial Pacific Resort and Hotel on Saipan, an island in the Marianas chain and a U.S. territory.
A Cambodian casino operator has allegedly stolen some $3.7 million from the resort property in Bavet and fled the country. The theft has reportedly left the casino unable to pay its bills or employee salaries.
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are reportedly planning to cut 50 percent of their respective employees as they prepare to merge, according to local media reports. The cuts could mean 700 employees would be laid off in London.
The government of Andalusia, an autonomous community on Spain’s Iberian Peninsula, has announced that by this time next year sports betting will be permitted in the region’s casinos, slot parlors, and bingo halls.
Stockholm-listed Cherry AB announced it has acquired Betman AB for 350,000 pounds. Cherry takes over Betman’s “restaurant casinos” in 15 venues within the Swedish districts of Stockholm, Sälen and Visby.
Australia’s Star Entertainment Group has announced plans to build a world-class luxury hotel at its Star casino property (l.) in Pyrmont in the suburbs of Sydney. The new hotel tower will be operated by Ritz-Carlton.
The premier of Manitoba, Canada says that enough is enough. Enough VLTs, that is. Premier Brian Pallister (l.) won’t allow the Manitoba First Nations to move their casino in The Pas to Winnipeg.
Casinos in Georgia, including 11 in Batumi, are attracting players from Turkey where casinos have been banned since 1998. As a result, Turkish President Recep Tayyp Erdogan (l.) recently asked Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to consider closing casinos located near the Turkish border. Ivanishvili responded closing the casinos was not up to him.
Alberta, Canada is slated to get a brand new racino to be located between RedTail Landing golf course and the Edmonton International Airport. It will be built by Century Casinos Europe GmbH and will be the only one-mile racetrack in Western Canada.
Singapore-based lottery operators Singapore Pools (l.) and Singapore Turf Club are preparing to launch their respective online gambling sites in October in anticipation of an exemption from laws blocking online betting, according to local media reports. Both operators are conducting final tests of their platforms. Singapore regulators, however, say they are still just reviewing the two operator’s applications for an exemption.
Delaware saw another record increase for online gambling revenue in August with a 54 percent increase over August 2015. The state has taken in $244,387 in August after a record $281,000 in June. Delaware Park is the market leader.
Jamaica’s gambling regulator the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (l.) says it is currently exploring options for regulating Internet gambling in Jamaica.
Greece will begin taking applications for online gambling licenses in October under its new gambling law. Greek officials say a failed licensing experiment in 2011 has helped the country prepare for this new round of licensing.
Malta is fighting an initiative by the Council of Europe to introduce a new definition for place of consumption definition of illegal sports betting. Maltese officials say the new definitions would make Malta based online gambling companies offerings illegal in Europe. Meanwhile, the government has granted its first video bingo license to Zitro.
Amaya Gaming, which seemed to create a squeaky clean image for tarnished PokerStars when it purchased it two years ago, now has to defend its own image. Its onetime CEO David Baazov (l.) is under indictment by Quebec’s financial regulators, Autorite des marches financiers (AMF). So much for the squeaky clean image.
It was a week of mixed decisions for backers of the virtual currency, Bitcoin. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York Department of Financial Services recently proposed the nation's first cyber security regulations to protect consumers and financial institutions. But Bitcoin officials are concerned they'll be forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to comply. But a U.S. federal judge has ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as money in a case involving an alleged illegal virtual currency exchange.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is so far not answering calls that it reopen the licensing process for the southeastern gaming zone of the state now that First Light (l.) the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s Taunton casino appears to be dead in the water after a federal judge ruled against it in July.
An anti-casino group recently filed a lawsuit in the Arkansas Supreme Court to keep a constitutional amendment allowing casinos in Boone, Miller and Washington county off the November ballot. In response, a pro-casino group countersued, contending the anti-casino group has no standing to file the suit. Former Governor Mike Beebe (l.) has come out against casinos.
An election in which Rhode Island voters and the town of Tiverton will decide whether to allow a rather innocuously designed slots casino to be located along the Massachusetts border seems to pit the forces of good and evil against one another. Or so a group of ministers has decided as they oppose the state’s Question 1. John E. Taylor, Jr. (l.), chairman of Twin River Management Group, says a Tiverton casino will help compete against Massachusetts casinos.
In 2004, Missouri voters rejected a constitutional amendment allowing a casino in Rockaway Beach, near Branson. Now Mayor Don Smith said he's rebooting an effort to bring a casino to the area. He said investors are interested, a lobbyist has been hired and he also will discuss the issue with Cherokee Nation officials.
For the third year in a row, the state’s struggling casinos are asking for tax relief to help them cope in a crowded Northeast gaming market. Their proposals include eliminating the license fee on table games and a system of credits to allow the properties to invest more in their operations. Dover Downs Ed Sutor (l.) hopes a new governor will make a different decision.
The panel appointed to vet major tourism projects for southern Nevada has given its OK to a plan backed by Las Vegas Sands to build a $1.9 billion stadium to bring the NFL Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas. A big gain for Sands said spokesman Andy Abboud (l.), but the governor, the legislature and 24 NFL owners still have to be won over.
A $40 million "boutique" casino has been proposed by Wild Rose Casinos & Resorts, which operates a casino in Jefferson (l.), for downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a 25,000 square foot gambling floor offering 700 slots and 20 table games. Approval would be required from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which said the state is near casino saturation.
Following the industrial decline of the 1970s, many Rustbelt cities turned to casinos as a source of revenue. A prime example is the Sands Casino Bethlehem (l.) in Pennsylvania, opened in 2009 at the former steel plant. And Wynn Resorts is transforming a former Monsanto plant into a casino in Everett, Massachusetts.
A new study from Boyd Group International indicates the United States is unprepared to take advantage of an expected travel boom that could bring millions of free-spending Chinese tourists to the nation. The first direct flights from Beijing on Hainan Airlines is now selling tickets.
A Nielsen Sports survey of football bettors commissioned by the American Gaming Association concludes that the NFL and the TV networks showing its games and their advertisers are losing out on millions of regular viewers as a result of the federal government’s ban on sports betting. And former NBA Commissioner David Stern (l.) is speaking out in favor of expanding legal sports betting as he prepares to speak at this week’s G2E.
In response to concerns that the closing Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City could ‘warehouse’ its license, and then re-open later with lower wages for workers, New Jersey’s State Senate President Steve Sweeney (l.) has proposed a bill that would disqualify a license owner from re-opening for five years. The state’s gaming regulators would rule on whether a license “substantially closes” a casino.
Puerto Rico’s ailing economy has the government of the U.S. commonwealth in dire need of tax revenue. Can 200 slot machines at the island’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (l.) help? Officials believe it’s worth a try.
Federal financial officials focused on prevention of money laundering during a conference at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas covering the Bank Secrecy Act.
Everybody knows that the millennial generation links to the world through mobile phones. Now they are able to link to slots play at MGM casinos through the same medium.
The Isle of Capri's former riverboat casino (l.) in Bettendorf, Iowa will become a 166-passenger, all-suite boat offering Mississippi River cruises starting June 2017. American Queen Steamboat Company of Memphis, Tennessee will renovate the vessel to resemble a historic Mississippi riverboat with a working paddlewheel. Isle opened a land-based casino in Bettendorf this summer.
Naskila Gaming, the $9.9 million Class II gaming facility operated by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, opened in May but could close at any time, pending the outcome of a legal review. Casino gaming is illegal in the state but the National Indian Gaming Commission authorized Naskila in 2015.
Destroying notes of a secret meeting has gotten Arizona Assistant Attorney General Roger Banan into some embarrassing legal problems. He was called to testify in a case between the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Department of Gaming about secret meetings related to the case—only to blandly state that he destroyed the notes of the meetings.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe's new Class III gaming compact, allowing up to 1,000 slots at its recently renovated Royal River Casino and Hotel (l.) near Flandreau, South Dakota. The tribe will pay Moody County $75,000 when 500 slots are operating, increasing to $350,000 for 1,000.
Napa County may be wine country, but it is also whine country for a number of local governments that oppose the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ proposal to build a casino in Vallejo, near the historic winery capital of Napa. California Senator Dianne Feinstein (l.) wants to “to strangle this casino in its crib.”
A California Appeals Court has sided with the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians in Southern California in a lawsuit with Wells Fargo Bank over casino debt. The bank had wanted to get at a larger basket of funds to collect its debt from the tribe, but the court didn’t allow it.
Since the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa (l.) began charging $10 for parking last August, patrons have been parking across the street in East Lake subdivision. But residents said casino customers have been blocking driveways, parking on yards and endangering children. They're circulating a petition asking county commissioners to wall of the neighborhood.
Although its current gaming agreement with the state of Oklahoma won't expire until January 1, 2020, the Osage Nation wants to start discussions about a new Class III compact. Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear (l.) said the tribe wants to offer roulette and other Class III games at its seven casinos.
Some tribal members say they want to expunge their tribes of ineligible members because of issues of purity of blood. Others attribute this growing phenomenon to greed
Although the St. Croix Chippewa operate lucrative casinos in Wisconsin, many tribal members live in substandard housing and receive just $400 a month in casino payments. An audit revealed mismanagement and waste. As a sovereign nation, the tribe has no accountability and HUD has not followed up, said U.S. Congressman Glenn Grothman (l.).
IGT recently protested the Maryland Lottery's recommendation to renew its contract with Scientific Games for a central monitoring and control system. IGT said the bid included online gaming, which is unlawful, and that its offer was $25 million lower than Scientific Games' for the $262 million, 8-year contract.
Star Match is the Georgia Lottery's new mobile game aimed at younger players, combining match 3 and social gaming with a digital scratch card. Developed by LottoInteractive of California and powered with International Game Technology's ILottery platform, Star Match costs $2 per play and can be accessed via desktop or mobile devices.
Melco Crown Entertainment Limited recently hired David Sisk (l.), who was chief operating officer at Genting Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa from 2014 to 2016. Also, sources said JD Clayton left Melco Crown, where he had served as president of its 60 percent-owned Macau property Studio City on Cotai.
Asian Coast Development Ltd., developer of the Grand Ho Tram, has announced the appointment of Tony Podesta and Loretta Pickus (l.) to its board of directors.
A founding executive of Caesars Palace, and a powerful casino figure on the Las Vegas Strip in the 1960s and '70s, Albert "Mokie" Faccinto Sr. recently died at age 91. Under the leadership of Clifford Perlman, Faccinto helped guide the resort's growth as it added 1,200 hotel rooms and became a worldwide sports mecca.
The UK government has appointed Bill Moyes as new chairman of the Gambling Commission. Moyes is the former director general of the British Retail Consortium. His five-year term begins this month.
Macau Legend Development Ltd. has appointed Wong Man Cheung as its executive vice president, chief financial officer and company secretary. Wong replaces former CFO Yuen Chin Yau Lawrence, who has resigned.
Chris Magee has been promoted internally to vice president of sustainable facilities at MGM Resorts International, and Yalmaz Siddiqui was hired as vice president of corporate sustainability. Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Cindy Ortega said implementing sustainable practices is the right thing to do and "also a competitive differentiator.”
Australian wagering company Tatts Group announced two upcoming departures. Chief Financial Officer Neale O'Connel will leave in November to pursue an opportunity in a non-related industry. Chief Operating Officer Barrie Fletton will retire in November following a 24-year career at Tatts Group.
The American Gaming Association has added new members, including tribal enterprises such as Foxwoods Resort Casino, Wind Creek Hospitality and the Chickasaw Nation.
Konami Gaming has partnered with Hidden Fruit, LLC to develop Synkros Dashboard, an easy tool for business analytics linked to the company’s casino management system.
The announcement of Scientific Games that its interactive division could be the subject of an IPO was greeted positively by shareholders and negatively by bondholders.
GameCo, Inc. announced it has raised both Seed and Series A financing totaling $8.25 million. The company said it will use the capital to launch its first games into multiple casinos in 2016 and support the development and rollout of an ongoing pipeline of new games in 2017.
Inspired Gaming is partnering with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to promote the new Rush Basketball Virtual Sports product group to be launched next year.
Aristocrat Technologies, through its VGT subsidiary, has signed a major contract with the Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma to install Aristocrat systems and VGT games.
GLI-11, the most current version of standards for gaming devices, was released to the public last week by Gaming Laboratories International. The version has experienced extensive industry review and comment.
Scientific Games will use this week’s Global Gaming Expo to debut Hawaiian Island Creations Hold ’em Poker, developed in partnership with Hawaii-based HIC.
Aristocrat announced its G2E lineup last week, and it includes a wide selection of products— cabinets, top pop culture licenses and proprietary titles—with the goal of bringing value to the customer.
Interblock will display its complete lineup of electronic table games and systems, including complete ETG Pits and Pulse Arenas, at this week’s Global Gaming Expo.
Global Gaming & Hospitality and Morowitz Gaming Advisors will use the Global Gaming Expo to launch the product of a strategic alliance to provide AML/Title 31 compliance services.
The eSports & Casino Resorts Conference has been scheduled on the Las Vegas Strip and will highlight mutual opportunities to drive traffic and revenue for the casino and eSports Industries. The conference will be held October 25 to 26.
