Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal Casino officially closed its doors October 10, leaving the seaside resort with only seven remaining casinos, none with the Trump brand, although the presidential candidate has not controlled them for more than a decade. The closing costs the city another 3,000 jobs after four other casinos closed in 2014. Carl Icahn, owner of the Taj Mahal, blamed the closing on years of losses and ongoing labor strife, which has seen employees at the casino on strike since July.
Sheldon Adelson’s $1.9 billion domed stadium has taken a giant step closer to reality after the Nevada legislature voted to approve an increase in the local hotel room tax to fund $750 million of the Las Vegas project’s cost with public money. The casino tycoon would jointly own the stadium with the NFL’s Raiders.
Analysts expected a recent visit from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (l.) to Macau would be a negative that would send VIPs running. By most accounts the visit was a plus for Macau as Li gave thumbs-up to diversification efforts. Early October’s Golden Week was more successful that originally thought, with a 13 percent increase in visitation.
Penghu County off the coast of Taiwan overwhelmingly rejected legalizing casinos for the second time. Voters in Penghy turned down casinos by a 4-1 margin. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (l.) opposed the plan, and the defeat leaves the island of Matsu and the only outer island of Taiwan to approve casinos.
The latest casino in San Diego County, Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego (l.), opened October 10. The $460 million casino remains controversial, and on opening day opponents were complaining about traffic impacts.
Isle of Capri Casinos announced last week it was selling its Lady Luck Casino (l.) in Marquette, Iowa, to Casino Queen for $40 million. The sale comes just weeks after Isle has agreed to be acquired by Reno’s Eldorado Resorts.
The executive director of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission is wondering out loud why some island politicians are behaving badly towards an investor who wants to promote gaming. Richard Schuetz (l.) complained last week that unnamed politicians caused an unnamed investor to shy away from investing.
Regulators in New Jersey have approved skill-based slot games on its Video Game Gambling Machines, for exclusive introduction at Caesars Entertainment’s Atlantic City properties. Blaine Graboyes (l.), CEO and co-founder of GameCo, says the company will expand beyond New Jersey in 2017.
News that UK bookmaker William Hill and Canadian PokerStars owner Amaya Inc. are considering a merger has led to doubt among analysts and business insiders. William Hill just rejected a merger deal with 888 and Rank Group partially due to concerns over the debt it would have taken on. An analysis by Bloomberg News suggests that an Amaya, William Hill merger would boost the UK bookmakers debt to more than three time its yearly revenue.
Yes, the debut of iGaming in the United States was something of a dud, but a funny thing has been happening over the past two years. iGaming has been growing by double digits in the few states where it is permitted. So what will happen when a new state signs on?
This week, Russell Sanna joins the conversation on the GGB Podcast as he talks about his relatively new position as executive director of the National Center for Responsible Gaming
When Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (l.) died last week at the age of 88, following a 70-year reign, the impact on the country will be huge. But could it lead to more discussions on legalizing gaming in the country?
Kazuo Okada’s Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment has announced its Entertainment City casino will open by the end of 2016. Okada Manila (l.) is the third and largest resort to open in the Philippine capital’s casino zone, PAGCOR’s Entertainment City.
Asian gaming operator Donaco International Ltd. has assumed management of a new gaming floor at Star Paradise, a property next to its Star Vegas Resort and Club (l.) in Poipet, Cambodia.
Casino developers are looking at Andhra Pradesh (l.) on India’s southeastern coast as a possible gaming jurisdiction. Six operators have already pitched proposals to the state, which could join three others with gaming.
Former PhilWeb Chairman Roberto Ongpin (l.) has sold his stake in the Philippines e-Gaming company to Gregorio Araneta III for P2 billion (US$41.4 million). The company’s license was not renewed earlier this year.
Kangwon Land (l.), the only casino in South Korea that permits South Korean nationals to enter and gamble, has announced it will tighten its entry requirements to weed out compulsive gamblers.
The campaign continues against fixed-odds betting terminals in the UK’s high street betting shops. The machines, famously dubbed “the crack cocaine of betting,” are dangerous, say some lawmakers.
Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness (l.) has called out the developer, the Development Bank of Jamaica, behind the Harmony Cove resort development, urging them to move forward to get the 5,000-room project, which will include a casino, under way. The government believes the resort has enormous potential to improve the island nation’s economy.
Arguing that a total greyhound racing ban would constitute its own form of animal cruelty, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird (l.) has decided to wait and see whether the industry can be reformed. Calls for the ban came after investigations revealed mass killings of dogs and the use of live bait in training them.
Gamblers in New Zealand lost more than NZ$843 million (US$595.5 million) to the slots for the year that ended June 30, the biggest amount since 2012, though there were 1,500 fewer machines during the period.
A ruling by a high Ontario Court could extend the concept of “commercial host” duty to casinos that let gambling addicts lose large sums of money without doing background checks on them.
A new report concludes that virtual reality gambling will generate nearly $520 million in wagers by 2021, which would constitute growth of around 800 percent.
Singapore’s Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin (l.) said the government’s move to license two online gambling platforms—despite an overall ban on online gaming—was designed to provide a regulated and safe platform for gamers. The Singapore government made the move acknowledging that it can’t completely block online gaming.
Delaware casinos won $244,000 from online play during August, according to figures from the state lottery. The win is a 50 percent increase over August 2015.
GVC will supply online casino content from Scientific Games’ WMS studio to the group’s gaming sites in Spain and Belgium, through the bwin, PartyCasino and PartyPoker brands.
Coin-In is offering a loyalty program that would reward players of online social casino games with offers that would be redeemed at brick-and-mortar casinos.
GVC announced a multi-year contract with online games provider, Realistic Games. The agreement means nearly 40 new slots and table games will be added to GVC’s online and mobile casino portfolio.
Paddy Power Betfair announced it will protect its customer data and ensure optimal regulatory compliance by integrating digital security firm Balabit’s ‘Shell Control Box’ system.
Sky Betting & Gaming reported strong growth for the year ending June 30 and promised further growth. The company saw a 64 percent increase in sports betting and 36 percent growth in online betting.
An anti-gambling group in New York says Governor Andrew Cuomo (l.) and state regulators acted unconstitutionally in approving legislation exempting real money fantasy sports from the state’s gambling law. They say the exemption is unconstitutional and they want it overturned.
A company called Ultimate Media Ventures is sponsoring a new series of monthly eSports tournaments at Las Vegas’ SLS Hotel and Casino. The “Battle on the Strip,” as it’s styled, aims to lure amateurs and professionals worldwide with some hefty prize pools.
The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has filed an appeal asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the state’s moves to allow sports betting, claiming New Jersey racetracks, including Monmouth Park (l.) in Oceanport, can not survive without it. A state bill seeks to bypass a federal ban on sports betting by allowing unregulated betting at the state’s racetracks and casinos.
The Arkansas Supreme Court has stricken a proposed constitutional amendment from the November 8 ballot to legalize casinos in three counties. The court said the ballot language did not “honestly and accurately” describe the impact of the question. The referendum was challenged by, among others, the owners of the Southland Park greyhound track, which offers 1,700 slot machines (l.).
Alabama’s attorney general, Luther Strange (l.), suggest that residents who want to gamble stop complaining about it. If they want to gamble, he says, they should change the law.
Greg Carlin (l.), the head of Rush Street Gaming, has assured both Pennsylvania communities where the company operates casinos that the operator will voluntarily pay a host-community tax of at least $10 million.
In 2011 Massachusetts legislators approved a framework that allowed for three resort casinos and one slots parlor (Plainridge Park, l.) in the Bay State. A casino developer wants to shatter that framework with Question 1, which would allow a second slots parlor.
With a referendum to allow the first expansion of casinos in New Jersey likely to fail in November, the state’s Assembly (l.) adopted a resolution outlining the plan’s “legislative intent.” The resolution, however, still does not name sites for new casinos or the tax rates they’ll pay, which has been a key criticism by opponents of the plan.
A small former tourist attraction village in Missouri is perking up its ears at the blandishments of an anonymous billionaire. According to the town’s mayor, this billionaire wants to invest in a casino for the town.
Lawmakers in Louisiana see the state’s laws, which limit casinos to gambling riverboats, is making the state less competitive. The biggest threat to the state’s gaming industry is the WinStar World Casino (l.) in Oklahoma, one of the largest casinos in the world.
Despite some big declines in revenue by the Hollywood Casino Toledo (l.), the state’s four casinos overall maintained roughly the same profits this year that they enjoyed last year at this time.
A federal judge says he intends to rule for Florida’s Seminole Indian Tribe in its suit charging the state with violating their joint compact by allowing banked games at racetrack casinos (Magic City’s tables at left). The decision could reshape the huge Florida gaming market and cost the state billions in lost revenue sharing.
When former BIA Director Kevin Washburn (l.) walked through the door of his office for the first time in 2012 he was confronted by a barrage of demands. Suddenly he was inundated to approve of a compact between Massachusetts and one of his tribes. Last week he described the experience.
MMCT, the joint partnership of Connecticut’s two gaming tribes, is closing the window for submitting applications to build the state’s third Indian casino on October 15. Next step will be choosing from the applications it will be getting.
A Wyoming tribe has completed a $30 million expansion of its casino property. The Shoshone Rose Casino (l.) has added more gaming space and a new 61-room hotel.
The nation’s high court will hear a case involving sovereign tribal immunity that has been extended to a tribal employee whose actions allegedly severely injured two people as he was driving a tribal vehicle off the reservation. What makes this case different is that the plaintiffs are suing the driver, not the tribe.
Foxwoods Resorts Casino (l.) won a lawsuit last week when the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that visiting Chinese gamblers were unable to sue the casino for damages resulting from the casino’s confiscating their winnings for allegedly practicing “edge sorting.”
A small tribe in Alaska is poised to make history. The Craig Tribal Association is the first tribe in Alaska to apply to put land into trust to make a reservation.
The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians has lost a labor case. The National Labor Relations Board ruled that the tribe broke federal law by giving union members smaller bonuses than other workers.
The Tejon Tribe of central California has purchase an old school and plans to make it into the tribe’s headquarters. The tribe is also looking at gaming further up the line.
The former president and chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, Ahmeenah Young, has been named to the state Gaming Control Board.
Gaming Laboratories International has named Devon Dalbock as general manager of GLI Africa, responsible for testing and support for customers in South Africa and the surrounding region.
Interblock has promoted Michael Hu from sales director of Asia to vice president of Asia, responsible for all sales activities and customer service activities in the region.
On the heels of its first game approval in New Jersey, skill-game startup company GameCo, Inc. has announced the expansion of its management team and the opening of a Las Vegas office. Patricia Morelli will take over as vice president of regulatory and product compliance for GameCo.
Edward Doumani, one of the first partners of Steve Wynn in the casino industry, who helped him develop Wynn’s first casino, the Golden Nugget, has died at 80.
Scientific Games Corporation and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced a new multi-year partnership to bring more Warner-owned brands to the slot floor, such as the Seinfeld game (l.) that debuted at last month’s G2E.
LT Game Ltd. Has signed an exclusive agreement with Inspired Gaming to provide Inspired’s virtual sports products on electronic gaming terminals in Macau, and Ladbrokes will use mobile content from Inspired’s Virgo remote game server.
Gaming Laboratories International and BMM Testlabs have been approved by the New York State Gaming Commission to conduct independent testing on commercial and video lottery gaming devices.
Cammegh, makers of upscale roulette wheels, had its best G2E ever and has increased its market share in Las Vegas. The company introduced several new roulette wheels and an innovative side bet, while taking orders from around the world.
