The Connecticut legislature has approved of a bill authorizing a third, satellite tribal casino to be operated by the Pequots and Mohegans. The bill awaits the signature of Governor Dannel P. Malloy (l.), who applauded the passage of the bill as a “job protector.” Also waiting in the wings is a promised lawsuit by MGM Resorts International, which is building MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, the reason the bill was introduced in the first place.
The Philippines’ state-run gaming regulator may be getting out of the casino business once and for all. A Senate bill submitted in May would end PAGCOR’s dual role as both regulatory body and casino operator. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (l.) has urged House members to pass it. President Rodrigo Duterte seems to support the measure and doesn’t want PAGCOR “distracted” by operating and regulating casinos.
Security at Genting’s Resorts World Manila (l.) is under review after the deadly June 2 attack that killed 37 people. RW has admitted that of 200 security personnel, only 68 were on duty during the rampage. Resorts World Manila President Kingson Sian (l.) has closed the facility for a “period of mourning.”
AGS held its second annual GameON Customer Summit at MGM National Harbor, featuring presentations and panel discussions covering a wide range of slot and table-game operations. CEO David Lopez (l.) explained how the company will remain “accessible, nimble and focused” for all of its customers.
Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson has launched a $1 million advertising campaign with the aim of torpedoing a package of gaming expansion legislation in Pennsylvania. He particularly opposes the introduction of online gaming into the state, where his company owns the Sands Bethlehem casino resort.
Senator John Bonacic’s legalization bill is going nowhere in the Assembly, and Amaya’s former CEO and founder David Baazov (l.) is entangled in a campaign finance scandal related to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2014 re-election. Add it all up and it looks like PokerStars will be thrown under the bus.
Industry veteran Holly Gagnon has been chosen to lead operations at the Seneca Indian Nation’s three casinos in New York. Gagnon comes to the new post from California, where she oversaw business for the Chumash Tribe. She also is a former president and CEO of the Mississippi Choctaws’ Pearl River Resort.
A study by three respected professors recently declared Germany's restrictive Interstate Treaty on Gambling a failure. The 300-page analysis indicated Germany rated last versus other countries in the percentage of players accessing regulated gambling products. Also the newly formed government of German State Schleswig-Holstein says it plans to initiate its own gambling policies for the region rather than adhere to the federal State Treaty on Gambling.
With almost half of 2017 in the books, gaming stocks have experienced a great year so far, with some stocks up more than 50 percent. But all stocks have been booming, and don’t forget Everi, which has increased more than 200 percent since the beginning of the year.
This week the GGB Podcast sits down the Steve Walther, the senior director of product management and marketing for Konami Gaming on the changing world in slot manufacturing.
The Northern Marianas Casino Commission has conditionally approved the opening of the Imperial Pacific Resort casino (l.) on the island of Saipan. The operator must satisfy safety concerns at the unfinished resort.
Macau’s 10-month winning streak has sent share prices soaring. With VIP players coming back in droves, Galaxy Entertainment (l.) was up 77 percent, Wynn Macau 45 percent and Sands China 17 percent.
Morningstar analyst Chelsey Tam says the Las Vegas Sands Corp. will likely bag an integrated resort license in Japan. The country is expected to award at least two licenses and as many as four within the year.
Under new rules from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, starting in September the country’s banks will be required to report all cardholder’s overseas transactions every day and any one over CNY1,000.
The Venetian Macau has terminated an accord with a junket operator. The deal with the Venetian was responsible for some 41.3 percent of group revenue. The Sands China property informed Hao Cai Sociedade Unipessoal of the termination.
Casino and gambling operations were not part of Liberation festivities this year on Guam, since Governor Eddie Calvo let an anti-gambling bill lapse into law. Passed in a unanimous vote, the measure was designed to fight gambling addiction. The Mayors' Council of Guam opposed it, stating casino revenue helped fund Liberation activities.
A Russian court has upheld a decision by the Primorsky Territory Corp. in the Far East to terminate a contract with the Royal Time Group because of delays in the construction of the company’s casino project (l.).
The planned merger of Australian gaming giants Tabcorp and Tatts Group could fall apart now that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has come out against the deal.
Lawyers for Canadian businessman Michael DeGroote (l.) say he is “mentally unfit” to participate in his own lawsuit over a $120 million casino fraud scheme. DeGroote has filed a fraud lawsuit against Dream Casino Corp saying he lent the company $120 million to expand casino operations in the Caribbean.
ADL Compliance was hired by the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission to manage compliance, operational risk management, anti-money laundering and antiterrorist financing. The Bermuda-based consultants already have performed background checks on individuals involved with the local gambling industry and will take classes in casino regulations at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. will limit online gaming operators in the country to 50. The government regulator may revisit that number after the online industry is up and running.
California-based Pala Interactive has expanded its online gambling operations in New Jersey by launching a poker site. Pala has offered an online casino site in New Jersey since 2014 and will add poker through its partnership with the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City.
The Illinois Senate passed a bill that would regulate and legalize online gambling and daily fantasy sports. Now the House is considering the proposal that would generate more than $100 million, according to supporters. The bill includes online gambling to appease casino operators, who consider DFS as competition. State Senator Kwame Raoul (l.) wants to regulate both forms of gaming.
The family of Aharon Shaked, the late co-founder of Israeli online gambling company 888 Holding plc, has sold a large piece of their stake in the company. The heirs sold 40 million shares at £2.70 a share for a total of £108 million, according to published reports.
Former Absolute Poker co-founder Scott Tom has reportedly pleaded down most of the outstanding criminal charges against him filed by US prosecutors in the 2011 Black Friday online poker indictments. Tom will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor stemming from the indictments.
The Stockholm-based Kindred Group Plc has completed a £175 million acquisition of 32Red Plc. Kindred has acquired 97 percent of 32Red Plc’s shares and will now move to delist the company from the London AIM exchange market.
Playtech has launched its eighth title in the Age of the Gods online slot series. The new game is playable on any device and is a five-reel, 25-line progressive jackpot with unique features and bonuses, offering players even more chances to win.
Russian company DAO.Casino proposes an online decentralized platform for online gambling operators it says would reduce the risk of fraud and solve other problems that dog online players and developers.
A special commission looking into the regulation of the Bay State’s nascent online gaming industry is likely to recommend a broad brush, according to co-chairman, Rep. Joseph Wagner (l.). The Special Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports needs to make a recommendation to the legislature by July 31.
New statistics from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission show that the MGM National Harbor resort is causing its neighboring Baltimore-area casinos to struggle.
In Illinois, political wrangling over a new state budget may have doomed a bill authorizing a land-based casino in Lake County just north of the Windy City. The bill passed the Senate, but stalled in the House. So now it will need super-majorities in both chambers to become law this year. It’s another failure for perennial casino supporter Senator Terry Link (l.).
The political action committee that formed to put a casino initiative on the ballot in Maine may have stepped into a major legal buzz saw. The Maine Ethics Commission claims that Horseracing Jobs Fairness neglected to list all of its donors in several filings—a lapse that could bring big fines.
A report by the Rutgers University Center for Gambling Studies indicated New Jersey has four times the number of problem gamblers than the national average. Researchers claim the convenience and accessibility of gambling, including casinos, racetracks, convenience-store lotteries and poker tournaments, are to blame for one in 16 adults reporting serious gambling problem symptoms.
The American Gaming Association has joined the travel industry in opposing a provision of President Donald Trump’s budget that would eliminate the Brand USA tourism promotion program.
Las-Vegas based Affinity Gaming has been sued by a dozen former employees at the Golden Mardi Gras Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The mostly older female employees claim they were fired and replaced by younger, less qualified workers. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for lost wages, pension benefits and punitive damages.
A former steel fabrication owner is pursuing his dream: owning a casino. Steve Ayers wants to open the Elks Tower Casino and Lounge in an iconic tower (l.) in downtown Sacramento.
A new 150-seat jai-alai fronton and six-table poker room, recently opened in Florida City, between Miami and the Florida Keys. Hialeah Park owner John Brunetti Sr. used a 1980 law to obtain an extra parimutuel permit to build the venue, featuring the only poker room in a 35-mile radius.
Last month the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a small Gadsden County racetrack and poker room (l.) may not install slots even though county voters approved them. Recently lawyers for the racetrack filed a motion asking the high court to rehear arguments. Seven other counties also approved slots.
Two influential committees have cleared plans for a $1.4 billion expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The approvals mean a final vote by the full board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority could happen this week.
The city of Biloxi is once again receiving lease payments for Gulf Coast waterfront property occupied by the Golden Nugget Casino (l.). In 2016 legislators swept $1.59 million in lease payments into the general fund. But lawmakers passed House Bill 5 to release the funds to the city, the College Board and the state tidelands fund.
Critics are complaining about Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds' (l.) recent use of a private jet owned by Wild Rose Entertainment Chairman Gary Kirke. Wild Rose, which operates three Iowa casinos, is competing for a gaming license in Cedar Rapids. Reynolds said using the jet is legal and she may do it again.
The Entertainment Software Association trade group has filed a legal challenge against the city of Chicago over its Amusement Tax—also known as the “Cloud Tax”—saying the tax should not apply to online entertainment services. The challenge says the city’s 9 percent tax on video gamers is a discriminatory tax on e-commerce.
A petition drive to allow a referendum on the proposed $25 million Red Water Casino in Leake County, Mississippi recently failed by five votes, said Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Chief Phyliss Anderson (l.). Out of 1,729 signatures collected, six were withdrawn and 116 were ineligible, leaving 1,607--but 1,612 were required.
The Osage Nation operates seven Oklahoma casinos but it's pursuing a Missouri facility, using an exemption in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allowing land within a tribe's ancestral reservation to be used for gaming. Osage Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear (l.) said the tribe donated $52,700 to "show respect" to Missouri Governor Eric Greitens.
The National Indian Gaming Commission needs to exercise its authority and close down the Nooksack Northwood Casino (l.), owned by the Nooksack Tribe of Washington. So says former NIGC Chairman Harold Monteau.
The 4,000 members of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe of Washington state will soon find out how the opening in April of the $510 million Ilani Casino Resort near La Center will affect their lives. The tribe’s struggle for recognition began in 1999.
The Spokane Tribe of Washington last week revealed the name of the $400 million casino (l.) it is building in the western part of the state: Spokane Tribe Casino. It also unveiled a logo that features a mirror image of two horses.
Good news for Native Americans as Nevada’s lawmakers called it quits for another two years. Good for the state’s Indian tribes, who will be allowed into the marijuana business in a bill signed into law by Governor Brian Sandoval (l.).
The 49th annual Alabama-Coushatta Tribe Powwow recently was held near Livingston, Texas. The event celebrates the tribe’s traditions and culture but this year in the background was the state’s efforts to close the tribe’s Naskila Gaming Center. The state attorney general claims the center’s electronic bingo games are illegal gambling machines.
Following an investigation, the National Indian Gaming Commission concluded $50,000 was too much for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes to pay for a monthly parking-lot lease at its Lucky Star Casino in Clinton, Oklahoma. Brian Foster, the tribe's former gaming commission director, provided the down payment for the lot.
The Gun Lake Tribe has distributed more than $6.7 million revenue sharing payments to the state of Michigan, local governments and nonprofits and its economic development entity. The payment represents a percentage of Gun Lake Casino slots revenue between October 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017, according to the gaming compact.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation “broke pavement” in a parking lot last week on the expansion of the Cache Creek Casino Resort’s (l.) hotel. The tribe plans 459 new rooms, a pool, restaurant, meeting space and ballroom—all within the existing footprint.
Many tribes that have supplemented their tribal governments with gaming, may soon be asking, “What are you smoking?” as they consider branching out into pot growing and sales. They are taking advantage of changing attitudes on marijuana at the state level.
According to Irish media reports, John Boyle, founder and CEO of independent bookmaker BoyleSports is preparing to retire from the firm he founded in 1982. He is expected to announce a successor from within his family.
New York’s recently rebranded Resorts World Catskills has a new boss to go with the new name. Empire Resorts has promoted COO Ryan Eller (l.) to replace CEO Joseph D’Amato, who has retired. The much-anticipated casino 90 miles from New York City is slated to open early next year.
Wang Baoan, former head of China’s statistics bureau, has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of taking millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for political favors.
The American Gaming Association recently honored Regents Maintenance Supply in St. Louis, Missouri, which has grown in 18 years thanks to doing business with area casinos. The stop was part of AGA's American Gaming Small Business Jobs Tour, part of its multi-year "Get to Know Gaming" campaign.
Scientific Games enters the skill-based game arena with its slot version of the arcade classic Space Invaders, including a fully skill-based bonus game mimicking the arcade game.
International Game Technology has completed its sale of its Double Down Interactive social casino subsidiary to DoubleU Games Co., Ltd., for a cash price of $825 million.
SG Gaming has launched the Riviera cabinet in the U.K. in an effort to grow the company’s footprint in the country’s gaming locations with the new high-definition platform.
Ainsworth CEO Danny Gladstone (l.) says the coming acquisition of the company by Austria’s Novomatic Group will not change the Ainsworth or Novomatic brands.
Foxwoods is moving into online gaming in an aggressive way. The largest casino in North America has teamed up with Victory Square Ventures to launch “Foxwoods and Victory Square Ventures Living Lab,” aiming at interactive gaming and betting.
Cambodian casino resort Star Vegas Resort and Club, owned by Australia-listed Donaco International Ltd., will open a Poker King Club at the Poipet property this month.
February’s ICE Totally Gaming trade show and conference confirmed that this year’s edition of the show set a record for attendance with an audited figure of 30,213.
