The strongest typhoon to hit Southern China in 50-plus years killed at least 16 people and injured many more in Macau last week. Typhoon Hato was “a calamity,” flooding the streets and damaging structures, an official said. Casinos were closed and officials discouraged trips to the SAR as problems with drinking water and electricity remain. The Peoples Liberation Army (l.) was recruited for the cleanup, here in the hard-hit Peninsula area.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (l.) is raising the stakes in New York’s revenue-sharing dispute with the Seneca Indian Nation, threatening the tribe with a competing commercial casino in its lucrative Niagara Falls market. To make matters worse, the tribe is facing accusations that it bugged an office of the state Gaming Commission.
Public hearings on Japan’s imminent gaming industry continue to unfold as global operators look for regulatory details. Cities looking to bid on a license now include Osaka, Yokohama and Nagasaki. But MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren (l.) is already having some questions about profitability of Japanese casinos given the uncertain regulatory structure.
Opposing sides are trading blows ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court case that is likely to decide the future of sports betting in America. No date for oral arguments has been set yet, but the clock is ticking.
The 130-year-old Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club could become Bermuda's first integrated casino resort if the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission approves Century Casinos' license application. The casino resort would offer 12,000 square feet of gaming space with 17 gaming tables, 200 slot machines, automated roulette, high limit area and salon privé.
MGM Resorts International will launch the responsible gambling program MGM GameSense in October, with signage and kiosks in its 10 Southern Nevada properties, then in MGM casinos in Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi and Massachusetts. The program allows players to set limits on the time and money they spend on gambling.
Leaders in neuroscience, generational studies and consumer marketing will converge at casino industry’s marquee event, G2E, October 2-5 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. Kelly McDonald (l.), a marketing expert, will conduct three sessions on demographics and customer service.
PokerStars has confirmed that it will leave the Australian market in the face of new gambling laws in the country. The company said it will close down operations in mid-September, but did not name an exact date. New laws in Australia do not make online poker legal in the country or provide a way for poker operators to be licensed. The country’s Senate passed the new gambling bill earlier this month.
Okada Manila, the latest integrated resort to open in Manila’s Entertainment City, will not cannibalize the market but go on to dominate it, according to a new report from Morgan Stanley.
The gaming market in Vietnam is “likely larger than most expectations,” according to Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen (l.), with gross gaming revenues estimated in the US$800 million to $1.2 billion range.
Studio City, a Hollywood-themed casino resort in Macau, is planning an initial public offering in the United States, according to Nasdaq-listed developer Melco Resorts & Entertainment.
Reports say Sands Cotai Central (l.) will renovate its four hotel towers to create a faux London in Macau. The Sands also owns and operates the Venetian and Parisian Macao resorts in the gaming hub.
Months after 19 Crown Resorts staffers were first detained in Mainland China, VP Jason O’Connor (l.) was the last to be freed from a Shanghai detention center. The team was convicted of illegally marketing gaming.
A subsidiary of Asian casino operator Silver Heritage Group Ltd. has secured $5 million in financing that will allow it to prepay $2 million of $20 million in outstanding bonds this month
An offshore casino called the MV Lucky 7 (l.), which went aground near the Goan capital of Panjim, India in July and is still stuck there, must be removed or it may be banned from doing business.
Genting Hong Kong sold 3.29 percent of its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for $90 million, lowering its investment from 11.13 percent to 8.94 percent. Expanding its cruise line business resulted in net losses of $200-$220 million for the six months to June 30, versus $73.73 million in the same period in 2016.
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. must go to court to meet its former joint venture partner in Macau, Asian American Entertainment Corp. Ltd. In 2002, Sands dropped AAEC from its Macau gaming concession bid.
The $341 million Emerald Resort and Casino in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island has officially broken ground. It’s the first integrated resort in the Philippines to be built outside Luzon, the country’s largest island.
A series of courtroom wins has strengthened the hand of Steve Wynn. The gaming mogul wants to obtain one of the first gaming licenses in Japan and his victories could help him do that. And Deutsche Bank has upgraded Wynn Resorts to a “buy.”
UK racetrack operator Arena Racing Company announced that William Hill will open new betting facilities at six of its syndicated racecourses. The tracks include: Doncaster (l.), Lingfield Park, Royal Windsor, Southwell, Wolverhampton and Worcester. The facilities are expected to be open by the end of August.
According to UK reports, Ladbrokes Coral Plc has turned down a £3.6 billion takeover bid from GVC. Britain’s Financial Times said Ladbrokes Coral governance had reviewed the proposed bid, but has decided not to take the offer to the company’s investors.
The success of Summit Ascent Holdings’ Tigre de Cristal resort in Russia’s Far East is a positive indicator for similar resorts in development in the Black Sea area special economic zone, says a tourism official.
The assets of high-stakes gambler Azam Kolia of Singapore, said to have lost $3 million in a single night, were frozen by Mrs. Justice Jefford of the High Court. Kolia was sued by casino bosses at the historic Les Ambassadeurs Club in London for bouncing checks worth $601,600.
New visa rules recently adopted by Russia are seen as favoring Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd., which owns Primorye on Russia’s Pacific Coast. The relaxed rules mean more Chinese nationals are likely to visit the casino region of Russia.
The government of New South Wales is considering amended legislation that would end its customary five-year review of casinos licenses in the Australian state. The government is also weighing more VIP credit for Star Casino (l.) in Sydney.
Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and Brookfield Asset Management, the home team, coincidentally referred to as “Made in Canada,” has won a 22-year gaming license from the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp. They beat the Genting Group and Caesars Entertainment. The group will manage Toronto’s Woodbine slot parlor (l.).
The Australia Capital Territory government may launch a phased cutback of poker machine, with clubs giving back about one in five machines over the next three years. The ACT wants to slash pokies by almost 1,000.
The Queensland government reports “significant interest” from global operators with two gaming licenses up for grabs in the state. One official has confirmed that NagaCorp is one of the operators scoping the market.
The private equity investor Advent International has partnered with the founding family of Enjoy S.A. to buy up a large percentage of shares of the company which operates 10 casinos in South America. The partnership will allow for an expansion into Chile.
Daily fantasy sports is legal now in New Jersey after Governor Chris Christie (l.) signed a bill authorizing the wager. The industry is expected to provide more than $6 million in tax revenue for the state.
The Paris Olympic committee will reportedly consider adding eSports contests to the 2014 Olympic games. Paris Officials said they will discuss adding eSports as an official medal sport with the International Olympic Committee. In another matter, Nielsen Entertainment has debuted an analytics platform that will track eSports data to help sponsors and advertisers have a better understanding of the industry’s growth and engagement.
The license of Philippine gaming services provider PhilWeb will be reinstated a year after it was shut down by President Rodrigo Duterte. Founder Roberto Ongpin was a special target of the then-new president.
Playtech, part of the TradeTech Group, has announced it is purchasing technology, intellectual property and customer assets from ACM Group. The company said the acquisition will include an initial $5 million payment with further payments capped at a total of $150 million.
OfferCraft has teamed up with Washington state’s Swinomish Casino in a promotional effort to publish offers as social games weekly on the SwinBig.com website.
Microsoft recently began hosting weekly League of Legends events at its stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia. The "ROG Arena at Microsoft Store" competitions are held in partnership with ASUS Republic of Gamers and HyperX. Microsoft already hosts similar in-store eSports events, including Counter Strike, FIFA and other games.
Fertitta Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tilman Fertitta (l.), owner of the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, recently made several suggestions to the Louisiana Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Task Force about improving revenue at the state's non-tribal casinos. The task force is taking recommendations from invested operators prior to next year's legislative session.
The Jefferson County Circuit Court in Alabama recently ruled computer systems that include software with illegal sweepstakes games are against the law. The decision centered on Bid City in Birmingham which offered gaming machines with illegal sweepstakes games and online auctions from Blue Streak Bids software, operator of Redibids.com. Attorney General Steve Marshall (l.) will enforce the ruling.
At a recent conference on gaming in the state, casino representatives voiced concerns that revenues won’t measure up to projections in an upstate market that may have too few consumers for too many properties. As a spokesman for Schenectady’s new Rivers Casino (l.) put it, “The party is over.”
Bristol Community College (l.) in Massachusetts has opened a “gaming lab” that will provide training for dealers and casino managers. Watch the Catch Institute funnel those newly qualified people into the Bay State’s burgeoning casino industry.
Texas law enforcement hasn't made a move—yet--against private poker clubs like Mint Poker (l.) in Houston and three others in the state. The clubs claim to be lawful since they charge membership fees instead of taking a share of any gambled money, and all bettors have an equal chance to win.
Voters in Aurora, Colorado will weigh in on a proposed entertainment district in November. The district could offer a racetrack, retail, dining and nightclubs—but no casinos. To make sure of that, the city council is considering an ordinance that would make operating a limited gaming or sports book facility illegal
Kane County, Illinois may not give municipalities riverboat casino revenue
if they allow video gambling. County board member Kurt Kojzarek proposed the ban because the county's share of Grand Victoria riverboat (l.) gambling proceeds may dip below $3 million for the first time next year. Video gambling has "an adverse effect" on riverboat revenue, Kojzarek said.
Las Vegas locals giant Red Rock Resorts announced plans to spend more than $220 million to renovate and expand the Palms (l.), which the company acquired last year, and Palace Station. The company says that with the Las Vegas Convention Center expanding and NFL football coming to town, the time to invest is now.
Disney Worldwide Services recently gave $500,000 to Voters In Charge, a Florida political committee collecting signatures to place on the November 2018 ballot a constitutional amendment giving voters the exclusive right to authorize casino gambling. Previously, since April, Disney gave the group $1 million.
California gaming regulators have shut down a card club for not having the funds to cover the chips it had out on the floor. The raid on the 500 Club cardroom (l.) in Clovis came without warning last week.
The Progress for Maine PAC has formed to shepherd an initiative across the finish line on November 7, a ballot measure that will give one man, Shawn Scott (l.), the right to build a casino in York County.
Put away those credit cards. Strip casinos have started accepting digital payments for non-gaming spending on a variety of platforms, with MGM and Caesars leading the way.
In the highly competitive gaming market of North Ohio, something as mundane as opening a gas station is seen as a significant move in the overall chess game. So far, the Hard Rock Rocksino is winning that contest.
Two new projects in Atlantic City have been approved including a $3.7 million upgrade to the city’s convention center (l.) and entertainment arena Boardwalk Hall. City council also approved air rights for a new skywalk between the Tropicana casino and the non-casino Chelsea Hotel.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is making over more than 2,800 of its rooms with luxury features and the latest technologies, including a new “virtual concierge” system. The remodeling follows on the recent addition of four floors of penthouse suites to better compete for the international high end.
Even though Atlantic City’s seven casinos cumulatively saw revenue increases in July, revenue for the whole city was down 2.7 percent. The dip comes because the former Trump Taj Mahal was still open in July 2016. Online gambling, however, continued to help make up the revenue difference seeing an 18.5 increase for the month over 2016.
Florida-based developer Glenn Straub (l.)—owner of the closed Revel casino in Atlantic City—is under investigation in Florida for allegedly placing fraudulent construction liens against the ranch and townhouse of a former girlfriend, according to the Miami Herald. Straub has been unable to re-open the former Revel site in New Jersey and is rumored to be close to selling the property.
The attitude of gaming tribes towards legalizing sports betting in the U.S. is not monolithic. But many tribes consider lifting the ban to be an attack on their sovereign right to offer gaming. New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone (l.) is drafting a bill that would give tribes the right to offer sports betting within their own state compacts.
Things are on the move for the Wilton Rancheria Tribe of Miwok Indians, which wants to build a casino in Elk Grove, California. In recent months, they have seen their land (l.) in Elk Grove put into trust and signed a gaming compact with California’s governor.
The company that helped the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians reopen the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino (l.) in 2015 after it was closed for many months has lost a lawsuit against the tribe. Osceola Blackwood Ivory Gaming Group (OBIG) of Florida claims the tribe owes it $21 million.
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will vote on a fourth casino following a tribal judge's ruling. Chief Phyliss Anderson (l.) wants to build the $25 million Red Water Casino in Leake County but a grassroots group took the issue to tribal court after the tribe's election committee rejected its petition for a vote.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida doesn't disclose its seven casinos' revenue. But the Miami Herald, using effective revenue sharing rates and reviewing payments received, estimated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa (l.) generated $967 million in revenue. Hard Rock Hollywood was second with $579 million.
The Comanche Nation in Oklahoma is suing the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs over the Chickasaw Nation's $10 million casino, under construction near the Texas border. The Comanches claim the Chickasaws and other wealthy tribes are getting preferential treatment, allowing them to dominate Oklahoma's gaming market.
The Connecticut legislature recognizes two gaming tribes. It has given permission for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe to build a third, satellite casino. Another tribe, the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, claims it has been unfairly excluded from this deal.
Scheduled to open in early 2018, work is continuing at the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians' Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Indiana. It's the tribe's fourth Four Winds operation; the other three are in Michigan. The property will provide 1,200 jobs and offer 1,800 slots, restaurants, bars and a boutique.
The Kalispel Tribe of Washington has broken ground for an expansion of its Northern Quest Resort and Casino (l.). The expansion will be for non-gaming amenities.
An appeals court has agreed to hear an appeal of a lawsuit that prevents the Mechoopda Tribe from operating a casino in Northern California. The tribe, which lost its status in 1958, wants to rebuild its homeland.
The Oneida Indian Nation's Point Place Casino is expected to open in Bridgeport, New York in spring 2018. The $40 million, 65,000 square foot facility will offer 500 slots and 20 table games, plus two restaurants and two bars. The project created 250 construction jobs and 200 permanent employees will be hired.
Authorities of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation last week raided an operation owned by Bim Stephen Bruner, who claims that he has the right to operate gaming there. He claims that his land is also under the jurisdiction of the Kialagee Tribal Town, which has authorized him to have a casino.
A 9-story, 180-room hotel expansion, scheduled for completion before the Super Bowl on February 4, 2018, will bring the total number of rooms at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel (l.) in Prior Lake, Minnesota to 766. That will make the casino hotel the second largest in Minneapolis after the Hilton Minneapolis, the state's largest.
The Oklahoma-based Osage Nation hired Steve Tilley, former Missouri House speaker and current lobbyist, to help it establish a casino in Missouri. In January, the tribe donated $52,000 toward Republican Governor Eric Greitens' inauguration to "show him respect," said Osage Nation Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear. The tribe operates seven Oklahoma casinos.
A half size replica of a bronze statue that will honor Indians and Alaska Native veterans is making the rounds in California’s Indian casinos. The purpose is to raise $3 million for the memorial, which will be located in the Riverside National Cemetery.
Last year Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran (l.) sued the Florida Lottery over its $700 million contract with IGT. Circuit Judge Karen Gievers invalidated the deal. The Lottery appealed, but now the appeals court said the Lottery and the House of Representatives have until August 31 to report back on efforts to settle the lawsuit.
In the lottery game of New England, Massachusetts is the big dog. The Maryland Lottery, definitely a little dog, wants to change up the dynamic and give the Bay State some competition.
Bright lights dimmed on the Las Vegas Strip at 7:49 p.m. Monday, August 21, solar eclipse day, honoring comedian, actor, philanthropist and Las Vegas resident Jerry Lewis (shown at the Casino Entertainment Awards in 2015) who died August 20. Known for his crazy film antics and partnership with Dean Martin, Lewis raised $2.5 billion hosting the MDA Labor Day Telethon from 1966 to 2010.
Atlantic City’s former mayor and then state senator, Jim Whelan, passed away suddenly last week. Whelan was mayor during the city’s most prosperous years and created some developments that still benefit Atlantic City to this day.
Kiowa Tribe member John Tahsuda has been named the principal deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs. While there is still no leader of the agency called the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tahsuda could take that position later.
Todd Moyer, general manager at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, announced he will leave at the end of August to take a job at Hard Rock International. Moyer joined the Sioux City facility in 2014, and previously was general manager at the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has named Dawn Lazo vice president of food and beverage. Previously she held the same position at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. Lazo also has held casino food and beverage positions at Sunset Station and Green Valley Ranch and Silverton Lodge & Casino in Las Vegas.
Mr Green has named Mattias Wedar as chief executive of its Mr Green & Technology business. Wedar replaces Stefan Gustafsson, who was named acting chief executive of the business in December 2016.
At the Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence, Oregon, the tribal council of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians recently fired Chief Operating Officer Michael Rose, Assistant General Manager Bob Garcia and Chief Finance Officer Jim Herman following "a change of direction." Jerry West was named chief executive officer.
Konami Gaming will join Interblock and GameCo as a lead sponsor of the recently formed Innovation Adoption Advisory Panel, which will discuss ways to expand the game styles on the market. Steve Sutherland (l.), president and CEO of Konami Gaming, called the IAAP an “encouraging development.”
The global sales team of Austria’s Novomatic Group will take over sales efforts in Europe for its new majority-owned subsidiary, Ainsworth Game Technology.
System supplier Casino Cash Track has made Inc. magazine’s 500/5000 list ranking the nation’s fastest-growing private companies for the second year in a row.
The brother of the late comedian Sam Kinison has enlisted a company to represent the comedian’s name and likeness for themes in casino and mobile slot machines.
GAN Simulated Gaming is now available to customers of WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma, via WinStarOnlineGaming.com, with supporting mobile applications. Patrons can play online table games, video poker and electronic games and earn rewards in WinStar's player loyalty program, redeemable on-site for shows, meals, gift cards, spa services and golf.
Billings, Montana-based Grand Vision Gaming recently completed its first Oklahoma installation at the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes' Sugar Creek Casino in Hinton. GVG partnered with Integrity Gaming, a subsidiary of Poydras Gaming Finance Corporation, holder of an exclusive distribution agreement with GVG in Oklahoma.
The British firm Nektan is introducing the first real-money mobile gaming solution in the United States. Its Rapid Games are being debuted in a California Indian casino.
Macau junket investor Suncity Group has introduced a secure mobile phone application, Sun Finance, that lets the firm’s VIP gamblers track their spend, win-loss history and rolling chip activity.
The Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association recently acquired BNP Media Gaming Group's 50 percent share in the Southern Gaming Summit, giving it full ownership of the event. MGHA officials said complete details on the timing and agenda of the Southern Gaming Summit will be released later this year.
