The largest private development in the history of Vancouver, British Columbia, opened last week when Paragon Gaming debuted the Parq Vancouver on September 29. The $600 million project includes a JW Marriott hotel, a boutique Douglas hotel and 72,000 square feet of gaming space. Paragon Gaming co-founders Scott Menke (l.) and Diana Bennett pose with Parq President Joe Brunini.
The AGA and the American Sports Betting Coalition it helped to create held a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss the potential benefit of legalized sports betting. A new poll from the Washington Post indicates that 55 percent of Americans favor legal sports betting. But the AGA is courting Indian gaming via the National Indian Gaming Association to complete support for the issue.
Breon Corcoran (l.), CEO of Paddy Power Betfair, said in a recent interview that he supports lowering wage limits on fixed odds betting terminals. UK bookmakers are expecting a British regulatory report due this month to suggest sharp cuts to the maximum bet allowed on FOBTS, a move that could cut deeply into their revenue. Corcoran—who expressed his support for the cuts in a letter to regulators—is the first bookmaker head to support the cuts.
How big can a legal casino industry get in South America’s largest country? How about US$20 billion a year, according to Herculano Passos (l.), a deputy in the national assembly. That’s one estimate bandied about at a recent gathering of hoteliers in South America’s largest country
NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson will deliver a keynote address at the Global Gaming Expo on Thursday, October 5, after which he will join AGA President Geoff Freeman for a discussion on sports betting.
Toru Mihara (l.), a professor and advisor to the government, who has advised Japanese lawmakers on casino legislation says they never intended to implement the Integrated Resort bill this year. Toru Mihara said it was always the plan to push passage out to 2018.
The 200-member Pamunkey Tribe in Virginia, which claims Pocahontas as an ancestor, recently received federal recognition. Assistant Chief Bob Gray said the tribe began the petition process 20 years ago. The designation allows the tribe to seek a casino but Gray said it has "nothing on the table right now."
A bill allowing four casinos and six racinos will be pre-filed by Kentucky state Rep. Jerry Miller and state Senator Morgan McGarvey (r.) as a way to fill the $30-$60 billion budget deficit driven by public pensions. Previously, state Reps. Dennis Keene and Rick Rand introduced a constitutional amendment to legalize casinos in Kentucky.
The opening of MGM Cotai has again been delayed, this time due to damage inflicted on the property by Typhoon Hato. The new opening date is sometime in the first quarter of 2018.
If you are going to be in Las Vegas this week for Global Gaming Expo, you’ll have about sports betting, skill gaming, eSports, ETGs, millennials and more. And even if you’re not going to the big show, stay tuned for CEO interviews by Frank Fantini in the weeks to come.
This week the GGB Podcast travels to the office of David Schwartz, the director for the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV to talk about the state of Las Vegas and cutting edge issues in the industry today.
Phu Quoc in Vietnam may be the first site of a casino catering to locals, and another one in Quang Ninh Province is due to open in March 2019. It’s the start of a three-year pilot program to see how locals affect the market.
Philippines casino magnate Ricky Razon (l.) says investment in the country’s gaming industry could soon outpace returns. Razon warns of cannibalization when PAGCOR casinos are sold off.
Macau’s gaming rally has begun to moderate, with year-on-year GGR down for the second consecutive month. But the numbers will still be up for September by an estimated 14 percent to 18 percent, analysts say.
Universal Entertainment is suing former Chairman Kazuo Okada’s (l.) Aruze Gaming America. The company claims Aruze is not paying licensing fees for the use of its patents and is using patents without permission.
SJM’s planned Cotai megaresort was hit by fire for the second time this year―and the fourth time since construction started two years ago. Police believe the blaze may have been deliberately set.
The Indian state is giving the gambling ships that cruise off the coast of the capital of Panaji six more months before forcing them to move. But they may not last even that long, the prime minister says.
Silver Heritage Group Ltd. celebrated the soft opening of its hotel at the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa in Nepal on September 20. A spa, gym and swimming pool are expected to be complete within days.
Landing International will open the casino at Jeju Shinhwa World on December 8, the company has announced. The resort’s theme park will open at the same time.
Macau junket investor Suncity Group will reportedly open VIP operations at Okada Manila (l.) in fourth-quarter 2017. A report from Morgan Stanley says Chinese high rollers are responsible for big growth in the Philippines.
Despite a ban on new cryptocurrency by China, a Macau company is hoping to raise $500 million through an initial coin offering for a casino project there. The company, Dragon Corp. will issue tokens in the ICO to be used by VIP junket operators by offering credit on behalf of casino operators.
Imperial Pacific International’s new resort casino on the Pacific island of Saipan has generated more than $1 billion in gross gaming revenue from January through July 2017, says a local newspaper.
Casinos in the Chinese territory already bar their employees from gambling in their own properties. The city’s gaming regulator, concerned about problem gambling, wants to extend that to all casinos.
The family of Joey Lim (l.), managing director of Malaysian casino giant Genting Bhd, has sold off 37.5 million shares in Australia-listed casino operator Donaco International Ltd.
The Primorsky Krai Development Corp., which oversees casino development in the Russian Far East, has received no official bids for parcels to be auctioned for casino development. The Tigre de Cristal (l.) remains the only operating casino in the region.
The country has been trying for five years to bring its gambling regulations into line with EU free-market policy. They have yet to win the necessary buy-in from all 16 states.
The government of the Netherlands wants to temporarily raise the country’s gaming tax rate from 29 percent to 30.1 percent. Lawmakers say the rate hike would take effect in 2018 and revert to the lower rate in 2019.
Despite an Australian Court sending the proposed Tabcorp Holdings and Tatts Group merger deal back for a new review, Tabcorp said it is confident the merger will still be complete by November. Tabcorp issued a corporate statement saying it had “obtained all necessary pre-implementation approvals of the relevant state and territory gambling regulatory authorities.”
An independent report indicated money-laundering activity may have occurred at River Rock Casino Resort (l.) in Vancouver, British Columbia, where $11 million in unsourced cash was accepted in July 2015 alone, mainly from "high roller Asian VIP clients." Attorney General David Eby said he will appoint an independent expert to review the situation.
The Uruguayan Senate has voted 30-6 to raise the tax on gaming wins at its 16 casinos, including the Conrad Hotel & Casino (l.) in Punta del Este. The rate hike, passed by the Lower House in August, will now go to the executive branch for final approval.
David Chow’s (l.) casino resort in Cape Verde off the coast of Africa may be delayed for months due to issues with the reclaimed land. The developer needs that time to “solidify the land settlement,” said a lawmaker.
The Canada Revenue Agency said Nova Scotia owes $29 million in sales tax from video lottery terminals in First Nations casinos. Nova Scotia said First Nations rent the terminals from Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which keeps the profits, so no taxes are due. Canada responded VLT revenue belongs to the province, so pay up.
The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma has secured an international online gaming license from the Isle of Man, making it the first Native American tribe eligible to open an international online gambling site. The tribe created Ioway Internet Gaming Enterprise Limited on the Isle of Man to obtain the license and can now operate an online poker site from its headquarters in Perkins Oklahoma.
A California lawmaker who has butted his head against the legislative wall trying to pass online poker says it’s time to try a different approach. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (l.) thinks supporters should let the issue cool down for a year.
Settling a trade dispute between the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda and the U.S. over online gambling could help the islands' Hurricane Irma recovery, said their ambassador to the U.S. Ronald Sanders. The World Trade Organization agreed with the islands that the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act impacted their iGaming industry.
Fantasy sports legislation is moving forward in the Ohio legislature. The House recently passed a bill that legalized DFS by a wide margin. The Senate is now holding hearings on House Bill 132.
The NBA will launch its new eSports league in May 2018, with 17 NBA teams participating. The league is called the 2K league and will be run in partnership with Take-Two Interactive, the developer of the popular NBA 2K video game series. Drafts for the leagues will begin in March, 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue told website Engadget in a recent interview.
Local regulators in Spain are reportedly preparing a one-year window for online gambling companies to submit applications for licensing. The one-year application window has yet to be formalized, but Spain’s gaming regulator is expected to make the change over the usual one-month application period.
Authentic Gaming has signed a partnership agreement to integrate its live-dealer Authentic Roulette game into Greentube’s B2C platform. Greentube brands in Italy and Romania will offer Authentic Roulette, as well as the Lucky Ball side bet games and Authentic Live! Entertainment. Also, Playtech has unveiled its new Age of the Gods Live Roulette.
Tinian—one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—has amended its Gaming Control Act to allow online gaming in the municipality.
Popeye the Sailor Man (l.) will welcome as many as 20,000 visitors to the Wynn Boston Harbor, whose bronze 29-story tower is rising along the Mystic River. The casino is expected to open in June 2019. But it’s MGM Springfield that will open first, and a marketing and hiring blitz are just getting under way.
Jake’s 58 faces an uncertain future following a state court ruling that the city of Islandia violated its own municipal code in granting the casino a permit to operate. The flourishing slots-only venue is the target of a lawsuit by local residents complaining of noise and traffic problems.
The Illinois Gaming Board's 2016 report showed revenue from the state's 10 casinos fell 1.7 percent from $1.439 billion in 2015 to $1.414 billion in 2016—mainly because of video gambling, observers said. The report stated net video terminal income rose 21.3 percent to $1.108 billion in 2016 versus $913 million in 2015.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission recently visited three potential casino sites in Cedar Rapids. In 2014 the commission rejected granting a license there. Peninsula Pacific and Cedar Rapids Development Group proposed the $105 million -$118 million Cedar Crossing Central and $165 million -$187 million Cedar Crossing on the River. Wild Rose Entertainment proposed a $40 million -$55 million boutique casino.
Pot may be legal in Nevada, but it’s still a federal crime, and the state’s casinos aren’t sure how close they should get to the burgeoning new industry―or how far they should steer clear of it. Experts will be meeting soon to help set the rules of engagement.
Police on the island of Oahu, Hawaii are making a strong effort to eradicate gambling. Police estimate there are more than 100 illegal casinos operating in a state that strictly bans any form of gambling.
New Jersey has sold about $68 million in bonds to pay down the tax appeal settlements it negotiated with Atlantic City casinos. The bonds were sold at a 4.1 interest rate. Atlantic City is responsible for paying back the bonds. The tax settlements were a major step taken by the state to reduce the city’s large municipal debt, according to Jeffrey S. Chiesa (l.), the head of the state’s team which is managing the city’s finances.
Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania held a job fair September 27 in an effort to add 200 new jobs in support of a $50 million expansion of the casino.
Casino-hotel labor union UNITE HERE is holding sessions to teach workers how to navigate visits from federal immigration enforcement agents amid the Trump crackdown on illegal immigration.
Those who thought that MGM Resorts was just playacting when it introduced its proposal for a $600 million, 2,000 slot casino in Bridgeport, Connecticut probably don’t anymore. MGM has pulled out all the stops on its campaign to persuade Bridgeport residents to support the idea.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal filed by David Patchak who claims the 2014 Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act violates the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers clause. The act had ended challenges to the federal land trust allowing the Gun Lake Tribe to build a casino in Wayland, Michigan.
Woodbury County, Iowa supervisors said they won't take a stance on U.S. Rep. Steve King's proposal to transfer public land to the Winnebago Tribe. The tribe claims the 1,643-acre tract near its WinnaVegas Casino (l.) was part of its reservation until the Missouri River shifted course. The land is popular with local hunters.
Connecticut’s gaming tribes, the Pequots and Mohegans, continue to branch out into non-gaming amenities and attractions for their existing casino resorts: the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino. Foxwoods has started construction of a karting center while the Sun just topped off its Exposition Center (groundbreaking at left).
The tribal council of the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming have ordered their business council to fire the top managers of the Wind River Hotel and Casino. So far their wishes aren’t being enforced.
Pot, the growing and sale, could be as profitable for Indian tribes as gaming has been. So says a tribal leader from a San Diego County tribe that allows the cultivation and sale of the weed on its reservation.
The U.S. Senate’s Committee on Indian Affairs is ready to begin its biannual hearings on Indian gaming. It will begin first with the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Wisconsin’s congressional delegation is becoming impatient to see action on the application by the Ho-Chunk Nation for a casino in Beloit. Lawmakers have written a letter to the Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke (l.) requesting movement.
The Massachusetts Lottery has locked horns with its retailers on the issue of online ticket sales. The Lottery says it needs it to survive. The retailers say that without walk-in sales they will wither and die.
The state of Illinois has chosen the Camelot Group, which runs the national lottery in Great Britain, to manage the Illinois Lottery, replacing Northstar Lottery Group.
For fiscal year 2017, the Texas Lottery reached a new sales record of $5.077 billion. As a result, Texas public schools received $1.313 billion and Texas veterans received $16.2 million. The state received more than $1 billion in revenue for the 14th consecutive year. Scratch ticket sales reached $3.94 billion, also a record.
The Mainland China State Council has appointed Zheng Xiaosong the new director of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau. Zheng is a veteran of the country’s government and financial industries.
Michael Zhu, the senior vice president of the Innovation Group’s international division, has been named as a partner in the firm. He’ll concentrate on the firm’s successful Asian practice.
MGM Resorts recognized the accomplishments of five of its leaders last week, promoting general managers at three Las Vegas and one Tunica, Mississippi properties to presidents and COOs, including Ann Hoff (l.) at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Audrey Oswell was named president and managing director at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas. A 30-year hospitality and gaming industry veteran, she is the first female to hold the position. Oswell was chief operating officer at Atlantis since late 2016 and was chief gaming officer from 2011 to 2013.
JACK Entertainment announced several corporate promotions. Brian Eby (l.) was named executive vice president of corporate operations and chief innovation officer. Darlene Monzo was named executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Glen Tomaszewski was named executive vice president and chief financial officer. Senior Vice President and JACK Cincinnati Casino General Manager Chad Barnhill was named senior vice president of regional operations.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited has promoted Chris Rowe to the position of managing director, Asia-Pacific, overseeing all sales and business development in the region.
A Dubai investor is suing ex-Amaya CEO David Baazov saying Baazov fraudulently used his name to build support for a takeover bid of Amaya. The lawsuit by Kalani Lal, president of Aldini Capital, charges that Baazov and his longtime financial services partner Canaccord Genuity fraudulently used Lal’s name and signature to boost their bid for Amaya in 2016. The deal never happened. Baazov left the company while facing insider trading charges in Canada relating to Amaya’s purchase of PokerStars.
Johan Westberg, formerly of IBM, has been appointed by EveryMatrix to head its sale efforts in Asia. The company is anxious to further develop its Asian market.
Cash-handling company GeWeTe, a subsidiary of Gauselmann, recently named Michael "Mike" Finigan as an account manager, covering the UK and Ireland. A 30-plus-year veteran of the gaming sector, Finigan has worked as a service engineer, product manager and account manager for various companies in the machines industry.
NRT Technology last week acquired VisuaLimits, a fast-growing payment technology company that recently integrated the technology of Sightline Payments systems, which recently merged with NRT.
IGT last week continued a series of agreements with slot manufacturer competitors that will allow the companies to license IGT content and technology. The latest company to join the list is Ainsworth Game Technology.
GameCo Inc. has entered the Oklahoma tribal gaming market with an installation of three titles on its Video Game Gambling Machines at Choctaw Casino & Resort, and will place the games at Caesars properties across the U.S.
Novomatic Group is putting an initial public offering on hold because of uncertainty over new regulations in Germany, one of its most important markets.
Casino Cash Trac has completed its move to a new location, tripling its previous space as the company completes its second year on Inc. magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest-growing companies.
Carnival Corporation, operator of more than 100 cruise ships, recently launched PlayOcean mobile games. PlayOcean Everywhere features four free games that can be played on land. PlayOcean Casino offers social casino and real-money games to be played at sea. PlayOcean games include Queen Sea Poker, Roulette on Deck and Bingo on Deck.
Aristocrat will be introducing a slot game based on the Emmy-nominated Westworld series that premiered this year on HBO. It will introduce the game, which was produced in partnership with Warner Bros. at the Global Gaming Expo 2017.
The American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions will host G2E’s annual State of the Industry panel, a roundtable discussion among executives of commercial and tribal gaming and gaming suppliers that will include Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Michael Rumbolz (l.), president and CEO of Everi; and Craig Clark, general manager of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.
One of the central attractions of Scientific Games’ G2E booth display this week will be the launch of the new series of slots based on the James Bond movie franchise.
AGS has detailed its product lineup of new slots, table games and interactive products for this week’s Global Gaming Expo, under the theme “Obsessed with the Game.”
Everi Holdings, in addition to the slot games and systems it brings to Global Gaming Expo, arrives with its complete portfolio of payments technology solutions.
