Mandalay Bay (l. with the broken windows on the 32nd floor) and an adjacent festival grounds owned by MGM were the scene of the most deadly mass shooting in U.S. history on October 1. The shooter killed 59 and wounded almost 500 people, before turning the gun on himself. The Las Vegas community rallied together, however, and it soon became apparent that there were many heroes that night preventing the toll from going higher. #VegasStrong
The casino giant’s largest operating subsidiary is out of bankruptcy, the conglomerate is reorganized, its balance sheet is newly scrubbed, there’s a new board of directors, and investors are buoyant. What’s next? “Growth and investment,” the company says.
Never forgetting the tragic events of the preceding Sunday, G2E was held last week in Las Vegas. And despite the pall over the proceedings, lots of good news was generated at the show. Industry executives gathered for the ribbon cutting (l.). With the help of CDC Reports, which deployed almost a dozen reporters at G2E, here’s a recap.
A Colorado-based company has filed an agreement of sale in New Jersey for the closed Atlantic City Boardwalk casino Revel—now rebranded as TEN—but whether a deal is in place remains muddled. Glen Straub, owner of the casino, told local media that no agreement has been reached and he’s never had contact with the company. The filing with Atlantic County names Bruce Deifik (l.) as the manager of Mile High Dice MGR, LLC, based in Colorado. Such filings usually indicate a sale, but could include financial and regulatory conditions.
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Melco Resorts & Entertainment remain committed to securing one of several integrated resort licenses likely to be offered by the Japanese government next year. LVS Chairman Sheldon Adelson brought celebrities like football star David Beckham (l) to Tokyo last week to impress government officials.
Located next to the city’s popular BC Place, the C$640 million Parq Vancouver, developed by Paragon Gaming, features a two-level casino, a rooftop park, 60,000 square feet of events space and an array of restaurants and lounges. The reception has been enthusiastic.
Malaysian gaming giant Genting International will sell Maxims, its upscale casino in London’s Kensington section, asking $53.6 million. The company has owned the members-only club since 2007.
Global Gaming Business Publisher Roger Gros and Novomatic Americas President Rick Meitzler (center) received the AGEM Memorial Awards Honoring Peter Mead and Jens Halle. They were joined by AGEM President Tom Nieman (l.), Executive Director Marcus Prater (r.) and Halle’s wife, Marietta.
Two Oklahoma Native American tribes have filed a lawsuit claiming they were swindled by Universal Entertainment Group in a proposed online poker site called pokertribes.com. The site was never launched and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes say they lost $13 million. However, news of the suit comes as the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma has received an online gambling license for international markets from the Isle of Man. The tribe intends to launch a site called pokertribe.com (l.).
This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Renato Ascoli, the CEO of IGT North America Gaming & Interactive to discuss his company’s progress since the merger of GTECH and IGT more than two years ago.
A two-year study of Macau’s future as a tourism destination has been released. The government’s Tourism Industry Development Master Plan expects 38 million to 40 million visitors per year by 2025.
Businessman Chan Meng Kam’s Royal Dragon Casino (l.) opened September 27 in Macau’s ZAPE area on the peninsula. The property debuted with a small hotel and a casino with 20 relocated gaming tables.
The Malaysian state of Johor Baru last month cracked down on more than 300 suspected illegal gaming and gambling centers in a series of overnight raids. All have reportedly been closed.
Macau junket investor the Neptune Group Limited will record a net loss for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Neptune cited the loss of two VIP rooms at Venetian Macao (l.).
Russian gaming operator CJSC Shambala just got the thumbs-up for a planned casino resort in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone, near the port city of Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.
The RCMP is investigating a massive money laundering network that it claims used British Columbia casinos to move hundreds of millions in cash out of mainland China. A review of BCLC casino operations is now under way. Most of the attention has been focused on River Rock Casino (l.) near Vancouver.
A report titled "Global Online Gambling Market" from Technavo covering trends, forecasts and updates for the 2016-2022 period reported that online gaming hit $44.16 billion in 2016 and is estimated to reach $81.71 billion by 2022. The report covered online activities involving poker games, sports betting, bingo and lotteries.
Uruguay has approved legislation to ban offshore online gaming companies from operating in the country and also introduce new taxes on state-approved gambling activities. The law easily passed the country’s Senate and was signed into law by Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez.
Reviglios, formally known as Big Ben Parliament Creations, has unveiled a new augmented reality app for the gaming industry. The developer of B2B apps recently rebranded ahead of the launch as it seeks to expand its presence in the gambling market.
Philweb says it is hopeful it will resume operations in the Philippines by the end of the year. The company was forced to shut down after its gambling license expired in August 2016. It has since been granted a provisional certificate of accreditation as an electronic gaming system (service provider by the Philippines Gaming and Amusements Corporation, but still has to receive a notice to operate.
Casino Technology will contribute to the Trial Gaming Network being launched by Atlantis Internet Gaming Corporation for sovereign native nations in North America.
Colombia has issued a gaming and sports betting license to Gaming1, which will operate Zamba.co on both mobile and desktop. The site will feature games including roulette, blackjack and slots.
PokerStars has partnered with content provider Quickspin to add slots products to its Stars Group brand. Quickspin games can be played on desktop and mobile devices.
Kentucky faces a $200 million shortfall plus pension liabilities of $36 billion. As a partial solution, House Caucus Chair Dennis Keene (l.) and state Rep. Rick Rand have pre-filed an expanded gambling bill. "Gaming is already here," Keene said, with the state lottery and horseracing. But Governor Matt Bevin "remains staunchly opposed."
Gaming win jumped 21 percent on the Las Vegas Strip during the month and was up more than 14 percent statewide. The Floyd Mayweather- Conor McGregor (l.) fight delivered as promised, with a healthy boost from the return of football betting.
A report by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC predicts that 32 states would adopt legal sports betting within five years if New Jersey wins its Supreme Court case challenging a federal ban. The company tracks state-by-state gambling legislation, and said a new market would be worth more than $6 billion in five years and as much as $15 billion if all 50 states allowed sports betting.
A report by the multimedia news organization City & State PA indicates that Pennsylvania lawmakers are close to a budget deal that includes some gaming expansion measures. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (l.) recalled the Senate for a vote on a budget bill.
MGM Resorts International has proposed a $675 million casino resort in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Steelpointe Harbor (l.). It effectively could end the exclusivity the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes now have in exchange for 25 percent of slot revenue. MGM said the new casino would generate revenue to more than compensate, but analysts and state officials aren't so sure.
Southern Nevada saw fewer tourists in August, measured against a tough comparison with the same month last year. But passenger counts at McCarran International surpassed 4 million for the sixth month in a row.
The recently opened Aces Social Club in north Houston follows Texas law by offering winner-take-all poker games in a private, members-only setting. It makes money from seat rentals, amenities and memberships fees starting at $120 a year. Owners hope to attract travelers due to its location near Bush Intercontinental Airport.
As laid-off worker picketed outside, the feng shui-certified, $53 million Bay 101 Casino recently opened in San Jose, California, down the street from its glitzier competitor, Casino M8trix. Bay 101 offers 49 tables including blackjack, pai gow poker, Texas hold ‘em and EZ baccarat, plus an Asian fusion restaurant.
Parx Casino topped the Pennsylvania industry in gaming revenues last year, while Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem continued its dominant position in table-game revenue.
Atlantic City has joined a competition from Bloomberg Philanthropies seeking a $5 million prize to help solve pressing social problems in the resort. The competition allows cities to enter and use the money to implement ideas for social programs. Atlantic City has been facing possible bankruptcy for more than a year, but has been working to substantially lower its municipal debt.
The Wilton Rancheria tribe and California Governor Jerry Brown (l.) recently signed a compact allowing the tribe to build a casino resort in Elk Grove in Sacramento County. The development will include a casino, a 12-story, 302-room hotel, pool, spa, convention center and restaurants and bars, creating 1,750 new jobs.
Between February and August, due to "human error," some customers' personal information inadvertently was released by Graton Resort and Casino (l.) in Rohnert Park, California. Officials did not confirm the number of affected patrons, who were given a free, one-year subscription to a credit monitoring service.
The $90 million expansion at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, is expected to open January 1. Its new 9-story, 180-room hotel plus the existing 586-room hotel are fully booked for the February 4, 2018 Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The project also includes a 70,000 square foot event center.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled 7-0 that Jerry Rape cannot collect a $1.4 million jackpot he won on an electronic bingo machine at the Poarch Band of Creek Indians' Wind Creek Casino (l.) in Montgomery, Alabama in 2010. Casino officials took his payout ticket and said the machine "malfunctioned." Rape previously lost a lawsuit in tribal court.
Several changes have been made to the organizational structure and leadership team at Las Vegas-based Aruze Gaming America. Richard Pennington has resigned as president chief administrative officer and chief financial officer. Eric Persson (l.) will become president and chief operating officer and Yugo Kinoshita has been named chief financial officer and chief strategic officer.
William Hill Plc Director of Group Regulatory Affairs Andrew Lyman has been named executive director and head of gambling for Gibraltar. Lyman will oversee Gibraltar’s regulatory guidance and stakeholder relationships as the British Overseas Territory introduces new industry policies under the Gibraltar 2016 Gambling Act.
OnCourse Learning Director of Gaming Programs David Vialpando was named one of two 2017 Gaming Regulators of the Year—Indian Country by the International Masters of Gaming Law. Chairman of the California-based Santa Ysabel Tribal Gaming Commission, Vialpando joined OnCourse Learning in early 2017.
UK Bookmaker William Hill Plc has named Ruth Prior as the group’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior was recruited from WorldPay’s executive team where she had served as Chief Operations Officer and Deputy CFO.
Genting Americas has chosen Konami’s Synkros casino management system as the core system for its Resorts World Bimini property in the Bahamas, while Carnival Corporation announced its intention to award Konami a Synkros contract.
Scientific Games Corporation announced a proposed private offering of $350 million in senior secure notes due 2025, with net proceeds to finance the pending acquisition of NYX Gaming Group.
