Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (l.) has rejected plans to build a casino resort on the holiday island of Boracay, which soon will be closed for environmental remediation. Duterte says the land will go “to the people.” Galaxy Entertainment had announced it would build, along with a local partner.

The “father of gaming” in Macau, Stanley Ho, announced last week he was stepping down as chairman and executive director of SJM Holdings after the company’s annual general meeting in June. He will be replaced by his daughter, Daisy Ho.

Japan’s cabinet is looking to submit part II of its Integrated Resorts bill to the Diet on April 27, which lays out the regulations surrounding the gaming industry. If it succeeds, the bill could be passed before the current parliamentary session ends on June 20. One of the front-runners for an IR is Osaka, where Yumashima Island (l.) is likely to be the location.

As the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on lifting the federal sports betting ban draws closer, states are busily considering legislation to address the issue. The bills differ from state to state and frequently from other measures within the same state. Some states' bills include major leagues' 1 percent integrity fee while others reject it outright. And time is running out for most states.

A strike has paralyzed the Caesars Windsor (l.) in Ontario. More than 2,300 workers walked from their jobs last week over wages. The strike has led to the cancellation of entertainment events and room reservations, but is proving a boon to the Windsor casino’s rivals.

Some Florida lawmakers may push for a special session to resolve the Seminole Compact before the new fiscal year starts, and also before voters may approve on November 6 an amendment giving them control over gambling expansion. The Seminoles have continued to make monthly payments of $19.5 million from revenue earned from their casinos, including the state’s most lucrative casino, Hard Rock Tampa (l.), although they're not required to.

Episode II of the UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series, held on April 24 at 1 p.m., will now include Jason Gastwirth (l.), the president of entertainment for Caesars Entertainment, along with several other stellar speakers to discuss the impact of non-gaming revenue and attractions in the casino industry.

The world’s 20th richest individual—yes, that would be Sheldon Adelson—has gotten richer as a result of a new employment contract that more than doubles his compensation to $26.1 million. Mark Frissora is finding his post-bankruptcy Caesars to be very generous as well.

The first quarter reports are due in soon and they may not be as rosy as they have in recent quarters. Severe weather impact lots of different gaming jurisdictions should show dips in revenues and missed targets. And some warnings in Las Vegas about over supply are creeping up.

This week, the GGB Podcast features a discussion with Jerry Epstein, the CEO of Engaged Nation, a marketing company that specializes in gamification for companies in the gaming industry and beyond.

Will Chinese President Xi Jinping (l.) come out in support of expanded gaming, possibly including casinos on the island of Hainan? Many Chinese wonder why the bulk of gaming profits in Macau go to foreign interests.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. is seeking more bids for the land under Solaire Resort and Casino (l.) in Manila’s Entertainment City. Solaire owner Bloomberry Resorts had planned to buy the two parcels after no bids were received in the first round.

Filinvest Development Corp. and a subsidiary have acquired a provisional gaming license for development of an integrated resort in the Clark Special Economic Zone (l., a former U.S. airbase). The project will be called Filinvest Mimosa + Leisure City.

The state government of Goa in India may revisit a plan to hike casino fees after pleas from operators who say the increase may force them to close. The plan is to more than quadruple taxes.

Nepal’s Inland Revenue Office raided Tiger Palace Casino Resort (l.) in Bhairahawa on April 8 after complaints that the resort casino was selling alcoholic without a license. The casino has been open less than a month.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau will have 482 gaming tables up for grabs after SJM opens its Grand Lisboa Palace next year, says Union Gaming. The SJM property is the last planned for Cotai.

To supercharge what is an already energetic gaming expansion, the government of Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rejoy (l.) is proposing to cut taxes on some gaming by 20 percent. The cuts are aimed at attracting more Spanish operators.

A three-month evaluation period for a new Swedish gambling law by the European Commission has ended and the bill can now move to the country’s legislature. It will now be reviewed by Parliament. The bill proposes dividing the gambling industry into three regulatory areas—online gambling, gambling for public interest (namely lotteries and bingo), and state-owned casinos and slot machines.

Eight companies may bid on licenses to provide slot machines to the seven casinos in Buenos Aires Province, including Trilenium (l.) in Tigre. Each bidder must pay $500,000 to participate in the tender, with bids to be opened in June.

Gateway Casinos and Entertainment has proposed a $56 million casino in Delta, British Columbia, which would offer a casino, 116-room hotel, dining and meeting space at the site of the shuttered Delta Town & Country site (l.). If the city council approves it, a public hearing would occur in June, construction would start this fall and the venue would open in 2020.

Ontario Gaming GTA LP, which oversees Greater Toronto Area casinos, confirmed Casino Ajax (l.) would close if Durham Live is built in Pickering. The entertainment complex also would offer an indoor water park, hotels and a convention center, and create 10,000 jobs, including 1,700 new jobs at the casino resort and the 300 now employed at Casino Ajax.

Internet cafes operate in St. Augustine, Florida, but they're illegal in St. Johns County. City police monitor the half-dozen cafes, since St. Augustine was the base of the internet café chain Allied Veterans of the World, whose owners and associates were arrested in 2013 for money-laundering and racketeering. Afterwards, legislators closed the cafes statewide.

PokerStars has stopped accepting players at its free social games sites from Washington State after a federal court ruling there that social games play constitutes gambling under state law. The Washington State Gambling Commission says it has been receiving questions about a number of free online casino and poker sites that are denying access to state residents.

A review of the first year of regulated online gaming under Poland’s new gambling act by Casino News Daily found few major online companies entering the newly regulated market. The report pointed to the country’s 12 percent tax on gambling turnover as a factor. The country has also blacklisted more than 1,600 online sites.

NetEnt Americas will be the online gaming partner of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City for the distribution of online casino games over an affiliated website.

Historical racing machines would be allowed at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Virginia, which last offered live racing in 2014, under a bill signed by Governor Ralph Northam (l.). The machines also would be permitted at 10 off-track betting parlors with local approval. Revolutionary Racing agreed to buy Colonial from Jacobs Entertainment if the legislation passed.

Delaware Governor John Carney (l.) has given lawmakers the green light to debate and pass a package of tax and fee breaks for the state’s struggling casinos, which have been asking for relief for years from the state’s stifling tax rate and fees.

The Tangipahoa Parish council voted to allow a referendum on a possible Peninsula Pacific's $100 million casino in Hammond. The company wants to transfer a license it holds for Bossier City’s DiamondJacks (l.), to a new venue, which would offer 800 slots and 25 table games, plus a hotel, event center, buffet and bass fishing tournament dock.

Tourism officials in the city of Bethlehem and Pennsylvania’s larger Lehigh Valley hope new owner Wind Creek Hospitality follows through on local redevelopment of the former steelworks (l.) around the current Sands casino.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (l.) rejected the popular name and ballot title for a constitutional amendment proposed by Arkansas Wins in 2018. Earlier, Rutledge thrice rejected the popular name and ballot title of a separate amendment proposed by Driving Arkansas Forward. Both amendments would authorize casinos, with revenue directed to highways.

There’s not much Wynn Resorts can do now to dispel the perception that under Steve Wynn’s rule it could be a dangerous workplace for women who caught the billionaire’s eye. Ensuring a safer, more responsive workplace in the future, that’s a different matter.

The Post Oak Poker Club (l.) is one of at least nine poker rooms in Houston. The owners believe they operate within a "very narrow path," legally speaking. But the Harris County District Attorney said Post Oak is "riding the razor's edge." Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has not weighed in on the issue.

Atlantic City’s seven casinos saw a combined 22.5 percent increase in earnings for 2017 to $723 million. Only Harrah’s Atlantic City saw a small decline in profits. The Borgata casino hotel (l.) continued to dominate the market with the highest profit at $292 million, up 19.5 percent from 2016.

Ohio’s gaming revenues are at an all-time high. The figures include both the four casino resorts in the state’s largest cities, and the seven racinos that offer video lottery terminals. As usual, the Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield, led the pack.

Hazel Park Raceway (l.) became the eighth horse racetrack to close in Michigan since 1998. Harness racetrack Northville Downs is the remaining horseracing facility. Opened in 1949, Hazel Park has offered harness and thoroughbred racing. Commercial and tribal casinos, the expanded state lottery and lack of legislation allowing casino games contributed to the industry's demise.

Jai alai will debut July 1 at Magic City Casino in Miami. A grand opening will take place July 4. The fronton is under construction inside the casino's 850-seat concert hall. Contest will take place Wednesday through Saturday. The final greyhound races will be held in June.

888 Holdings said it will appeal Germany’s Federal Administrative Court’s ruling upholding the prohibition of online gambling in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The appeal is being made through a German 888 subsidiary and charges that the ruling violates 888’s rights under European Union law.

Slovenia's Upper House of Parliament has voted against a bill to open up the country’s online betting rules. The bill would have adopted provisions used by the European Economic Community for online sports betting, which is currently dominated by one operator. MP Branko Zorman (l.) says 85 percent of Slovakians who gamble do so on illegal sites.

The Connecticut legislature is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to gaming bills that pit the two gaming tribes in the state versus MGM Resorts, which wants to build a casino in Bridgeport (l.). At stake is the revenue sharing from the tribes from their existing casinos and the possible introduction of online gaming and sports betting.

Governor Mary Fallin (l.) signed HB 3375 which allows the state's 60-plus tribal casinos to offer "ball and dice"—roulette and craps—games. They're expected to raise $24 million annually, with $21 million directed toward education. Originally the measure contained a sports betting provision, which was removed after tribal interests expressed opposition.

H.R. 3535, sponsors by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (l.), which would restore federal recognition to California’s Ruffey Rancheria, has been amended to sooth the fears of some who thought it could lead to a casino in neighboring Oregon. However, there are many skeptics of the contemplated action.

In 1968, the Tahlequah, Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation's budget was $1.1 million, fully government funded. Last year it was $915 million. The economic powerhouse traces its success to 1968, when the tribe reluctantly entered the gaming industry. Today the 360,000 member tribe and Cherokee Nation Businesses operate enterprises from Tahlequah to Baghdad, Mexico to the United Arab Emirates.

A Washington tribe held an emotional ribbon cutting last week for the first expansion to its year-old casino, ilani (l.). But the topper was the unveiling of the Cowlitz Tribe’s flag, which flew for the first time.

A new high limit poker room and VIP lounge (l.) debuted at the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe's Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The changes are part of a $26.5 million renovation plan to be completed in September, including a new sports bar and nightclub, redesigned Kid's Quest and renovated entertainment hall.

The French government has announced a plan to sell an about 50 percent stake in its national lottery company Francaise des Jeux. The sale would be made through an IPO stock market listing. France is planning a wave of privatization as it plans to sell about 10 billion euros worth of interest in state-owned companies.

Meg Hillier (l.), chairwoman of the UK Parliament Committee, is calling for the government’s Gambling Commission to pressure the national lottery operator to allocate more revenue to charitable causes as lottery profits rise. A cross-party committee of MPs said the current lottery deal is too inflexible and does not respond to consumer changes. The committee found that revenue slated for charities has been rising by about 2 percent while lottery profits were up by 122 percent.

Lottoland Australia has made an offer to Australia’s about 4,000 news and lottery agents to share profits on bets on international lotteries. The company said it would share 20 percent of revenue from bets. Lottoland says the deal would ensure more choices for customers and more revenue for newsagents. Australian officials have recently moved to ban synthetic lotteries like Lottoland in the country.

AGS has named industry veteran Mike McKiski as its vice president of sales for the Western U.S. and corporate accounts, charged with working toward further market expansion.

VizExplorer announced that it will deploy its operational intelligence marketing systems at the Suquamish Clearwater resort in Washington state and the Hard Rock Rocksino in Ohio.

The National Indian Gaming Association has reported that this week’s Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention has generated record interest and record pre-registration.