Scientific Games announced that Barry Cottle (l.), CEO of SG Interactive, will replace Kevin Sheehan as president and CEO of the company effective June 1. Sheehan’s departure comes after two years of growth for the company, resulting in a share price six times higher than when he took over. A new chief product officer was also announced, straight from Silicon Valley.
Elaine Wynn is suing Wynn Resorts to force the board of directors to postpone its upcoming annual meeting and reopen its membership to new nominations. At the same time, a shareholder advisory group backed the contention of Elaine Wynn that a “close friend” of former chairman Steve Wynn should be rejected for board re-election. And the name “Wynn” has been stripped from the huge casino tower rising across the Mystic River from Boston, replaced by Encore Boston Harbor.
Japanese lawmakers have signed off on a bill that defines the regulations for the country’s planned casino industry. The Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill has been submitted to the Diet for voting. Melco’s Lawrence Ho (l.) says the first license probably will be issued sometime in 2019.
The renowned Barcelona-based operator is leaving the control of its founding family. It wasn’t disclosed what Blackstone paid for its portfolio of casinos, slot and bingo halls and betting outlets, which spans three continents. But CIRSA CEO Joaquim Agut (l.) will remain in charge.
The New Jersey legislature last week considered a bill to set regulations for legalized sports betting should the state be successful in its Supreme Court challenge to PASPA. Under the bill, sports wagering revenue would be subject to an 8 percent tax. Online sports betting would be subject to a 12.5 percent tax, an “integrity fee” would be charged to monitor betting, and bets on college teams such as Big 10 member Rutgers (l.), and events playing in New Jersey would be banned. But in Missouri, a sports betting bill is in trouble, while Arizona is intrigued.
The 2018 edition of Southern Gaming Summit was held last week in Biloxi, marking a milestone in the history of the conference. It was the first year the show was owned solely by the industry, the Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association, and featured the induction of the first class to the newly created Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame.
A bill to extend Harrah's New Orleans' (l.) contract for 30 more years hit a snag in the Louisiana legislature when it was revealed a real estate investment trust has an option to buy the facility. Harrah's has offered an upfront payment of $21million to the city and promised to invest $350 million in the property.
Macau’s gaming industry continues its comeback, with GGR up 27.6 percent year-on-year for the month of April to MOP$25.7 billion (US$3.18 billion). For the full year to date, the industry is up 22 percent over 2017.
Connecticut’s gaming tribes insist that if sports betting becomes legalized in the state that they have a monopoly on it. Attorney General George Jepsen (l.) disagrees. If that monopoly is not recognized the tribes threaten to withhold the 25 percent that pay in revenue sharing from their two casinos.
This week, the GGB Podcast features an interview with Mike Halverson, the chief development officer for Sunshine Games, which is a subsidiary of Merkur Gaming and Gauselman Group, a major slot company in Europe.
Lawmakers in the city of Parañaque, Metro Manila, have OK’d Landing International Development Ltd.’s plan to develop and operate an integrated resort at Entertainment City.
Wynn Macau has announced that it will invest $100 million to upgrade Wynn Macau, its flagship resort in the Chinese territory. Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox announced the plan during a Q1 earnings call.
MGM China saw its net revenues rise 25 percent year-on-year to HK$4.7 billion (US$596 million) in the first quarter. It was up 7.5 percent at MGM Macau and got a lift from the new MGM Cotai (l.), which opened February 13.
The Myanmar Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development has announced it will open the door to casinos in the Southeast Asian country after amendments are made to national gaming laws.
A super-luxury resort in Hainan could be the model for future integrated resorts in the Chinese province. The $1.74 billion Atlantis (l.), by Fosun International Ltd., should jumpstart tourism to the tropical island.
Despite headlines to the contrary, Galaxy Entertainment Group’s $500 million casino resort planned for the Philippine island of Boracay may be on again if the company can convince the government of its “advantages.”
An Austrian unit of U.S.-listed Century Casinos has acquired 51 percent of a firm that holds a license to offer gaming inside a hotel in Vietnam. Century Resorts Management invested US$560,000 for the majority share.
Cambodia’s leading casino operator, NagaCorp Ltd., has announced it will offer notes to investors around the world to fund renovations at its NagaWorld (l.) resort in Phnom Penh.
Casino operator Imperial Pacific International has confirmed it will seek another extension on its deadline to complete the Imperial Pacific resort (l.) on Saipan, part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Bloomberry Resorts Corp., owner-operator of Solaire Resort & Casino in the Philippines, has won its bid to buy 16 hectares (39.5 acres) of land under its integrated resort in Manila’s Entertainment City.
A March 2018 report by the United States government says proxy betting in Philippine casinos makes the jurisdiction vulnerable to money laundering. The country recently added casinos to entities covered by the AML law.
Hong Kong-listed developer Far East Consortium International Ltd. has announced a merger that allowed the company to acquire a firm with gaming and hospitality interests in Europe.
The grand opening of Bath's new Century Casino in Saw Close will be held May 25. The casino will have 18 gaming tables, 35 slot machines and 24 automated live gaming terminals and will form part of a mixed leisure development, which also includes a 147-room four-star Z hotel and Italian restaurant chain Zizzi.
The $703 million New Zealand International Convention Centre (l.) and Hobson Street hotel project being built by SkyCity Entertainment Group has had to push back the construction by half a year. The delay was imposed due to cost overruns by the builder.
A Canadian development group has big eyes for a gaming IR at a popular tourist area on the Central American nation’s Caribbean coast. Plans call for three hotels, a marina, MICE and entertainment space and other attractions.
Gateway Casinos has announced that its new casino resort in Ladner, British Columbia will be called the Delta Cascades Casino. Hearings are beginning this week on the proposal.
The Hard Rock Casino Ottawa at the Rideau Carleton Raceway could siphon as much as $62 million from rival casinos in the same market, according to a report commissioned by Hard Rock.
New Jersey online gambling sites linked to Atlantic City’s Borgata casino have quietly launched live dealer games in New Jersey. The sites BorgataCasino, playMGM and PartyCasino now offer the live games. Previously, only GoldenNugget.com (l.) and its affiliated Betfair.com offered live dealer games.
Pennsylvania’s daily fantasy sports regulations have gone into effect and six DFS operators are now taking licensed play in the state. The six companies applied to the state for DFS licensing and are now paying taxes on revenue. And Bay State legislators are poised to include revenues from daily fantasy sports in the state budget. This would require making the law that legalizes DFS permanent.
Penn Interactive Ventures, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming has announced a partnership with slots developer Lightning Box. The deal will bring new titles to PNG’s portfolio of online social casino games.
Leopold Chung, secretary general of the International eSports Federation, has disclosed that his group is in “deep in talks” with organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics about including eSports as a demonstration event at the games. The International Olympic Committee recognized eSports as a competitive sports activity in November. In another story, the second annual Casino eSports Conference will be held in September at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
LeoVegas has been fined by the UK Gambling Commission for accepting bets from problem gamblers who had put themselves on self-exclusion lists. The commission fined the site £600,000 for a series of transgressions after a review of the company’s license. The commission previously fined SkyBet and 888 for inadequate self-exclusion schemes over the past six months.
The Belgian Gaming Commission has ruled that randomized loot boxes in three specific video games are games of chance and the game’s publishers could be subject to fines and prison sentences under the country's gaming legislation. The games are Overwatch, FIFA 18, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Loot boxes are undisclosed caches of valuable in-game items such as weapons and armor. Players buy and often trade the loot boxes for real money.
With the recent approval of the Mississippi Gaming Commission and other state gaming regulators, Penn National Gaming's $2.8 billion purchase of Pinnacle Entertainment is moving forward. The deal will give Penn National a total of 41 properties in 20 states and save the company $100 million annually, contends Penn National CEO Tim Wilmott (l.).
Boyd Gaming announced that it will acquire Illinois slot machine rout operator Lattner Entertainment Group for $100 million, marking the operator’s first foray into distributed gaming.
Kansas' four shuttered racetracks, if they reopen, would pay 40 percent in slot machine tax, like the state's four casinos, not 22 percent, as proposed in a recently rejected state Senate bill. Supporters said lowering the tax would attract investors but opponents said casinos could sue the state for breach of contract. Billionaire Phil Ruffin (l.) owns three of the four defunct tracks.
Real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer recently bought the Mardi Gras Casino and Race Track in Hallandale Beach. It had been closed due to hurricane damage. Florida regulators approved the closing but won't issue a gaming license until Soffer pays $2 million for the license fee and a $250,000 regulatory fee.
New Kent County, Virginia could welcome two new gambling venues in the near future. Revolutionary Racing and Peninsula Pacific Gaming purchased Colonial Downs for more than $20 million based on legislative approval of historical racing machines. And the Pamunkey Indian Tribe announced it may build a $700 million casino (l.) resort on 600 acres.
In Florida, incoming Senate President Bill Galvano and incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva (l.) tried but failed to agree on a gambling bill that would please the Seminole Tribe, racetrack and card room operators and other gambling interests. That leaves the future of expanded gambling in the hands of voters if they approve Amendment 3.
The developers of Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort casino have outlined a strategy for the property, which is in stark contrast to the failed policies of the property’s former management as the Revel casino. Developer Bruce Deifik said officials have listened closely to patron’s criticisms of Revel and are striving to create a better customer experience, which will include a complete redesign of the previously confusing casino floor (l.).
Eldorado Resorts will partner with the Cordish Companies to develop a 223-acre mixed-use project in Pompano, Florida at Eldorado's Isle Casino Racing, the former Pompano Park (l.). Recently Eldorado teamed with GLPI to purchase Carl Icahn's Tropicana Entertainment for $1.85 billion and will buy the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois for $327.5 million.
Advocates for the precarious horseracing industry are convinced that the legalization of the unrelated activity sports betting could benefit them. They envision racetracks offering both forms of wagering and cross marketing to increase their customer base.
Horseshoe Southern Indiana (l.), owned by Caesars Entertainment, received permission from the Indiana Gaming Commission to move its operations ashore. The new $85 million facility, located next to Horseshoe's existing 503-room hotel, will be completed in the second half of 2019, and include a casino, entertainment space, restaurants and retail.
A strong showing from the Las Vegas Strip lifted gaming revenues statewide by 3.4 percent to $1.03 billion. It was the state’s third consecutive billion-dollar month, which also sports betting hit a new record for wagers.
A new report from analyst Cory Morowitz (l.) and GGH Morowitz predicts that Atlantic City resort market revenues could increase by as much as 14 percent, even with the new additions to the market, Hard Rock and Ocean Resort. The report credits stability within the market for the positive outlook.
Despite construction disruption at the Palms (l.) and Palace Station, Red Rock Resorts managed a creditable first quarter. EBITDA rose nearly 3 percent to $140 million on a slight 1 percent drop in revenues to $421 million.
MGM Growth Properties generated $15.8 million in profit on $215.8 million in revenues from its 12 MGM resorts. The company also announced a $1 billion deal to buy Hard Rock’s racino outside Cleveland.
Starting May 24, Coast nightclub at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi will become Ivory's Dueling Piano Bar, open Thursdays through Saturdays. Tim Buie, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for nonstop marathon piano playing, will lead a rotating cast of musicians and invite audience participation.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos Chief Executive Officer Pat Crofts (l.) said the passage of legislation in Oklahoma allowing traditional craps and roulette in tribal casinos is a "win-win-win" for customers, education and the tribe. The legislation reverses a 2004 state law. Following approvals of a compact amendment, the games are expected to be implemented this fall.
Gaming tribes that are strong by themselves could be even stronger pulling together. That was message that Rodney Butler (l.), the chairman of one of the leading gaming tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots, had for fellow tribes last week.
At the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, the $1.5 billion guitar-shaped, 450-foot hotel is moving forward. The project will offer 638 rooms and suites, a deluxe spa, dining and retail when completed in 2020. It has created 14,585 construction jobs and will require 19,450 permanent employees, including 4,800 full-time.
Commissioners in Polk County, Texas approved a resolution supporting U.S. Congressman Brian Babin's legislation allowing the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe's Naskila Gaming (l.) to continue to offer Class II gaming. The state of Texas still is pursuing a case against the venue, which has created 330 full-time jobs, said Tribal Council Chairperson JoAnn Battise.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been to process an application by the Timbasha Shoshone tribe of California to put land into trust within the city of Ridgecrest. The proposal is controversial.
Commercial gaming corporations need to develop new strategies for forming successful gaming partnerships with gaming tribes. The old paradigms are not working any more say consultants who are forging new types of partnerships.
The Pennsylvania Lottery has launched keno, both at its retail locations and in bars and restaurants, with winning numbers shown on big-screen monitors.
Lottoland is continuing its fight to have the Australian government rethink a ban on its lottery betting product and has now challenged the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association. The company said it has obtained documents that say the trade group—which pushed for the ban on synthetic lotteries—is facing financial trouble and represents much fewer agents than it claims.
An attorney for a trust that represents anonymous owners or owner of a $457 million Powerball ticket turned the ticket in to the Pennsylvania Lottery last week. The ticket was sold March 17 in a convenience store.
VizExplorer has named technology industry veteran Ron Frankel as the company’s new CEO, with former CEO Ian Bonner to become executive chairman of the board.
Hoi An South Development Ltd. in Vietnam has announced the appointment of former Okada Manila President and Managing Director Steve Wolstenholme as the company’s group chief operating officer.
Gary Platt Manufacturing has named Joe Esposito, a former chief executive in a variety of industries as the company’s new CEO after a national executive search.
Fifteen-year technology, training and gaming industry veteran Robin Bernhard has been named senior manager, marketing and education, at gaming testing laboratory and technical consultancy BMM Testlabs in Las Vegas. Bernhard will be responsible for overseeing and creating content for BMM Virtual, the company's internal staff training platform.
With the next possible date of May 14 approaching for a possible U.S. Supreme Court decision clearing the way for legal sports betting in the U.S., British bookmakers prepare for a new market. William Hill has a head start with operations in Nevada, including a book at the Plaza Hotel (l.) in Downtown Las Vegas, and a site ready to go in New Jersey.
Scientific Games announced its first-ever land-based installation of the PRIZM GameTable multi-player electronic table game product, at Harrah’s and Bally’s Wild Wild West in Atlantic City.
Colorado law enforcement officials trying to stamp out gambling that is masquerading as skill games could get a new weapon in their battle. A new bill that would spell out the differences between skill games and gambling is working its way through the legislature.
Interblock announced the placement of two 25-seat Diamond Stadium electronic table game installations, at Thunderbird Resorts properties in the Philippines.
Incredible Technologies, based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, recently received a gaming license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Canada—its first Canadian license and first international expansion of its Infinity slots brand. Dave Stone was hired as director of sales—Canada, to oversee IT's launch throughout the country.
Novomatic AG reported record revenue for 2017, including sales that surpassed €2.5 billion for the first time in company history, and an 11.1 percent year-on-year increase.
The Gaming Standards Association held the first meeting of its recently formed Blockchain Technical Committee to reach a new standard on blockchain digital technology.
Paragon Casino in Louisiana will use VizExplorer operational intelligence solutions including campaignViz, floorViz and techVizOps, along with premium consulting services.
Scientific Games has announced two contracts for sports-betting solutions to the national lotteries in Hungary and Switzerland, and an agreement with GeoComply for sports-betting geolocation technology.
The East Coast Gaming Congress will feature an address by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy at the keynote luncheon for the 22nd East Coast Gaming Congress.
