Although he wasn’t a “gaming guy,” all of Las Vegas mourned the passing last week of Tony Hsieh (l.) whose vision and tenacity transformed Downtown Las Vegas. Hsieh died of injuries sustained in a house fire in Connecticut in late November.

Roundhill Investments issued a report naming the market leaders in mobile sports betting by jurisdiction. In New Jersey, it's FanDuel and PointsBet. In Nevada, it's William Hill, while in Pennsylvania, FanDuel rules the roost. DraftKings leads in Indiana as well as West Virginia. William Hill takes the checkered flag in Iowa.

Texas billionaire, casino and restaurant owner Tilman Fertitta (l.), is considering taking those parts of his empire public with an IPO. He needs to raise money to pay down debt accrued by expanding his empire and hits taken because of the pandemic.

A £2 limit on bets on fixed odds betting terminals (l.) resulted in a steep loss of revenue from the machines, but did not cost the UK gaming industry as many jobs as predicted. While gamblers lost £700 million less on gambling machines in the year ending in March, predictions that 20,000 jobs would be lost did not materialize.

Most of the themed megaresort that replaces Sands Cotai Central will be up and running in time for Chinese New Year, with more attractions rolled out as 2021 progresses.

Caesars Entertainment will sell the operations of the Belle of Baton Rouge (l.) in Louisiana, leaving it with three casinos in that state. The new owner will be the privately held CQ Holding Company, operators of DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Illinois and Casino Queen Marquette in Iowa. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Rebuffed in its proposed acquisition of William Hill, Apollo Global Management will bid for the sportsbooks non-U.S. assets, including the high street bookmakers (l.) in the UK.

The Cullen Commission in British Columbia, Canada, is holding hearings on corruption between law enforcement and the province’s casinos. Last week it heard testimony that included transcripts between Kash Heed (l.), a former solicitor-general, and former RCMP officer.

This week, the GGB Podcast features a conversation with Deron Hunsberger, the chief commercial officer for Ainsworth Game Technology, on how the company has survived the pandemic and is planning for future growth.

Reports are the governing Liberal Democratic Party has moved away from an earlier proposal for withholding income tax from casino gambling winnings. The exemption is expected to be incorporated in a fresh set of guidelines scheduled for release this month.

Grand Korea Leisure has shuttered its Busan casino (l.) for at least two weeks to help with the government’s efforts to flatten a rising coronavirus curve. The closure comes as GKL prepares to reopen its two Seoul casinos to limited occupancy after a Covid shutdown dating back to November.

The key metric has climbed past 40 percent in another clear sign that momentum is building behind the market’s recovery from the Covid crisis. Visitation and gaming revenues are in the ascendant as well as China’s restoration of tourist visas begins to make its impacts felt.

Japan’s pachinko industry has been hit so hard by the pandemic that many operators have had to suspend operations. Some have closed permanently.

A funds investor has called for unwinding the Hong Kong-listed developer behind Macau’s troubled luxury resort, The 13 (l.). The Cotai property, which never fully opened and never secured a planned casino, has been for sale for months but has yet to find any takers.

Local officials in Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands appear to reject the idea of revoking the license of Imperial Pacific International, operators of the Imperial Palace Casino (l.). IPI owes multimillions of dollars in license fees, payments to the community benefit fund and even employee salaries.

The "first hybrid trade show," TravelRevive, took place at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, featuring presentation technology that combines in-person attendance with online participants. "Mixed reality" presentation technology is offered at the venue's on-site hybrid broadcast studio, created to adapt to Covid-19 issues.

Casinos in France, including Barriere Casino Biarritz (l.), will reopen Tuesday, December 15 under strict new Covid-19 protocols, according to the trade union Casinos de France. Casinos, betting shops and bingo halls, shut down for the second time on October 30, originally planned to reopen December 1. The union said reopening the casinos will benefit French citizens and the economies of several cities.

With 400,000 people in the country who cannot pay off their loans, the number of people applying for debt restructuring is at a record high. Horse racing executive Hasse Lord Skarplöth (l.) wants a credit break self-exclusion tool.

Tabcorp has been fined more than $22,000 for violating advertising rules in the Australian state of New South Wales. The fines come from ads that targeted former Tabcorp account holders. New South Wales gambling code makes it illegal to publish gambling ads featuring an inducement to participate in gambling or open a betting account.

Casino employees in Peru marched on Congress (l.) to demand the government reopen the gambling halls. The tourism ministry has approved protocols for reopening.

Buoyed by easing of restrictions, SkyCity Adelaide opened its new luxury hotel (l.) and two restaurants

A finance minister in Quebec has ordered an independent audit of casinos to investigate whether Mafia leaders were given luxury perks at provincial casinos, including Casino Montreal (l.). The audit, coming on the heels of a TV station report, will examine potential money laundering and other crimes in part through loyalty programs.

While it is not a hard and fast rule, too many sportsbooks fail to establish consistent betting limits. As a result, some players get to make bets with favorable odds, while others seeking similar bets are rejected by the sportsbooks. The FOX Bet and Circa (l.) sportsbooks tries to play by the same rules.

Yahoo Sports and BetMGM are expanding their sports betting partnership to offer new features to patrons, including the Watch Together initiative and the augmented reality experience.

Genius Sports and Scientific Games Corporation are partnering to provide in-game content to customers worldwide, though excluding U.S. sports leagues.

The addition of sportsbook to the gaming scene in Montana in March has helped many of the state’s bars and casinos weather the Covid pandemic. Even though sports itself didn’t start returning until summer.

Five sports betting companies in Iowa have had agreements with casinos approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission as they look forward to changes in the state’s registration procedures. Starting in January, according to Administrator Brian Ohorilko (l.)bettors can sign up for sports betting online, rather than exclusively in person at casinos. The change is creating new interest in the market.

Bill Hornbuckle (l.), chief executive officer of MGM Resorts International, believes there is a bright future for online sports betting. That’s true even though the many contradictory rules in the various states that allow it complicate things for a multi-state corporation like MGM.

Post-pandemic, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox sees a “bright” future and an ability to bounce back and re-establish itself, just as the country did after the 1918-1919 pandemic.

Casinos in Virginia, recently approved in voter referendums, continue to make progress. Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall said the earliest the Hard Rock Bristol Casino (l.) could open a temporary facility would be April 2021, although developers are aiming for late 2021. Danville expects Caesars Virginia LLC's $15 million up-front payment any day. And Richmond residents can take an online survey about what the city should consider for a casino.

Officials of Los Angeles County cities that rely heavily on casinos for government revenue are condemning the action last week by the county to close cardrooms in the county, including the Commerce Casino (l.), to reduce the spread of Covid. They say the casinos are already operating safely.

Steve Wynn (l.) has no interest in returning to the gaming industry in the aftermath of his resignation over allegations of sexual misconduct. But the Nevada Gaming Control Board tried to find him unsuitable for a license. But a judge said the agency had no authority for such a finding. An appeal might follow.

The city of Black Hawk, Colorado (l.) has decided to lift the city’s $100 betting limit. This goes into effect May 1.

New Jersey’s oversight of Atlantic City’s municipal operations has helped improve the city’s overall economic outlook according to Moody’s Investor Services. The credit agency affirmed Atlantic City's Ba3 credit rating last week, but changed the city’s outlook from stable to positive.

The 58-acre site of the former Bluegrass Downs Racetrack (l.) in Paducah, Kentucky will become a sports recreation facility for the 1,200 youth of McCracken County, thanks to VICI Properties' donation of the land. Caesars Entertainment operated the venue which closed in October 2019 after Caesars did not renew its Kentucky racing license.

Fraud alleged against some of the biggest names in the online hotel booking industry amid accusations the industry underpaid taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars.

For the fourth straight month, employment in the Atlantic City casino industry declined by double digits. The sharp fall off speaks to capacity and other constraints, the need to help balance decreasing revenues and a threat of a recent surge on visitation as winter approaches.

Drastic measures taken to ensure Clark County’s latest $16 million payment on the Las Vegas Raiders’ stadium bonds can be made on the $2 billion structure, even in the face of lower taxes on occupied hotel rooms.

The Plaza will also partner with the City of Las Vegas to build a pedestrian-friendly pathway that leads to a new elevated bridge connecting the hotel-casino on Main Street to Symphony Park.

Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, which once owned Suffolk Downs racetrack (l.) near Boston, is pursuing its legal battle for damages from losing the casino license to serve the Greater Boston area to Wynn Resorts six years ago. It lost its case in federal court but now has taken the case to a state court.

Resorts World Casino (l.) at Aqueduct Raceway in Queens has generated more than $3 billion for education funding since it opened in 2011. In the past fiscal year alone, the casino contributed $348 million to the lottery, more than any other operator in the state.

The Aqua Caliente Band has opened its third casino. The property is called Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City and it opened the day before Thanksgiving.

The Kalispel Tribe of Washington state has announced it will go forward with a previously announced expansion that will include a hotel tower. A previously announced convention center is being put on hold.

UK Lottery CEO Nigel Railton (l.) is drawing criticism for telling Parliament it could be a year before an under-18 ban on lottery products is in place. Railton said the ban presents logistical challenges that can’t be dealt with quickly. Member of Parliament, however, were skeptical that the lottery needs a fully year to put a ban in place.

Customers of the Massachusetts Lottery will soon be able to claim some cash prizes using an app on their mobile phone. The app will be available beginning in March.

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University in Canada Responsible have teamed up for a gambling holiday lottery campaign a reminder to adults not to buy tickets as gifts for children.

Slot maker AGS has named Steve Walther senior director of slot products and Amy Greene as director of gaming operations. Both the addition bring a wealth of industry experience to the company.

Australian-based PlayUp appointed Dennis Drazin to its Board of Directors. Drazin is CEO of the company which runs Monmouth Park racetrack in New Jersey.

Ainsworth Game Technology has installed its Historical Horse Racing system in 25 machines at Rosie’s Gaming Emporium (l.) in Richmond, Virginia.

JCM Global has signed a master supplier agreement with Cordish Companies to supply equipment to Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia (l.), and Live! Casino Pittsburgh.

California’s Morongo Casino will be the first tribal casino to adopt cashless wagering marker technology produced by Marker Trax, delivered via Konami’s Synkros casino management system.

Ainsworth Game Technology anticipates a loss of around AU$15 million for the six months ending December 20, according to its CEO, who cites ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.

The famous restaurateur David Chang (l.) calls his new restaurant at the Cosmopolitan “one of the craziest concepts we’ve come up with”.