Churchill Downs Inc. will acquire most of the assets of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment for $2.485 billion. The deal includes Colonial Downs Racetrack (l.) and Rosie’s Emporiums in Virginia, as well as properties in New York and Iowa. The deal is expected to close later this year.

Last week, Galaxy Entertainment announced that construction of its Galaxy Macau expansion, Phase 3 (l.), is nearly complete, but the opening depends on market conditions, based in part on Covid-19. Galaxy also reiterated that it no longer works with junket operators.

Century Casinos has acquired Nugget Casino (l.) in Sparks, Nevada. It paid $195 million to Marnell Gaming. The price included half of the real estate the casino is built on. It has an option to buy the rest within five years.

Kindred subsidiary Trannel International runs Unibet. Norway’s gambling authority wants the company to exit the market or pay a stiff fine daily. An Oslo court could decide the fate.

The U.S. Court of Appeals has given the Interior Department and the Seminole Tribe until March 21 to propose how they will appeal a district judge’s rejection of a gaming compact, signed in May by Governor Ron DeSantis and Seminole Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. (l.).

If at first, you don’t succeed, keep trying. Minnesota lawmakers continue to push legal sports betting. Senator Roger Chamberlain (l.) leads the charge on the Republican side; Rep. Zack Stevenson represents the Dems.

Hawaii has no aloha welcome planned for gaming soon. Bills to legalize casinos, sports betting and a state lottery failed to get out of the gate in the legislature this year, largely due to Eva Andrade (l.), head of a family coalition in the state.

Optimistic projections, remarkable results: these Nevada gaming companies have more than proven their value for investors. The current environment means Monarch, Golden Entertainment and Eldorado/Caesars will keep going strong.

This week, the GGB Podcast features an interview with Earle Hall, the CEO of Axes.ai, on how cloud-based technology can help gaming operators serve their customers with more efficiency and speed.

In yet another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic, non-resident employment in Macau casinos has fallen almost 33 percent. More than 11,000 foreign workers have left their jobs since 2019.

Last week, MGM Resorts Japan announced that it has signed a basic agreement with Osaka as part of its plan to develop an integrated resort (l.) on Yumeshima Island. MGM has also completed a draft development plan.

Genting Singapore will renovate three hotels at Resorts World Sentosa (l.) during the second quarter of 2022. It’s part of a $287 million reinvestment in the property planned for this year.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment subsidiary Melco Cyprus hopes to hire 1,800 new staff members as it prepares to open its newest resort, City of Dreams Mediterranean (l.).

Tabcorp no longer has a monopoly on Keno in the Australian state of Victoria. Lottoland has signed on as well and both will offer retail and online service. Authorities say it will increase competition.

The Oasis Casino (l.) opened in Jericho on the Palestinian West Bank in 1998, but only lasted two years. The Second Intifada led to its closing. Now the Palestinians and Israelis have talked about re-opening.

Star Entertainment Group CEO Matt Bekier (l.) commented that the long-term survival of tourism in Australia depend on the return of Chinese and other Southeast Asian gamblers.

The Star Entertainment Group, with casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and Australia’s Gold Coast, has no claim against its insurer for losses suffered during Covid-19, a court has ruled.

Playtech Chief Executive Mor Weizer (l.) may join TTB Partners, the company’s second-largest shareholder, in its bid to acquire the online gaming giant.

A study by the Australian Communications and Media Authority found that Aussies have increased their rate of online gambling by around 8 percent in the past six months.

PokerStars, the largest online poker operator, has announced it is working with iGaming Ontario prior to the launch of its regulated online market April 4.

BetMGM has launched new blackjack and roulette games carrying the theme of its NBA partner, the Philadelphia 76ers, featuring realistic animation and additional bets.

The All India Gaming Federation has launched an advisory panel (l.) intended to help members of India’s online gaming industry navigate regulatory issues. It will also update them on the gaming news that applies to them.

The launch of Cambodia’s national internet gateway has been postponed, but soon the country will require service providers and telecom companies to connect to it, in a possible challenge to China-facing iGaming operators.

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has announced it will license online casinos. It’s Germany’s largest market and the second state to open an iGaming market, following Schleswig-Holstein.

Glitnor Group has acquired affiliate leader KaFe Rocks, in a major play in the lead generation space in iGaming, its leaders noting that the move will add to the long-term growth of the business.

SkillOnNet, the platform behind some of the world’s most popular online casino brands, is now accepting the popular Apple Pay to its payment gateway for deposits and withdrawals.

Platform-as-a-Service company Snipp has closed on its acquisition of loyalty gaming pioneer Gambit Rewards, connecting the iGaming and sports betting market with billions of unused loyalty points.

Specialized payments platform Paysafe has partnered with Bally’ Corp. to deploy its solution for Bally’s iGaming and sportsbook payment and deposit functions.

There’s a growing movement among Ontario’s indigenous nations to oppose the open sports betting market planned for April 4. They say their rights are being trampled and their revenues threatened.

For the first four days of legalized sports betting in Louisiana, January 28-31, the state’s six mobile sportsbooks took in $40.5 million. Thirteen retail sportsbooks took in $49.3 million for the entire month.

An Oklahoma House committee has passed a bill to allow sports betting at tribal casinos. Rep. Ken Luttrell (l.) said not all tribes are on board, but he expects the measure will encourage dialogue between the state and tribes.

At a Missouri House committee meeting, representatives of the state’s pro sports organizations spoke in support of legalized sports betting, including St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III (l.). Analysts say the bets could generate $15 million in annual tax revenue.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (l.) has approved amending the Forest County Potawatomi ’s gaming compact to allow sports wagering. The tribe hopes to open a sportsbook at its Milwaukee facility by the end of the year.

South Carolina could offer sports betting and other forms of gambling if the legislature passes state Rep. Todd Rutherford’s (l.) expanded gambling bill, and voters approve it in a referendum. The bill has bipartisan support.

Legal online and mobile sports wagering will begin March 4 in Arkansas, following a legislative committee’s approval of rule changes. Currently, sports bets only can be placed on-site at the state’s three casinos, such as Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort (l.) in Hot Springs.

Residents of the Golden State can expect to be pounded by ads for sports betting measures between now and election day in November. One measure has qualified for the ballot and three others are working on it.

Oregon residents can’t bet on college sports. Senate Bill 1503 would change that through the Oregon Lottery and DraftKings. The bill’s sponsor is Senate President Peter Courtney.

Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprises has teamed up with Hard Rock Digital to launch Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app in Arizona. The Navajo Nation said it “wanted to find a Native American partner.”

IGT PlaySports is expanding its sports betting footprint in the state of Washington through a partnership with the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority.

Earlier this month, Medina Spirit’s 2021 Kentucky Derby victory was overturned by state racing officials due to a positive drug test. Now losing bettors say they’re winners, and want to be made whole.

New York is buzzing about the record-setting revenues generated by online sports betting from January to mid-February. At the same time, the four upstate casinos, including Resorts World Catskills (l.), increased their take.

MGM Springfield President Chris Kelly (l.) sees better days ahead as the world continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Kelly took the top job in March 2020, just as Covid became a reality.

Arizona is moving to combine three commissions that regulate racing, gaming, boxing and martial arts. House Bill 2509 would combine their duties in a six-member Arizona Gaming Commission.

The Las Vegas Sands Corp. has completed the $6.25 billion sale of the Venetian in Las Vegas to Apollo Global Management and VICI Properties. The sale puts an end to the “Las Vegas” connection of the company, begun by its founder, the late Sheldon Adelson (l.), in the 1990s.

This year’s World Series of Poker will be held for the first time at two Las Vegas Strip casinos. The tournament, starting July 3, will take place at two Caesars properties: Bally’s Las Vegas (soon to be rebranded as a Horseshoe) and Paris Las Vegas.

Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg (l.) has outlined Caesars’ plans for the Las Vegas Strip, New York and Dubai in wide-ranging comments during the operator’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

Leading operators on the Las Vegas Strip are looking forward to better days as the pandemic fades, pointing to this year’s Super Bowl and dropping of the mask mandate as a possible turning point.

Pennsylvania and Atlantic City casinos are struggling with labor shortages coming out of the restrictions imposed to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.

Legislation filed by Missouri state Rep. Ron Hicks (l.) would add a 14th casino license specifically for a location between Bagnell Dam and the Missouri River. Voters would have to approve the constitutional change.

A provision in the proposed Virginia budget would block a second voter referendum on a Richmond casino (l.) until a study could be completed on the potential state and local revenue generated by a casino in Petersburg.

Building three horseracing tracks in Georgia would have an economic impact of $1.28 billion and create more than 8,500 new jobs, according to a study conducted by Georgia Southern University.

Caesars Entertainment has rebranded the former Indiana Grand racino in Shelbyville as Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino, its second Horseshoe venue. The property recently completed a $33.7 million renovation.

A casino smoking ban in Atlantic City could mean the loss of thousands of jobs, according to a new report. New Jersey Casino Association President Joe Lupo (l.) took fire from some quarters when he said the industry can’t afford it right now.

The planning commission in Hastings, Nebraska (l.) has come out against a proposal to build a casino-racetrack in the community. Some locals support a casino, but in a non-residential area.

The United States Supreme Court has begun hearing oral arguments in two cases where tribal sovereignty is the hinge. One involves the right of a tribe in Texas to offer gaming on the reservation.

Foxwoods Resort Casino has announced extensive expansions and renovations of existing facilities, including a Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park (l.). It all coincides with the 30th anniversary of when the Mashantucket Pequot tribe opened its bingo hall in Connecticut.

The U.S. Department of the Interior will solicit nominations for the first-ever Tribal Advisory Committee, to provide tribal leaders direct an consistent contact with Interior officials.

Ryan Zinke (l.), secretary of the Interior Department under former President Trump, has been accused of abuse of power. Zinke, who allegedly tried to stop Connecticut tribes from building a satellite casino, calls it a “hit job.”

IGT’s subsidiary IGT Global Solutions Corp. has signed a three-year extension with the Missouri Lottery, under which it will deploy new self-service terminals and expand the lottery’s customer base.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Bristol, Virginia, has announced that industry veteran Allie Evangelistan has been appointed the property’s new president. The resort is set to open in mid-2022.

Full House Resorts has tapped John Ferrucci to be senior vice president and chief operating officer of its temporary casino in Waukegan, Illinois—suitably named the Temporary at American Place.

Tourism industry veteran executive Michael Issenberg, now the chairman of Tourism Australia, has joined the board of Star Entertainment Group as a non-executive director.

Sightline Payments announced the appointment of Shannon Nadeau to lead its compliance department and Larry Whelan to head the risk management efforts.

Marc VanderWeele has been appointed as the new general manager of DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Illinois. VanderWeele will oversee a $10 million expansion of the retail sportsbook.

Sightline Payments has filed a lawsuit against Everi Holdings alleging several patent infringements concerning elements of its online payment services, and Everi filed a countersuit challenging the patents.

Win Systems, provider of technology for the gaming and entertainment industry, has launched its new corporate identity, including a new corporate logo. The change coincides with the company’s 25th anniversary.

Advertising compliance monitoring specialists have announced the launch of the Rightlander Telegram monitoring tool, to help gaming operators crack down on non-compliant affiliates.

The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States has announced a new collaboration with the UNLV International Gaming Institute. The partners will expand NCLGS programming, content and research.