Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Regional casinos post best numbers in months, giving hope that the mid-American casinos will return soon rather than later. The same cannot be said, however, of the slot manufacturers. Hope that the long touted replacement cycle would begin in 2010 is slowly fading.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
The Racing to Save Michigan and Michigan Is Yours groups are petitioning to place two constitutional amendments on the November 2 ballot that would allow more casinos to be built in the state, including at the Detroit Airport (l.).
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Lower house affirms intention to vote on the legalization of bingo, which will then need Senate confirmation. The government is not opposing the measure at this time because it may put the illegal bingo halls (l.) out of business.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
This week, the Global Gaming Business Podcast features an interview with Patti Hart, the president and CEO of IGT, on her year at the helm of gaming’s largest slot manufacturer and technology company.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn officially takes over the Tropicana casino and hotel (l.) with an interim gaming license from the state of New Jersey.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Casino mogul Stephen Wynn presents his case to Pennsylvania regulators for his proposed takeover of the Foxwoods Philadelphia project. Foxwoods’ original plan (l.) will no longer be used.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Just as it seemed no gaming bill would pass the Kentucky legislature, a bill introduced last week would allow electronic games of skill including video poker, blackjack and Instant Racing machines (l.) at state racetracks.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Island state rejects two bills that would have established casinos in Hawaii, one of only two U.S. states that don’t offer any form of gaming. One would have opened a single casino in the Waikiki area of Honolulu (l.).
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
One of the top five hotel operators in the world, Accor is getting out of the casino business. The move comes just one year after the company spent money it probably shouldn’t have to build its stake in casino operator Lucien Barriere, which includes the casino at Biarritz (l.).
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
The new casino-resort industry of Chile suffered mixed degrees of damage in the recent earthquake there. Although reports on the extent of damage are still coming in, in general only a few properties seem to have been seriously affected, including the casino at left.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
Analysts believe that Resorts World Sentosa, the first casino to open in Singapore, is winning between $7 million and $8 million a day, easily meeting levels that would make the parent company, Malaysia’s Genting, comfortable.
Fri, Mar 05, 2010
A proposed gaming compact could be amended to include an escape clause for Florida, allowing the state to get its hands on millions from the tribe. Governor Charlie Crist (l.) has urged both sides to seek a resolution.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
The Pennsylvania Gaming Congress celebrates three years of success and predicts a new surge with the addition of table games to the state’s casinos. Keynote speaker Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is greeted by Marcel L. Groen, a partner in Fox Rothschild, one of the organizers of the event.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
This week on the Global Gaming Business Podcast, hear a discussion with Andrew MacDonald, the executive vice president – casino for Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, immediately after he accepted his new position.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
A wide-ranging bill introduced by two senators, Ron Wyden and Judd Gregg (l.), that would reform the American tax structure includes provisions to tax, regulate and legalize internet gaming.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Rival billionaires play Monopoly in their quest to claim three Atlantic City casinos. Each side declares the other is unfit to run the embattled company, now in bankruptcy for the third time.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Fears that the company will declare bankruptcy to avoid settling huge bond payments in 2011 have eased now that MGM has reached an agreement with major debtors. Analysts say CityCenter (l.) is performing well enough to stave off any deep financial trouble in the near term.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Station Casinos recently announced that it has reached an agreement with its secured lenders, which could lead to the company’s emergence from bankruptcy this summer, saving its ownership of 12 casinos, including its flagship, Palace Station (l.).
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Paul Godfrey (l.), the new chairman of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. says he’d buy the organization if he had the money, but it’s not for sale.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
An official opening date has been announced by Las Vegas Sands for Marina Bay Sands, its $5.5 billion project in Singapore. The debut will lag more than two months its chief competitor, Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa.
Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Rival South African casino operators Gold Reef Resorts and Tsogo Sun have agreed a merger that will finally see the two combine their considerable assets. Each company brings seven casino resorts to the deal.
Sat, Feb 20, 2010
Less than one year after opening a casino that had been decades in the make, Laura Spurr, the tribal chairwoman of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Indians, dies of a heart attack.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
As the governor charges a panel to seek solutions to save racing, a top lawmaker vows to kill any attempt to add slots to New Jersey racetracks. Senate President Steve Sweeny (l.) spoke before the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce last week.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
The opening of the new $300 million Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma was celebrated last week with a ribbon cutting and a lighting of the flames on the Towers and Fire Rings sculpture at the casino’s entrance.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
This week, the Global Gaming Business Podcast features a discussion with Barry Shier, the managing principal with the Partner House, an independent management firm located in Las Vegas, on the former Wynn executive’s views of the gaming industry today.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
The only gaming facility in Las Vegas’ upscale Lake Las Vegas community has announced its plans to close, just one week after neighboring hotel Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas said it plans to shut its doors.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Regional casinos were able to withstand the early stages of the recession much better than destination resorts. But now that economic woes have visited the heartland, how profitable can they remain?
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Guyana is getting its first five-star hotel along with its first official casino, thanks to the 2006 law that legalized casinos inside new hotel projects of 150 rooms.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
After years of inaction punctuated only by seemingly conflicting European court rulings, the E.U. appears to have found an internal market commissioner, Michel Barnier (l.), willing to get his hands dirty.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Melco Crown Entertainment receives refund on land it bought to build its third casino in Macau’s Peninsula area near the Macau ferry terminal (l.), effectively closing the door on any new casino.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Wynn Resorts (Wynn Macau, left) has won a case in a Hong Kong court that establishes the principal that Macau casinos can legally collect a gambling debt in that jurisdiction.
Fri, Feb 19, 2010
State and federal inquiries will look at the closed-door deal, which losing bidders and the Senate minority leader say was the result of political favoritism. A Queens congressman says criticism of the multi-billion-dollar deal was sparked by racism. New York Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (l.) wants a public hearing.
Sat, Feb 13, 2010
The Jamaican parliament is ready to start debating the long-awaited casino gaming bill. With a draft scheduled to be submitted this week, there are still a couple of potentially deal-breaking issues to be examined.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
Finland is getting ready to compete with non-native online gaming operators, thanks to a recent amendment to the gaming license of the nation’s only land-based casino and slot operator.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
This week, join the Global Gaming Business Podcast for an interview with noted gaming attorney Nick Casiello, a partner with the Atlantic City branch of the Fox Rothschild law firm, about his career and the challenges facing Atlantic City in the current economic climate.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
From a crusading governor in Alabama to a overachieving gaming commission in Missouri and beyond, the interference of the government and its agencies into business actions of casino companies and their service companies can have dire consequences.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
Tribes are lining up to sue the state of California, which for years tried to limit the total number of slot machines that could be deployed in the state, which prevented the tribes, they say, from making all the money they were entitled to make. The Black Oak Casino (l.), owned by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, is one of the first to sue.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
As one of the two states in the U.S. that doesn’t allow any forms of gaming, Hawaii is taking a serious look at the industry by considering two bills in the legislature. Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu (l.) authored a bill that would permit one casino in Oahu.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
Questions about the suitability of MGM Mirage’s Macau partner Pansy Ho were raised by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement last year in a report that recommends rejection of the joint venture. Now, rather than fighting what it previously deemed as incorrect, MGM Mirage will sell its interest in the Borgata (l.) and walk away.
Fri, Feb 12, 2010
The issue of internet poker is dividing Indian gaming tribes in California, where a senate committee heard testimony on the proposal. Proponents, like Morongo Chairman Robert Martin (l.), believe that internet gaming will pass them by if they don’t legalize, regulate and tax the activity soon.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
One of the great leaders in Indian Country, Philip Martin, longtime chief of the Mississippi Choctaw tribe, died last week after suffering a massive stroke.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
Rosy forecasts are a thing of the past as the recession reaches the mid-American casinos and executives are cautious.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
Second vote could change the future for New York tribe, which could create up to 3,000 jobs for members with a $500 million casino resort at Monticello Raceway, which is supported by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (l.).
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
Company values Macau partnership more than New Jersey operations. Sources say MGM could remain in Atlantic City if New Jersey regulators ease scrutiny of its Chinese business partner.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
In an effort to lure tourists in a bad economy, a Hawaiian legislator proposes a stand-alone casino in Waikiki (l.). Revenues would be dedicated to Native Hawaiians. The Michigan company that owns Detroit’s MotorCity Casino is interested.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
Another large casino-resort-entertainment center proposal has appeared, this time for one of the former East German states. Driving the project is an experienced international developer of retail centers for the region, but will the expertise translate—and the financing be available?
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
They said no one would be willing to open a casino in one of the undeveloped Russian gambling zones. But as usual, someone has chosen to defy popular opinion and do just that. It might not be Las Vegas, but it’s a start.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
January revenues in Macau hit a new high again. Following four months of dramatically increased revenues, January’s numbers were up more than 50 percent over the same month the year before. SJM continues to control market share, as new casinos like Oceanus (l.) perform well.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
New Jersey’s new governor, Chris Christie, appoints 7-member commission to study declines and possible mismanagement in gaming, sports and entertainment. Recommendations are due June 30.
Fri, Feb 05, 2010
The selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group to operate the VLTs at the New York City racetrack has more to do with community ties than anything else, according to Larry Woolf (l.), the Las Vegas casino executive who will manage the gaming operations.
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