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News & Updates 17/5/11

May16
2011 Written by admin

WSOP Kicks Off In Comfortable Shoes

It’s only a couple of weeks now until the world’s biggest poker event kicks off at the Rio All-Suite Casino in Las Vegas.  70,000 entrants will compete for total prize money of around $180,000,000 and the action all starts on May 31st with a Head Up No Limit Hold’em Championship with a $25,000 buy in.  You can check out a highlights calendar here.

Some of the really lucky players however will have the opportunity to relax in a pair of Dearfoam slippers, the new official footwear sponsor of the 2011/2012 WSOP.  Female entrants will receive a pair, as will main event finalists, dealers and ESPN camera crews.  If you’re not familiar with Dearfoams you’ll be pleased to know that spokesman Mark Zobel says: “They’re the perfect pair whether at a poker table, running errands, heading to class, or just kicking back at home.”

Sahara Finally Closes

So after the endless reminiscing for the last couple of months about the fantastic history of the Sahara casino in Las Vegas, it has finally closed it’s doors for business.  The 16th May was the last day for punters to play $1 Blackjack, eat at The House of Lords (the famous steakhouse) or just take in the atmosphere one last time.

Many of the 1000 or so casino employees will hope to find jobs sooner rather than later and jobs fairs have already been held.  Other casinos were asked to look to the Sahara for new employees and duly did so.  For some areas of the casino, such as the famous roller-coaster, this meant that it stopped working prematurely as the engineers were offered jobs elsewhere.

You can read more about the history of the Sahara here but for real fans and connoisseurs there will be soon an opportunity to buy the fixtures and fittings of the sixty year old business.  Many wanted to buy the branded chips in the last weeks but an increase in business due to the imminent closure has meant that they were all needed.  An auction will take place in the summer for all items so if you want a piece of history, get ready.

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News & Updates 10/5/11

May09
2011 Written by admin

Mississippi Flooding Causing Casino Turmoil

The current flooding situation in Memphis, Tennessee and other areas associated with the

Harrah's Casino in Tunica

Mississippi river is causing havoc with the operation of casinos in the region.  Those which are not already flooded are taking steps to prepare for what looks to even worse conditions on the way.

Tropicana Entertainment Inc. has closed its Lighthouse Point and Jubilee Casinos in Greenville, Mississippi and will reopen them based on the conditions of the river which has reached its highest level since the 1930s.  Also closed in Greenville is Harlow’s Casino Resort.

In Tunica all casinos are closed and Lula’s only casino The Isle of Capri is also shut.  In Vicksburg, Diamond Jacks is shut and later this week, depending on the weather, the Ameristar Casino Hotel and the Rainbow Hotel Casino may also close.  In Natchez The Isle of Capri is closed.

Not all areas are affected however and the 11 casino in Choctaw are all open for business.

MGM Downsizes Gold Strike Hotel in Nevada

As a continuing example of how the Nevada casino trade is struggling to cope with the recent economic problems affecting the United States and the world as a whole, MGM Resorts has taken the decision to close one of the hotel towers at the Gold Strike Hotel in Jean and to scale back its gaming operations there.  A five hundred room tower will be mothballed but a three hundred room tower will remain.

Around sixty employees will be laid off but MGM says it hopes to redeploy them at other venues – Jean is only twenty five miles from Las Vegas.  Related activities such as the restaurant and coffee shop will also be either closed or scaled back.

Cincinnati Casino Opening Delayed

Originally scheduled to open in the second half of 2012, the completion Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati has been put back to at least 2013.  The delays are believed to be largely related to the regulations and tax levels the authorities are requiring to be in place.

Rock Ventures’ Rock Gaming will be the majority owner with Las Vegas giant Harrah’s taking a minority stake in the project.

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News & Updates 4/5/11

May03
2011 Written by admin

William Hill Continues Acquisitions

William Hill, the long standing U.K. bookmaker has announced its intention to buy Brandywine Bookmaking, subject to the approval of Nevada gaming regulators.

This is William Hill’s third acquisition of sportsbook providers in Nevada in less then a month.  Several weeks ago it announced it’s acquisition of American Wagering ($18 million) and Cal Neva Sportsbook Division ($21 million), providing it with more than one hundred betting locations throughout Nevada.  The acquisition of Brandywine, a company established as recently as 2008, will cost William Hill around $15 million and provide them with another 17 sportsbook locations in the state.

Brandywine also has fingers in other pies, being the oddsmaker for the Delaware Sports Lottery and having a small foothold in the Caribbean.

Although a fairly aggressive move by William Hill, the numbers are very small compared to the number of bricks and mortar bookmakers operated in the U.K.  There are currently 2,359 locations there plus a 71% stake in William Hill online.  Ralph Topping, William Hill Chief Exec, said that:

“We did a lot of homework on Nevada and we set our sights on these three companies.  We wanted to have the size and scale and this is a great opportunity to establish ourselves in Nevada.”

No Smoking Battle Hots Up in Vegas

If you’ve never visited Las Vegas it may come as a surprise to learn that you can still smoke in some areas of casinos and other buildings there.  It’s especially surprising if you come from Europe, or California or anywhere else where smoking has been more or less outlawed unless you’re standing outside in the street.

Las Vegas is a continual target of anti-smoking campaigners where the battle is between the mega-powerful casinos who fear even tougher economic times if smokers are banned and those who want a smoke free environment for the benefit of their health.  This is good example of Vegas digging its heels in when everybody else has left the room and moved on to something more interesting.

Eventually health related lawsuits will surely persuade the casinos that the loss of smokers is not such a great price to pay.

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News & Updates 28/4/11

Apr27
2011 Written by admin

Antigua Unhappy With U.S. Protectionism

As predicted by many, the World Trade Organisation may be about to become involved in

Antigua's legal counsel, Mark Mendel

the legal action that the U.S. federal government has taken against online poker rooms.

In 2005, before the UIGEA was passed in the States, the WTO awarded damages to Antigua, agreeing that the Caribbean island was losing out as a result of laws designed to prohibit American gamblers betting with offshore providers.  The UIGEA then followed, rendering the whole argument moot but recent, well publicised action by the U.S. government has once again angered Antigua.

Antigua actually reached a compromise deal with the U.S. enabling it to continue to earn money from U.S. gamblers playing poker, Online Slots and the like but this has now been all but stopped as a result of the recent legal action.  Although the U.S. may be upholding domestic law, its actions conflict with the compromise agreement reached previously and this is why Antigua is unhappy.  We may yet see further drawn-out involvement from the WTO with regards to betting at an online Casino.

Florida To Allow Poker Rooms At Dog Tracks

Florida’s greyhound racing industry has been in a terminal state of decline for at least the last decade.  The majority of tracks are no longer viable and while casting about for a lifeline, tracks some time ago hit on the idea of hosting poker and Black Jack rooms.

While successful, the profits from the rooms have largely been used to prop up the ailing racing industry.  Now a bill has been passed in the Florida House which will allow dog tracks to host poker rooms even when there’s no racing going on.  This effectively turns the tracks into dedicated poker rooms which not everyone is happy with.

“All you’re doing is converting racetracks to card-room casinos,” said Rep. Dennis Baxley, who voted against the bill. “When you reduce racing, you increase gambling.”  Baxley though is on one side of the Republican camp, the other side favours the new bill as a recognition that gambling can not be held back forever and it’s better to legislate now rather than lose tax revenue to illegal sources in the future.

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News & Updates 22/4/11

Apr22
2011 Written by admin

Iowa Joins Washington D.C. In The Legalisation Club

Washington became the first state to legalise intrastate online gambling last week and now Iowa has become the second – although there are conditions attached.  Online poker appears to have been the main sticking point and the state will now undertake a study to investigate the its pros and cons. This will be completed by December 2011.

The driving forces behind the bill have long used the argument that it is better to regulate online gaming than to possible tax revenues disappearing into illegal betting websites.  The state will also hold a referendum every 8 years on the continuation of legalisation – Iowa residents have generally shown themselves to be in support of bricks and mortar casinos and sports gambling.

Online Poker Indictments Update

Following last Friday’s legal action against Absolute Poker, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker among others, these three companies have at least managed to reach an agreement with the U.S. government to reacquire their .com domain names.  U.S. based players will still be barred from the poker rooms of course but there is now a mechanism for money to be withdrawn and Absolute Poker said that it

“…….wishes to make clear that it wants to work cooperatively with the US Attorney to safely and efficiently return its players’ funds.”

A piece of good news for all concerned then but the legal action continues.

Singapore Moves Into Second Place Ahead of Las Vegas

It was only a matter of time before this second centre of Asian gaming overtook Las Vegas in the revenue stakes.  Actually it hasn’t quite happened yet but the Royal Bank of Scotland’s recent forecast for 2011 puts Vegas on $6.2 billion compared to Singapore’s $6.4 billion.  That’s not a bad effort considering by the end of 2011 Singapore will only have been in the gaming business for two years.

Macau is of course the number one money maker with revenues far ahead of its two closest rivals and while Vegas is still stuck in a weak economy expect Singapore and Macau to make further strides on the back of Chinese tourists.

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News & Updates 14/4/11

Apr14
2011 Written by admin

Washington D.C. Legalises Online Gaming, Nevada Postpones

So one of the U.S. states has finally done it.  Washington D.C. has passed a bill that gives the Lottery Control Board the ability to set up “both games of skill and games of chance,” and to introduce games on the internet.

Michael Brown

Councilman Michael Brown said the decision was a pragmatic one, and made purely to balance the books in these tough economic times.  The bill was  only a half page addition to the budget bill and interestingly it first had to passed at a federal level and this, it seems, was no obstacle.  Intralot Interactive, which currently runs the D.C. state lottery will almost certainly provide the technical knowledge for the new services which will be up and running sometime in 2012.

John Pappas, the Poker Players Alliance chairman, said that while they would prefer the federal government to pass nationwide laws regulating online gaming, the fact that the state of Washington D.C., right under the noses of congress, has passed laws regulating online gaming has to be a step in the right direction.

In related news Nevada. which appeared to be the strongest contender for legalisation, has decided to drop its plans to go it alone and instead work with federal authorities to find a way forward.  Effectively this means nothing will happen in Nevada until laws are changed nationally although Washington D.C. has shown that it can be done if the will is there.

Damascus Casino Closes

To no great surprise, the Damascus casino in Syria has shut down, whether it’s temporary or permanent remains to be seen.  There was always some doubt about the future of the enterprise in a secular but Muslim country such as this but what has really damaged its prospects are the ongoing popular protests.

The casino has now been shut under the direct instructions of President Bashar al-Assad and it’s being seen as an olive branch for the protest movement.  At the same time, female teachers have been allowed to wear the full face veil while working again.

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News & Updates 4/4/11

Apr03
2011 Written by admin

Macau Numbers Continue To Impress

Despite the problems that Las Vegas appears to be experiencing, the Chinese territory of Macau has once again released some astonishing revenue figures.  In the last month it has collected around $2.5 billion from gamblers and this performance is not expected to come to a halt any time soon.

With its revenue largely based on visiting Chinese tourists, the future looks bright and it should also be rosy for those Las Vegas companies such as Wynn and Las Vegas Sands which made the wise choice to invest here in what looks now to be a type of hedging project against a stuttering Las Vegas.

Macua is also awaiting the imminent opening of Galaxy Entertainment’s Galaxy Cotai mega-resort which, even in Macau, has seen production delayed due to financial constraints.

The Galaxy Cotai

Full Tilt & Station Casino Link Up

The list of American bricks and mortar casinos looking for tie-ups with online casinos appears to be accelerating.  Following announcements from PokerStars and Wynn, then from Caesar’s Entertainment and 888 Holdings, we now understand that FullTiltPoker and the Fertitta brothers.  The brothers are behind several ventures which include the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Station Casinos.

All these links are conditional on there being some sort of change in the law, whether at a

Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta

local state level which Nevada, among others, is proposing or at a federal level, which still seems some distance away.  Nevada’s proposal, which is the only one so far to explicitly mention a network link-up with other legalised states, may be the most likely one to be pushed through first.  Once the big casinos get behind it (and have made sure they have a stake in its success via the online ties), the bill seems likely to be approved.

This could well kick-start other states into action, creating a critical mass which would then either force the federal government to repeal the 2006 UIGEA or it would be bypassed altogether.  It’s hard to envision a situation where all states have legalised online gambling at a local level but it’s still technically illegal as proscribed by federal law.

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News & Updates 24/3/11

Mar23
2011 Written by admin

Dublin, Ireland – Super Casino Planned

Following on the heels of a planned casino in County Tipperary, a group named Treasury Holdings has submitted plans for what can only be termed a super casino in Dublin.  The group is currently substantially indebted to Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to the tune of 1.4 billion euros, which will of course raise some eyebrows regarding the suitability of the company.

It is being partnered by an international casino operator whose name is being kept under wraps at the moment – commercial sensitivity is cited.  The development would contain a large casino, hotel, spa, bowling alley and the assumed lifeblood of all new projects – the convention centre.

Looking past the suitability of the developer, this can only be a good thing for Ireland’s beleaguered economy – Ireland is massively indebted to the European Union, unemployment is rising and the boom years are long gone.  It’s also facing serious austerity measures.  A super casino, something that does not exist elsewhere in Ireland or the UK, could be a way to attract overseas tourism while creating jobs at a local level.

Encore Macau Boosts Wynn Profits

Almost one year ago, Wynn Macau opened it’s second Macau resort, the Encore Macau. It’s proved to be a prescient move because Wynn Macau’s profits have doubled in the territory in the last twelve months.

It’s actually situated right next door to the Wynn Macau and CEO Steve Wynn clearly regards it as something special, at the opening ceremony in April 2010 he said the…

“……loveliest hotel in the world is not in London, Paris, Tokyo, New York or San Francisco. It is here in Macau. Encore at Wynn will bring the highest level of service and accommodations to the hospitality industry and will be enjoyed by our employees and guests forever.”

Good stuff Steve and it’s also a worth mentioning that by revenue Macau has now overtaken Las Vegas as the largest gambling destination in the world.  This is largely fueled by Chinese tourists who still have the disposable income to undertake these kind of trips.

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News & Updates 15/3/11

Mar14
2011 Written by admin

60 Year Old Sahara Casino Will Close in May

The 1700 room Sahara Casino will close its doors on May 16th, 2011.  The North African themed resort has been operating in Las Vegas since 1952 but the age of the building and the perception that it is located at the wrong end of the Las Vegas strip has meant that, according to CEO Sam Nazarian, “….continued operation……………is no longer financially viable.”

Guests with room reservations until May 16th will have their bookings honoured and events will still take place.  Anyone with bookings following 11th will be helped to find alternative accommodation.

The Sahara was one of the most exciting and innovative casinos in Vegas in its early years.  It hosted many contemporary performers including Dean Martin, Don Rickles and The Beatles.  It also contains the famous NASCAR Entertainment Centre and was the setting for the original Oceans Eleven film.

Nevada Revenues Down Again

Despite all the hopes that the gambling industry may be leading the U.S. out of the recession,

The Cosmopolitan

Nevada’s gaming revenue fell by 1% compared to January 2010.  Possibly of more concern is the 2.5% drop in Las Vegas revenues.  This is the fourth straight January that revenues have decreased.

The picture at individual casinos is markedly different depending on where you take your measurements.  Many higher end casinos report a significant jump in revenues largely due to the return of the convention to Las Vegas.  Many mid and lower range resorts who have not been part of this business have suffered however.

Encouragingly more people actually came to Las Vegas although again, one has to take into account the number there for conventions.  Results for some casinos may also have been skewed by the opening of The Cosmopolitan nearby.

Nevada Could Legalise Online Intrastate Gambling

This one could be a fight to the death.  The land-based casino giants most likely put a stop to New Jersey’s attempts to legalise online gambling within the state but how will they fare up against their own state legislators.

Nevada has joined Iowa, Florida and California in pursuing the idea of intrastate gambling and Nevada has also raised the possibility of joining with other similar states should they be successful.

The land-based casinos will attempt to hold back this tide for as long as possible to avoid losing their competitive advantages in the U.S.

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News & Updates 7/3/11

Mar06
2011 Written by admin

New Jersey Governor Vetoes Intrastate Gambling Bill

New Jersey Governor James ‘Chris’ Christie has, after some time spent perusing the pros and

'Chris' Christie

cons of legalising intrastate online gambling, decided that the bill is not yet ready to be passed into law.  The State Assembly and the State Senate both approved the bill by significant majorities some time ago but Christie has seemingly ignored the elected representatives in favour of making his own choice.  The bill was projected to have garnered $35 million in tax revenue and created 1500 jobs in Atlantic City (where the technology would be based).

Commentators sympathetic to Christie have suggested that he has identified loopholes in the bill that could have undermined the bill’s legal status (when looked at from a federal perspective).  Other have suggested that Christie could have been influenced by Caesar’s Entertainment’s funding of Christie’s governorship campaign.  Why would Caesar’s be against this bill?  The obvious answer is that they are desperately trying to retain Nevada’s status as the number one gambling destination and that any opposition to that should be crushed.

Other cynics have also suggested that Christie, who seems himself as a rising star of the GOP, does not want something as ‘seedy’ as the legalisation of online gambling on his resume.

This may not be the end of the process however, the bill can now be tweaked to Christie’s satisfaction and there is talk of a referendum on the subject later in the year.

Cuba Could Have Casinos Within Ten Years

The island of Cuba has been without any form of casinos since the 1959 revolution which

Casino de la Playa, Havana

brought Fidel Castro to power.  Since the early 1950s many luxury casinos had been operating mainly in Havana, run by Italian organised crime under the auspices of the dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Post revolution this all came to an end but rumours are afoot that Cuba may get back in the game within the next decade.  Castro’s power is waning and his son Raul will almost certainly be taking over, moving forward with a creeping liberalisation that that will no longer leave them isolated from the U.S. or their one-time protectors, Russia.

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