The $415 million SLS Las Vegas will become part of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts guest loyalty program, which includes a worldwide collection 450 of independent hotels and resorts. The 1,600-room hotel, which is expected to open Labor Day weekend, is the first Las Vegas property in the Preferred Hotels system, the company’s said in a statement Wednesday. Guests who enroll in the iPrefer … [Read more...]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico lottery officials are forecasting stronger than expected ticket sales this year, which will help a college scholarship program. The lottery said Tuesday ticket sales in the current budget year are expected to reach about $135 million. That would mean the lottery should provide $40.6 million for the scholarship program rather than $39.4 million as … [Read more...]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania liquor regulators gave their permission Wednesday for the first license for a tavern in the state to operate small games of chance under a three-month-old law. The Liquor Control Board voted to award a license to Midway Tavern in Hanover, in south-central Pennsylvania. The Hanover bar's owners must pay a $2,000 fee before they can start running the … [Read more...]

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) - The Saratoga Springs City Council has unanimously approved a resolution opposing the expansion of casino gambling in the city known for its historic thoroughbred racetrack. Local media report that about 300 people attended Tuesday's vote on the non-binding resolution that was authored by Mayor Joanne Yepsen, who took office earlier this year. The five-member … [Read more...]

The ultimate buffet of big-time sports events is being served up in Las Vegas this month as the tourism industry plans to welcome fans from across the country for everything from NASCAR races and Major League Baseball games to a high-profile boxing card and no less than four college basketball conference tournaments. A similar smorgasbord of tasty March sports events helped deliver the most … [Read more...]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A federal judge has approved a deal between the Oneida Indian Nation and New York that guarantees the tribe exclusive territory for their central New York casino and guarantees payments to the state of around $50 million annually. Tribal and local officials say U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn on Tuesday approved the deal reached by the Cuomo administration last … [Read more...]

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Time was, gamblers didn't even want credit card companies maintaining a record of their time in Las Vegas. Now, visitors want loyalty points from mainstream hotel chains for the days they spend holed up in Strip casinos. Casino corporations MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp. have both announced loyalty program partnerships with major hotel chains … [Read more...]

Everything’s bigger here. From a bird’s-eye view inside the Las Vegas Monorail, ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014 unfolded before attendees like a temporary theme park created for the construction industry. During their morning commute, passengers let out collective oohs and aahs, then went almost silent as the train flew past the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Silver Lot. There, colorful cranes in red and … [Read more...]

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Filming a marriage proposal on the casino floor and broadcasting it over video monitors helped earn one Atlantic City an unusual fine from state regulators. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement revealed Tuesday it has issued $26,500 worth of fines against the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and Revel Casino Hotel. The Borgata's fines were more conventional, … [Read more...]

The Cromwell, a new Strip property owned by Caesars Entertainment, will fill more than 1,000 open positions at hiring events throughout March. The boutique hotel at Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard South, which is opening Memorial Day weekend, will hire for hotel operations, food and beverage, housekeeping and EVS (environmental services supervisor), nightlife and table games. The … [Read more...]

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A House committee is voting on four gambling proposals, including one from the special commission appointed to study regulatory issues after a casino billed failed last year. The House Ways and Means Committee is deciding Tuesday whether to recommend passage of legislation that would license one casino with up to 5,000 video slots and 150 table games. The proposed … [Read more...]

To the naked eye, not much has changed in the year that passed since Malaysia-based Genting Group announced plans to build the $2 billion to $7 billion Resorts World Las Vegas on 87 acres on the Strip. The concrete-and-steel structure — remnants of the unfinished Echelon development mothballed by Boyd Gaming Corp. in 2008 — remain standing. A year later, other than a few signs touting the … [Read more...]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A bid to bring major casinos to South Florida was dealt a significant setback under a sweeping gambling proposal rolled out late Monday by the Republican-controlled Florida House. The House bill, sponsored by the GOP chairman who is overseeing gambling legislation, would create a statewide commission to oversee the multi-billion dollar industry. But it does not … [Read more...]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - The Seneca Indian Nation has acquired 32 acres in a Rochester suburb as the potential site of a fourth western New York casino, the nation's gambling division said Monday. The Henrietta site is within an area of New York where, under an agreement with the state, the Senecas have exclusive rights to operate casinos. Seneca Gaming Corp. officials said there are no specific … [Read more...]

Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced a deal Monday to sell three of its Strip resorts and Harrah’s New Orleans to its Caesars Growth Partners subsidiary for $2.2 billion. The move is more akin to a transfer of assets to a company which was created last year to help the world’s largest casino operator expand its footprint while dealing with its gaming industry-high $23 billion of long-term … [Read more...]

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Having proposed and then scrapped a plan to build a casino in Atlantic City, the Seminole Indian tribe of Florida appears to be interested in the New Jersey gambling market again. The tribe, through its Hard Rock franchise, has made filings with state casino regulators indicating it may take another shot at establishing a presence here. Hard Rock, the global casino … [Read more...]

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - After a week's break, New Hampshire's Legislature returned to work Monday with a March 27 deadline to act on hundreds of bills, including key measures to expand Medicaid coverage to 50,000 poor adults, an increase in the gas tax, casino gambling and a repeal of the death penalty. The Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday on its plan to finance private insurance with federal … [Read more...]

Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, whose net worth grew to $38 billion in 2013, returned to the top 10 of the Forbes List of the World’s Billionaires for the first time since 2007. Adelson, 80, who owns 53 percent of the company that operates casinos in Las Vegas, Macau, Singapore and Pennsylvania, added $11.5 billion to net worth in the past year. According to Forbes, Adelson … [Read more...]

CINCINNATI (AP) - As the last of Ohio's voter-approved casinos celebrated its first birthday Monday, revenue projections for the first full year of operations for all four gambling destinations are falling far short of campaign promises. Cincinnati's casino opened last March 4 with a massive fireworks display and music pumping throughout downtown streets. But the Horseshoe Cincinnati and the … [Read more...]

RANSON, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia's largest casino has announced plans to add a 1,200-seat concert venue as it seeks to fend off increased competition from casinos in Maryland. Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races said Monday that it will begin construction this month on the venue, which will be located on the casino floor and feature a box office and VIP area. Hollywood hopes to open the … [Read more...]

Macau shattered its single-month record for gaming revenue in February, collecting $4.8 billion from gamblers attracted to the market for the Chinese New Year celebration. The figure, released Monday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, was the third $4 billion gaming month in the last five months for the only market in China where casinos are legal. Last October, Macau’s … [Read more...]

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Caesars Entertainment Corp., owner of the largest number of U.S. casinos, will sell four properties to an affiliate for $2.2 billion, freeing up cash as the company works to restructure $24.5 billion in debt. Caesars is selling the Bally’s, Quad and Cromwell casino- hotels in Las Vegas, and the Harrah’s New Orleans to the affiliate, Caesars Growth Properties, according to … [Read more...]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Lottery has extended its contract with a company that helps run Powerball, Mega Millions and other lottery games in the state. The contract with GTECH Corp. now will run through mid-January of 2017. The initial six-year deal was scheduled to expire in January 2015. "The Michigan Lottery games supported by GTECH's products and services are very popular with … [Read more...]

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Casino watchers will be closely following action Tuesday in New Hampshire's House Ways and Means Committee on a bill that is the product of a special gambling commission. The committee is deciding whether to recommend that the House pass the bill and three other gambling proposals. The House has never passed casino legislation. It killed a Senate-passed bill last spring … [Read more...]

As a man worked from atop a scissor lift, Eminem’s voice rang out loud and clear from a cellphone speaker. To the right, two men, speaking Spanish and wearing yellow safety vests, sipped soft drinks while walking the corridor just outside the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This is crunch time. On Thursday, thousands of workers, most wearing T-shirts and jeans or cargo pants, … [Read more...]