Miss America pageant moving from Las Vegas back to New Jersey February 13, 2013 at 7:54 pm ASSOCIATED PRESS TRENTON, N.J. — There she is, Miss America, headed back to Atlantic City, N.J. The Miss America pageant was an Atlantic City staple for decades before it was moved to Las Vegas in 2006. Gov. Chris Christie's spokesman Michael Drewniak confirmed the news of the pageant's return to Atlantic City on Wednesday night. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is scheduled make a formal … [Read more...]
Nevada online gambling bill introduced in Assembly February 13, 2013 at 7:46 pm Matt Woolbright, ASSOCIATED PRESS CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A bill before the Nevada Assembly removes the final restrictions preventing online gambling's full arrival. Democratic Las Vegas Assemblyman William C. Horne introduced AB114 during the floor session Wednesday. Horne says the bill eliminates a provision from last session's online gambling bill requiring Nevada to wait for federal … [Read more...]
Portland Meadows asks for instant racing OK February 13, 2013 at 7:05 pm Steven DuBois, ASSOCIATED PRESS PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The struggling Portland Meadows racetrack is seeking legislative approval to add instant racing machines, a move it says is necessary to keep horse racing viable in Oregon. Track representatives told a House committee Wednesday that the electronic machines will attract younger people to the sport, and the extra money will help increase … [Read more...]
Corbett, Kane trade barbs over Pa. lottery deal February 13, 2013 at 6:32 pm HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Tom Corbett is pressing state Attorney General Kathleen Kane to say whether she'll approve a contract to hire a British firm to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery. Camelot Global Services' bid to take over lottery management from state employees expires Saturday. Kane has a little over three weeks to decide whether the 20- to 30-year contract is legal. In … [Read more...]
Ohio casino gets gaming license despite debt issue February 13, 2013 at 5:02 pm Amanda Lee Myers, ASSOCIATED PRESS CINCINNATI (AP) - The Ohio Casino Control Commission on Wednesday issued a gambling license to Ohio's fourth and final voter-approved casino despite the $20 billion in debt of one of its developers. The commission decided to issue the license to Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, set to open March 4, at its meeting in Columbus after discussing concerns about the … [Read more...]
Casino regulator: Revel seeks help with finances February 13, 2013 at 4:00 pm Wayne Parry, ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Revel was supposed to help the struggling Atlantic City market turn around. Instead, it is the struggling casino-hotel that needs help turning around. New Jersey's top casino regulator said Wednesday that Revel Entertainment is seeking outside help with its finances as it struggles with over $1 billion worth of debt. David Rebuck, … [Read more...]
Nevada Internet gaming bill introduced February 13, 2013 at 3:51 pm Sean Whaley, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CARSON CITY - A bill that would allow Nevada to get into the business of interactive gaming was introduced Wednesday in the Assembly, but it already has run into trouble with Gov. Brian Sandoval. Assembly Bill 114 was referred to the Judiciary Committee. Sandoval asked lawmakers in his State of the State address in January to pass an online gambling … [Read more...]
NJ lets MGM try to keep half of AC’s Borgata February 13, 2013 at 2:53 pm (Updated) Wayne Parry, ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The New Jersey Casino Control Commission on Wednesday allowed MGM Resorts International one step closer toward getting back into the Atlantic City casino market. The company wants the commission to let it keep its 50 percent ownership of the Borgata. The commission allowed MGM to move forward Wednesday with its application, … [Read more...]
Regional casino operator Pinnacle suffers fourth-quarter net loss February 13, 2013 at 9:25 am Howard Stutz, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Several one-time charges and costs associated with the opening of a hotel-casino in Baton Rouge, La., caused regional gaming operator Pinnacle Entertainment to suffer a net loss in the fourth quarter. The Las Vegas-based company said Wednesday its net loss in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 was $42.3 million compared with net income of almost $25 … [Read more...]
Chemical cleanup won’t delay Everett casino bid February 13, 2013 at 9:00 am EVERETT, Mass. (AP) — A state-ordered cleanup of a contaminated former industrial site in Everett where Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn wants to build a gambling resort won’t delay the project. Wynn officials said in a statement Tuesday they do not anticipate a delay and the proposed casino may even accelerate the cleanup process. The cleanup is facing a potential delay as the … [Read more...]
Infinity World chief joining MGM Resorts company board February 13, 2013 at 5:02 am Howard Stutz, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL The president of MGM Resorts International's partner in CityCenter has been elected to serve on the casino company's board of directors. In a statement Tuesday, MGM Resorts officials said William Grounds, director and president of Infinity World Development Corp., will join the company's board. Infinity World is an affiliate of Dubai World, the … [Read more...]
SBE Entertainment secures last of $415 million in financing for Sahara February 12, 2013 at 8:02 pm Howard Stutz, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Nearly two years after closing, the Sahara is finally getting its long-awaited face-lift. Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment has secured the last piece of the $415 million in financing needed to transform the Strip resort into the SLS Las Vegas. Groundbreaking - for work such as interior construction and exterior design - is scheduled to begin … [Read more...]
Downtown Grand marks latest step in its redevelopment February 12, 2013 at 7:38 pm Chris Sieroty, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Zachary Conine stood among employees, reporters and curious onlookers Tuesday wearing a blue pinstripe suit and bow tie as he cheered the latest step in the two-year redevelopment of the Downtown Grand, formerly the Lady Luck. The project, which is well under construction with an opening date later this year, displayed two of its new hotel rooms, and … [Read more...]
Wyoming lawmakers consider adding lottery February 12, 2013 at 7:33 pm Bob Moen, ASSOCIATED PRESS CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming residents who dream of hitting the jackpot will no longer have to drive across state lines to buy lotto tickets under a proposal advancing in the Legislature that would take the Cowboy State off a very short list of those that don't offer a lottery. Only seven states remain without such prize drawings, but a bill that passed a Wyoming … [Read more...]
China seen as rich tourism source while new year celebrations abound February 12, 2013 at 7:00 pm Laura Carroll, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL While Las Vegas marks the Year of the Snake with Chinese New Year celebrations all week, travel officials look to mainland China as a prime target. In recent years, travel from China to the United States has eased with shorter visa wait times, but the U.S. Travel Association argues it should be easier still. Based on average per-person spend and … [Read more...]
Cincinnati casino helps transform neighborhood February 12, 2013 at 5:03 pm Amanda Lee Myers, ASSOCIATED PRESS CINCINNATI (AP) - With three weeks still to go before the last of four Ohio casinos opens in Cincinnati, the $400 million facility already has helped transform the surrounding neighborhood and contributed to a decrease in crime. The two-story, 400,000-square-foot casino sits on what used to be a shabby parking lot on the edge of downtown Cincinnati in the … [Read more...]
Clarification – NJ casino 1st to have betting by TV February 12, 2013 at 4:53 pm In a story Feb. 11, The Associated Press reported that the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, would be the first U.S. casino to let guests gamble on television sets in their rooms. The story should have made clear that similar programs were operated on a trial basis in other U.S. resorts. Wayne Parry, ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Guests at one New … [Read more...]
Casino applicants pitch for last Philly license February 12, 2013 at 4:38 pm (Updated) MaryClaire Dale, ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Applicants for Philadelphia's second and final casino license made glossy pitches Tuesday to state officials, who had revoked Foxwoods' claim on the prize when its project stalled. The six petitioners include casino mogul Steve Wynn, a local developer who bought the Philadelphia Inquirer building, and the company that owns … [Read more...]
Nevada Senate bill aims to tax internet poker February 12, 2013 at 2:36 pm Matt Woolbright, ASSOCIATED PRESS CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The Nevada State Gaming Control Board is pushing for legislation in the Nevada Senate to tax the net profits of internet poker tournaments. Gaming Control Board Chairman A. G Burnett presented the bill, SB9, to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Tuesday. On-site tournaments are not taxed because they are promotional events for … [Read more...]
‘Step forward’ in Mass. tribe’s casino bid February 12, 2013 at 2:11 pm Bob Salesberg, ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON (AP) - A Native American tribe hoping to develop a resort casino in southeastern Massachusetts has received a favorable opinion on their land bid from the federal government. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe announced Tuesday that the Office of Indian Gaming, in a preliminary advisory opinion, said the land where the casino has been proposed in Taunton … [Read more...]
Long-time UNR gambling expert Eadington dies, 67 February 12, 2013 at 1:23 pm RENO, Nev. (AP) - Bill Eadington, a word-renowned expert on the gambling industry and longtime author and economist at the University of Nevada, Reno, has died at the age of 67. The Reno Gazette-Journal reports he died at his Lake Tahoe-area home on Monday after an 18-month battle with cancer. Eadington was an economics professor in UNR's College of Business since 1969 and founded the … [Read more...]
Soccer faces epic fight against match-fixing February 12, 2013 at 6:15 am Sheila Norman-Culp, ASSOCIATED PRESS ZURICH (AP) - Soccer is falling under a cloud of suspicion as never before, sullied by a multibillion-dollar web of match-fixing that is corrupting increasingly larger parts of the world's most popular sport. Internet betting, emboldened criminal gangs and even the economic downturn have created conditions that make soccer - or football, as the sport is … [Read more...]
Panel will consider bill banning casino smoking February 12, 2013 at 6:00 am DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - State senators will discuss legislation that would ban smoking in Iowa casinos. A Senate subcommittee was scheduled to discuss the proposal Tuesday. Casinos were exempted from Iowa's Smokefree Air Act when it passed in 2008. Democratic Sen. Jack Hatch, who has supported efforts to expand the ban, says it would be a public health benefit. But he questioned whether the … [Read more...]
6 Philly casino applicants line up to make pitch February 12, 2013 at 2:57 am (Updated) Marc Levy, ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Pennsylvania Convention Center will play host to a beauty contest of sorts, as six groups of wealthy businessmen and casino company representatives deliver their sales pitch to state gambling regulators in their pursuit of a potentially lucrative casino license in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's daylong … [Read more...]
Poisoned lotto winner’s brother sought probe February 12, 2013 at 1:57 am (Updated) CHICAGO (AP) - The brother of a Chicago man poisoned with cyanide shortly after winning the lottery said Monday he is the family member who asked authorities to reconsider the initial finding that his sibling had died of natural causes. Imtiaz Kahn said he had nightmares about his brother before his death and that his suspicions about the death lead him to push coroner's officials to … [Read more...]
