In a recent conversation with Jeff Compton, he asked if I thought Atlantic City was a failure. It is not an uncommon question. If you Google “Atlantic City a failed experiment,” you get dozens of hits written over the last two years. The reason for the question is obvious; casinos are closing. Within a month, Revel, Showboat and Trump Plaza will be closed. Add to that list the Atlantic Club which … [Read more...]

Activist investors believe the real estate underneath casinos owned by Pinnacle Entertainment and Boyd Gaming Corp. is key to unlocking hidden value within the Las Vegas-based regional gaming operators. Two New York-based hedge funds want Pinnacle and Boyd to spin off their casinos into real estate investment trusts, referred to as REITs. Company officials aren’t sold on the idea. Or, … [Read more...]

In a summer filled with important new books on poker, Molly Bloom -- known to the tabloids as the "Poker Princess" -- has written something of a blockbuster. It's called "Molly's Game: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker." And what a book it could've been, with A-list movie stars in weekly hand-to-hand combat … [Read more...]

Mike Dreitzer credits his success to the mentors he has had in 20 years as an attorney and gaming executive in Nevada. Folks such as former Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, ex-Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, former Gov. Mike O’Callaghan and gaming executive and gaming lawyer Shannon Bybee helped Dreitzer early in his career. So it was natural that Dreitzer had an interest … [Read more...]

When it comes to building its client base, Anthem-based public relations and marketing firm Imagine Communications seeks to represent those who inspire, Partner and Creative Director Alex Raffi said. “That’s more important to us than anything,” he said. “I want my staff to be proud to be associated with a client.” When Raffi and Managing Partner Brian Rouff opened Imagine Communications 13 … [Read more...]

Boyd Gaming Corp. told investors last month it planned to change out a few of the restaurants, nightlife spots and other nongaming attractions inside several of the company’s area casinos to boost overall revenue. This particular plan has been met with success along the Strip, but has been slow to be embraced by regional markets. Gaming revenue can’t always be counted on to boost a company’s … [Read more...]

CG Technology CEO Lee Amaitis wanted to know the whereabouts of about $9 million that Nevada sports book operators paid to the federal government last year through a tax on all sports wagers. It seemed like a simple question. Amaitis asked Rep Dina Titus, D-Nev., if she could find out. The Internal Revenue Service took several months to answer the query posed by Titus’ legislative … [Read more...]

A leading gaming executive was asked on background a few months ago if he understood Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s financial maneuverings to restructure the casino company’s $24.2 billion in long-term debt. He just smiled. “Gary seems to understand what he’s doing.” For now, Caesars Entertainment Chairman Gary Loveman is an island unto himself. Earlier this month, in a lawsuit filed by … [Read more...]

A few years ago, when the recession had a firm chokehold on the casino industry, MGM Resorts International was a mess. CityCenter opened in December 2009 to cost overruns and a depressed consumer market. MGM Resorts’ stock price was trading in single digits, and the company was looking to unload several hotel-casinos to bolster its sagging balance sheet. MGM Resorts’ survival was actually in … [Read more...]

It has always been natural for me to compare Atlantic City and Reno. Maybe that’s because like most people in the casino industry in Reno, I have always been envious of the volume of business of the Boardwalk casinos. And Atlantic City did replace Reno in the number two spot on the casino revenue list, pushing us down the path to never again being near the top of the list. So when Atlantic City … [Read more...]

The image of downtown Las Vegas has shifted so dramatically in recent months that it might be hard for newcomers to imagine a time before the spreading influence of Tony Hsieh and his friends. Before downtown became the canvas for Hsieh’s creative business marketing and real estate vision, Benny Binion defined the Fremont Street experience. Jackie Gaughan owned more casinos, and Steve Wynn used … [Read more...]

Australian billionaire James Packer wasn’t openly seeking endorsements after acquiring controlling interest in a Strip parcel earlier this month. But he found support from a potential competitor. Packer, CEO of Melbourne-based Crown Resorts Ltd., is forming a company with ex-Wynn Las Vegas President Andrew Pascal and investment firm Oaktree Capital Management to construct a hotel-casino on … [Read more...]

EDM is the acronym for Electronic Dance Music, the fastest-growing type of music in the nation. Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation, has called it the "new rock and roll genre”. Robert F. X. Sillerman, the SFX Entertainment founder, pledged a billion dollars of investments in EDM-related properties in 2012. Whatever your personal view about the longevity of this digital genre, it is now a … [Read more...]

(Bloomberg View) -- From the day it opened in April 2012, Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City loomed as a shimmering $2.6 billion monument to misguided optimism. Now, deeply unprofitable, it plans to close. Its saga illuminates two misconceptions about the relationship between gambling and government. The first is that casinos will be a savior for state and local budgets. In the months before … [Read more...]

It is official. Revel is closing September 10th. The Revel operating company says that even if a buyer is found, the property will still close as it is no longer able or willing to continue to finance the casino operations. A new buyer would have to be investigated and granted a casino license before Revel could reopen. The Associated Press reported that a number of potential buyers are in … [Read more...]

The combined $11.5 billion in lottery company-slot machine company mergers in the past few weeks has the investment community relieved. The gaming equipment sector, in the eyes of some analysts, has been bloated. A soft replacement market for new games left slot machine manufacturers with a backlog. In the past few years, many new products never made it from the Global Gaming Expo trade … [Read more...]

For casino titans Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, the roaring Macau casino market has been a seemingly endless party of rapid expansion and record-setting profit. Stock in Wynn Resorts International and Las Vegas Sands Corp. has rocketed, and the personal wealth of the mercurial multibillionaire CEOs has climbed into the upper stratosphere. Wynn is enormously wealthy, and Adelson ranks as one … [Read more...]

In his first meeting as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Tony Alamo Jr. turned the Sawyer Building conference room into a doctor’s office. Alamo, a specialist in internal medicine, is the first nonattorney to head the part-time regulatory panel. Using a bedside manner similar to how he would address a patient, Alamo attempted to calm the jittery emotions of a restricted gaming … [Read more...]

Despite the flurry of recent media reports proclaiming the downfall of the East Coast’s sin city, Atlantic City is taking the right steps to reinvent itself as a diversified resort destination. The problem is that the process to build a new economy not wholly dependent on casino gaming should have started 30 years ago. With gaming revenues steadily declining since 2006, the city has commendably … [Read more...]

(Note: in this article, a “local” casino is one whose customer base lives relatively nearby.) The success of local casinos frequently depends on several visits per player per month. Typically these casinos “bribe” players to come in regularly. The bribery might be free play in 10 doses over a month --- where each time the player must visit on one or two specific days or the free play is … [Read more...]

Forty years ago, Reno was in the midst of a casino boom. Within a few years, the MGM Grand opened along with the Comstock Hotel, Riverboat, Sahara Reno, Sundowner, Virginian, Peppermill, Atlantis, Silver Legacy, Circus Circus and Kings Inn. Sadly, there were not enough local customers or tourists for all of those new casinos. The situation became worse as gaming spread all over the West Coast and … [Read more...]

Less than 10 months ago, Gavin Isaacs was jobless. By early next year, Isaacs expects to be CEO of a company that controls two of the world’s top three slot machine manufacturers, the casino industry’s largest supplier of table games and casino management products, and the biggest U.S.-based provider of lottery systems. Last week’s surprising announcement that lottery giant Scientific Games … [Read more...]

One day when I was three years old, I was wandering around our front yard while my father was gardening. To amuse myself I climbed into the front seat of our car and began playing. Getting bored with the steering wheel, I decided to play with the big stick on the right side. Suddenly the car rolled backward down the driveway across the street, stopping on the grass medium strip separating the two … [Read more...]

The empty Strip land parcel that once housed the New Frontier has a new lease on life, but its future is still unclear. Australian billionaire James Packer said he acquired controlling interest in the nearly 35-acre site and will form a yet-to-be-named company to build a hotel-casino on the land in partnership with former Wynn Las Vegas President Andrew Pascal and investment firm Oaktree … [Read more...]

“I came, I saw, I purchased in Las Vegas.” That’s increasingly true as additional shopping opportunities are added to the Las Vegas tourist experience. Mirroring the concepts of its larger production shows, Las Vegas strives to have its shopping experience exceed what tourists can experience in their own home retail community. “Only in Las Vegas” is the goal. Shopping must be exemplary in … [Read more...]

While a photographer adjusted lighting equipment, Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. CEO Jamie Odell relaxed in the Australian gaming equipment manufacturer’s south Las Vegas showroom and played a few free spins on a “Batman” slot machine. Dressed casually in jeans, a dress shirt minus the tie and a sports coat, Odell, 55, was anticipating a 14-hour plane flight that evening. He was returning to Sydney … [Read more...]

Donald Trump has always been great at grabbing headlines. Wherever he goes he creates a flurry of media excitement and wherever he goes he makes very big promises. Trump has done that in real estate development, publication, retail, television, sports and gaming. But, after 40 years of owning casinos, it is impossible to take him seriously. He is better at filing for bankruptcy than he is at … [Read more...]

For gaming revenue, worldwide, no casino game comes close to baccarat. As new casinos are built and new jurisdictions open, there is increasing competition for premium baccarat players. In a buyer’s market, these players have the leverage to dictate liberal game conditions and substantial financial incentives. Taken together with the advent of smart phone technology, there are new possibilities … [Read more...]

Editor’s Note: Nevada 150 is a yearlong series highlighting the people, places and things that make up the history of the state. Casino ownership in Las Vegas has attracted its share of characters, from the mob-backed era of the 1960s and 1970s to reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes to the publicly traded corporate titans of today. Then there was Bob Stupak. He owned just one casino in … [Read more...]

Analysts have long speculated about the coexistence of online poker and live casino poker rooms in Nevada. The recent World Series of Poker at the Rio showed the marriage might last. In June, Nevada’s three online poker websites — WSOP.com, Ultimate Poker and Real Gaming — collected a combined $1.037 million in gaming revenue. It was the first time the state’s online poker community cracked … [Read more...]

With six months on the books, the investment community have a clear picture of the casino industry in 2014. Las Vegas is on an upswing. Gaming revenues have jumped more than 5 percent over the last three months and the Strip is poised to record its fifth straight annual gaming revenue increase since 2009, when the market reverted back to 2004 numbers. As for the regional gaming markets? … [Read more...]

The $6.4 billion acquisition of slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology by lottery provider GTECH shouldn’t have surprised anyone in gaming. A deal between the two industry giants almost happened 14 years ago, albeit with different corporate players and under different circumstances. IGT almost bought GTECH. “This is a dance that has been going on for 20 years,” said one … [Read more...]

The 160,000-square-foot North Las Vegas warehouse and headquarters of Nevada Restaurant Services — parent company of the Dotty’s chain of taverns — is a cross between Costco, Home Depot, a slot machine manufacturing plant and a direct-mail house. Everything making up a Dotty’s — think a grandmother’s house with gambling devices — sits in the warehouse. Near the building’s executive suites is … [Read more...]

A hedge fund that owns 4.5 percent of Pinnacle Entertainment reiterated its call that the regional casino operator split the company to include a real estate investment trust. Orange Capital, LLC, a New York-based investment firm, believes Pinnacle’s share price could increase between 60 percent and 90 percent in value if the Las Vegas-based company were to create a REIT. Orange Capital made … [Read more...]

Our industry puts tremendous resources behind educating patrons and employees about responsible gaming and recognizing the signs of a gambling disorder. This year, we’ve integrated Responsible Gaming Education Week (RGEW) into our broader “Get to Know Gaming” public affairs campaign – we’re encouraging everyone to “Get to Know Responsible Gaming.” Equipping the Industry The AGA has developed … [Read more...]

A regulatory mandate that Nevada gaming license holders stay away from the state’s neophyte medical marijuana business could be challenged again Thursday at the Nevada Gaming Commission. But the outcome is inevitable. The Gaming Control Board’s May 6 industry notice to gaming license holders — saying they must choose between medicinal pot and gambling — won’t be altered. Possession and … [Read more...]

One of the most recognized gamblers in popular American history died Saturday, and the keepers of the Strip didn’t even bother to dim the lights. Although he never won a World Series of Poker bracelet or a $1 million jackpot, James Garner’s “Maverick” character was the first acceptable gambler portrayed on television. He was handsome, clever, never cheated a sucker — and always outsmarted the … [Read more...]

The idea of a full-scale smoking ban in Nevada casinos seems out of place. The “No Smoking” concept doesn’t fit the Strip’s “do anything” reputation. Of the 23 states with commercial casinos, 18 outlaw smoking in casinos. In Nevada, a voter referendum in 2006 banned smoking in all public places — excluding casino floors. One gaming analyst, however, has warned investors that a Strip … [Read more...]

Living in Nevada, it’s sometimes easy to forget how large a role the gambling industry plays in civic affairs. After all, we’re used to casinos running the show. In fact, during the last session of the Legislature, one lobbyist allowed that protecting the state’s No. 1 industry (gambling) was the highest priority of the Legislature. It wasn’t immediately clear where protecting the public … [Read more...]

"Head north to find the action" may soon be the new creed of Las Vegas tourism, but does the north end of the strip actually have the potential to become the new south? Considering the explosion of new projects and attractions that will define the true north and appeal to younger masses, the change is more reality than marketing hype. Has the south done anything to drive guests away? Absolutely … [Read more...]

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Baseball, which evolved in the U.S. Northeast around the same time poker was emerging along the lower Mississippi, is now played in dozens of countries, and most of its best players are from Latin America. Basketball, our other 19th-century sport, is even more popular globally. Yet because of a noxious mix of puritanical and cynical politicians, it is illegal in 47 states to play the country's … [Read more...]

The damage to Atlantic City associated with Superstorm Sandy in 2012 amounted to a few broken windows compared to the economic tornado tearing through the Boardwalk this year. Four casinos could be closed by fall, displacing more than 8,000 workers — 25 percent of the city’s workforce — and leaving the famous seaside resort looking more like a boarded-up slum. Since 2006, Atlantic City’s … [Read more...]

As he had early on, Zach Jiganti, an up-and-coming poker savant, dominated his table pretty much from noon to midnight on Day Three and most of Day Four of the World Series of Poker's Main Event. In one hand, he called a raise in the big blind bet from a middle-aged dad type in a baseball cap and goatee sitting four seats to his left. There'd been some friendly conversation leading up to the … [Read more...]

Over the past several decades, casinos have proven to be powerful economic engines in communities from coast to coast. Because of our many contributions, Americans today view gaming more favorably than ever before. But like most businesses, casinos operate in a highly competitive environment. The evolving situation in Atlantic City should send a message to other gaming communities: restrictive … [Read more...]

Isle of Capri Casinos may have answered questions of whether or not the regional casino operator was for sale. On Thursday the St. Louis-based company announced a management shake-up at the corporate level, eliminating the executive chairman role with the board of directors and the chief strategic officer position. Isle of Capri also eliminated several other senior positions in the corporate … [Read more...]

Writers worry about transitions all the time. We want to find the most seamless -- or arrestingly abrupt -- move from Point A to Point B, from a summary of the myriad events at a massive poker tournament, say, to the intricate details of a subtly contested hand. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, in some cases. That's the kind of thing that's been occupying me since I arrived at … [Read more...]

As this summer's final World Series of Poker event heads into Day Three, there have been more than a few remarkable developments. The 65 tournaments drew a record 82,360 entries, generating the largest total prize pool in history: $225,584,873. At least that much was won and lost in the side games still being held at the Rio, the Bellagio, the Aria and other Las Vegas card rooms. World Series … [Read more...]

International Game Technology is the most prominent gaming company with a “For Sale” sign planted in the front yard. But the slot machine giant is not alone. For the first time since the recession dried up credit markets and brought mergers and acquisition activity to a standstill, the casino industry is awash with speculation about transactions. Over the next few months, several big-name … [Read more...]

On June 1st, Harrah’s Casino Tunica closed its doors for good. Harrah’s shocked the Mississippi Gaming Commission and many others with the announcement it would close its Harrah’s Tunica. The company said there are too many casinos in Tunica for the number of customers the market attracts. The dice are no longer rolling and the slots aren’t spinning at Harrah’s Casino in Tunica. The casino lights … [Read more...]

Pity the parents of Xiao Cai, a young woman from Wuxi, China, who lost the equivalent of $161 betting on World Cup matches. When her folks refused to cover the losses, she fled to Shanghai and -- pretending to be a kidnapper -- sent them a note claiming that she’d be prostituted if they didn’t pay a ransom equal to $3,200 (presumably, to be bet on Germany). The police weren’t fooled. With little … [Read more...]

The Graton Resort near Santa Rosa, Calif., has not yet celebrated its first anniversary. But one analyst hinted recently the Indian casino — which was built by Station Casinos and is being operated by the locals gaming giant — is quickly rising to the top of the class in tribal gaming-rich California. The casino cost $800 million and is owned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The … [Read more...]

Don’t say “sayonara” to casinos in Japan quite yet. Japanese lawmakers are just taking a summer break. The country’s prime minister even said he’ll push for casino legalization when the Diet, Japan’s national legislature, returns for a special session in September. Which means Las Vegas’ top gaming executives will spend more time across the Pacific Ocean later this year. Although … [Read more...]

By around 7:20 Tuesday night, only two remained of the 42 players who entered the Big One for One Drop -- the three-day, $42 million charitable poker tournament that requires a $1 million buy-in. Dan Colman, a quiet 23-year-old online specialist from Massachusetts, was about to go heads up with poker's most famous player, the tough but cheerful Canadian Daniel Negreanu, known as Kid Poker, the … [Read more...]

I recently visited a number of casinos in Asia, where I had the opportunity to learn more about the cash-incentives they give to their baccarat high-rollers. Many casinos use some variation of a “rolling chip” program. These programs rebate a percentage of a player’s total action in cash. The trick to making this work is that the player makes his wagers with so-called “non-negotiable” (NN) chips. … [Read more...]

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At this summer's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, players can test their skills in 16 modern variants of our 200-year-old national card game. These include badugi, badeucy, seven-card stud, deuce-to-seven triple draw, pot-limit Omaha high-low-split eight-or-better, and even mixed-game events such as H.O.R.S.E. (Hold 'em, Omaha eight-or-better, Razz, Stud and stud Eight-or-Better). Yet … [Read more...]

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As he was exiting the Sawyer Building’s second-floor hearing room following a Nevada Gaming Commission monthly meeting, Chairman Peter Bernhard was complimented by a state gaming enforcement agent on his handling of individuals and companies seeking licensing approval. Whether it was a corporate executive whose company operates multiple Strip resorts or a small- business person opening a single … [Read more...]

A small and relatively insignificant news item caught my eye recently. In the report, the Golden Nugget Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana is postponing its opening for nearly six months. I don’t really understand the reason, but in part it was due to Louisiana’s regulatory requirements. The Nugget wanted to change the conditions of its license for the amenities it would provide and needed the … [Read more...]

The pool season is well underway, and day club pool parties are experiencing record throngs - thongs from younger residents and tourists alike. Pools were always considered a resort amenity but now are viewed as a significant daytime entertainment attraction, just as EDM clubs target the late night crowds. The revenue stream can be impressive if the pool party has the right "vibe". Revenues … [Read more...]

Its 4:00 a.m. in the morning – Cleveland time. I’m in my middle of my morning CDC newsroom editing chores (albeit a little early, but I am on a new training regimen that has thrown my sleep schedule way off.) I’m looking at four stories – all of them less than 24 hours old, all concerning Caesars Entertainment. Union: New Jersey casino warns of possible closure Later this morning … [Read more...]

More than 40 people have paid $1 million apiece to play in an unusual poker tournament this weekend. Its buy-in is 100 times that of the World Series of Poker's Main Event. Its first prize could approach $20 million. And all but a handful of players will lose every dime. The second biennial Big One for One Drop tournament is poker's premier philanthropic event. And with its compelling mix of … [Read more...]

As investors place bets on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s program for economic growth, the success of Japan’s revival plans may rest, oddly enough, on casinos. For more than a decade now, Las Vegas Sands chief Sheldon Adelson and his counterparts have salivated over bringing gambling tables to Asia’s richest nation. Abe is nudging lawmakers to legalize casinos to help boost gross domestic product. … [Read more...]

The last time Macau’s casino industry experienced a monthly gaming revenue decline, the Los Angeles Lakers won their 16th National Basketball Association championship and the Los Angeles Kings were National Hockey League doormats. Fortunes can change quickly in both sports and gambling. Last season, the Lakers were one of the NBA’s worst teams. The Kings won their second Stanley Cup in three … [Read more...]

Casino gaming is a mature industry, long past its youth. The last members of its pioneering generation are disappearing all too quickly. In the last few weeks, six people who were part of the foundation of casino gaming died. Four were well-known Las Vegas gaming figures. The fifth was a pioneer in Indian gaming. The sixth, Fred Rogers, was neither well-known nor a pioneer. Fred Rogers died in … [Read more...]

The relationship between medical marijuana and the gaming industry just won’t go up in smoke. Consider these recent events: ■ Three of the 18 medical marijuana dispensary permits awarded in Clark County are tied to someone in gaming despite admonishments from state gaming regulators that industry representatives stay away from the business. ■ Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson … [Read more...]

Howard Simpson, my best friend at Babson College, was one-year ahead of me, several years older (he did a tour in Vietnam before starting college), and from a different social background. He approached me after he had been elected student government president, and I had just been passed over as editor of the school newspaper for someone with far fewer qualifications. He said “I want to re-invent … [Read more...]

In the good ol’ days, casinos rewarded players mostly with comps, but sometimes with hard cash. We loved cash rewards, which we could put in our pocket and walk out of the casino with. No matter how much we had lost while gambling, the cash made us feel, at least a little bit, like a “winner.” Then, about the turn of the Millennium, casino cash benefits began to be replaced by “free play.” No … [Read more...]

TUNICA RESORTS, Miss. (AP) – As Tunica grapples with the Harrah’s closure, the state of Mississippi hasn’t acted to support the industry. But there are proposals under discussion that might bolster the remaining casinos and the tax revenue they produce. Here’s a brief look at some: -Increase tourism promotion. Mississippi plans to spend $4.88 million on tourism advertising and promotion in the … [Read more...]

California is known for having high-priced beachfront real estate. But even $4.9 billion might not be enough of a payment to let a Canadian gaming company settle into the neighborhood. Montreal-based Amaya Gaming Group Inc.’s agreement last week to acquire the parent company of online gaming giant PokerStars — the largest Internet gaming purchase — is all about California. Some Golden State … [Read more...]

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has found MGM suitable to operate a casino in Springfield. The chairman of the commission, Stephen Crosby declared the MGM proposal to be a “genuinely ambitious and unusual effort.” It has only taken three years for a casino proposal to find favor in Crosby’s eyes. He has been a hard person to please. One license for a racino has been granted and it should open … [Read more...]

It’s a good thing John Vandemore spent several years as the chief financial officer for Imagineering, the theme park development arm for the Walt Disney Co. His tenure as CFO of International Game Technology has been one roller coaster ride after another. Things appeared to be settling down for the slot machine giant after a tumultuous two months in March and April. Even one of the … [Read more...]

Lawmakers spent all of 15 seconds discussing technology at the final three-hour session of the Committee to Conduct an Interim Study Concerning the Impact of Technology Upon Gaming. The panel’s focus over four meetings seemed to be a renewed effort to kill off tavern operator Dotty’s. That idea failed — again. The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), however, thought the … [Read more...]

PokerStars’ decision, this week, to sell itself to Amaya Gaming, a nondescript Canadian company, for $4.9 billion, shows that the firm accepted the reality that it was widely viewed by U.S. regulators as damaged goods, and that it faced an extreme uphill battle to re-enter the US market. PokerStars’ hopes of entering California, the latest U.S. state to consider online poker, collapsed last … [Read more...]

BALTIMORE — If General Manager Chad Barnhill needs a case study to follow when the $442 million Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opens this summer, he can look a few states to the west. In the past two years, Caesars Entertainment Corp., in partnership with Detroit-based Rock Gaming, opened the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland and the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati. The companies are bringing that same … [Read more...]

The high-end gamblers who frequent Macau’s ultraritzy private gaming rooms are more interested in whether Cristiano Ronaldo can lead Portugal into the World Cup finals than knowing the next card to come out of the dealing shoe. Maybe it has something to do with Macau’s 400 years as a Portuguese colony. Whatever the case, gaming analysts believe soccer will outweigh baccarat in Macau from … [Read more...]

Michigan vs Bay Mills Indian Community is a lawsuit by the state of Michigan to close an off-reservation Indian casino. On May 27, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tribe. This is a win for the Indian Community, but does not mean that States are powerless. If off-reservation casinos are to continue in the long term, it will be only with consent from their States. Michigan … [Read more...]

Dear Gaming Colleagues, Voters across the political spectrum view casino gaming more favorably than ever before, and the vast majority recognizes that casinos create jobs, strengthen communities and support local businesses, according to the results of a national survey that the AGA released today. The survey release is the first step in the AGA’s multifaceted “Get to Know Gaming” … [Read more...]

For the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, it’s all about the research. It’s something that President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter has driven into the culture of the organization that markets and promotes Southern Nevada to the world. Should Las Vegas run television spots, newspaper advertisements or maintain a bold online presence? Do the research. Should Las Vegas focus on its … [Read more...]

It is an old cliché that change is the only constant and that is definitely true in business. Fads come and go; customers’ ages, interests, preferences and habits are always in flux and businesses must adapt. In my mind, no place on earth demonstrates the changing nature of business more than Las Vegas and the famous Las Vegas Strip. When gambling was first legalized in Nevada and before Benjamin … [Read more...]

The nearly empty poker room tells the story. Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is feeling the brunt of neighboring Maryland’s gaming expansion, even though the state’s two newest casinos have yet to open. In summer 2013, the 2-year-old Maryland Live!, attached to a 250-store outlet mall in suburban Anne Arundel County, added a 52-table poker room. On any … [Read more...]

Casino management and marketers know the value of offering free entertainment, either as an attraction or a perk. Free entertainment can be exterior - augmenting a venue's theme for potential customers, or interior - sustaining customer interest and increasing onsite spending. One award-winning exterior attraction, providing a large number of sidewalk strollers, is the large lake in front of the … [Read more...]

There was never going to be a strike by downtown Las Vegas hotel workers. Despite the headlines and saber rattling, the leadership of Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 wasn’t going to force union members to walk-off their jobs at properties that hadn’t finalized new contracts by 5 a.m. Sunday. In fact, negotiations to settle contract language at the last remaining hotel-casino … [Read more...]

Sports Betting in the U.S. Part 2: Public Policy Issues Note: Part 1, Legality, was published previously. The legislative history of the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) shows the law’s three basic goals: (1) to stop the spread of state-sponsored sports gambling, (2) to maintain sports’ integrity, and (3) to reduce the promotion of sports gambling among America’s … [Read more...]

Legalizing online gaming is one of the major issues of the gaming industry. Over the last few years there have been wide swings in the fortunes of online gambling in the U. S. When the feds jumped on the online operators taking bets from American gamblers in April, 2011, it appeared to be dead forever. But pressure from some major gaming corporations, poker players and states in need of additional … [Read more...]

One question about the big Carl Icahn golf insider-trading investigation is, who leaked it to the press, and why? My initial assumption was that the government leaked it, to try to shake loose some information after coming to a series of dead ends in the investigation. Maybe if it was in the papers, someone in the vast network of golfing insider traders1 would read about it and contact the FBI to … [Read more...]

On May 19th, New Jersey state senator Ray Lesniak announced that he was preparing a bill to allow sports betting at the state’s racetracks and casinos, in spite of the fact that it is not technically legal and could not be regulated. This is another logical step in the big sports betting battle which started back in 2012 and will determin the legal status of sports betting in New Jersey and … [Read more...]

Come October, Macau’s casinos won’t smell the same. The special administrative region government last month told its resort operators that smoking will be banned on mass-market gaming floors starting Oct. 6. Here’s the surprise: Macau’s six casino operators — including MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. — asked for the prohibition. The ban doesn’t … [Read more...]

More than 40 AGA member professionals from government affairs, communications, public affairs and compliance joined us in Washington yesterday for an effective and productive Government Affairs Fly-In event. This effort aligns with the AGA’s Strategic Plan, particularly the priority to connect and inform a broader spectrum of gaming professionals. Our program agenda included: Deeper … [Read more...]

MGM Resorts International supports the legalization of online wagering in the U.S. The casino giant holds an interactive gaming license in Nevada. But the company’s Internet presence is devoted to a free-to-play casino site that allows customers of its M Life loyalty program to earn rewards, which can be redeemed at MGM properties in Las Vegas and Mississippi. MGM Resorts is taking a … [Read more...]

Over the past several weeks, most regional gaming companies have reported their first quarter results. The following quote could have been pulled from any number of releases: “Our first quarter 2014 performance was impacted by unusually extreme weather conditions across the country, increased competition and soft consumer trends.” This is not the first time this particular company has … [Read more...]

The new American Gaming Association has promised to be a relentless champion for the gaming industry, our 800,000+ employees and the communities from coast to coast to which we contribute. Today, we are excited to announce three new initiatives — built from the core underpinnings of our strategic plan — that will assist you and strengthen the gaming industry for years to come. Introducing "Get … [Read more...]

Save for a few small companies, Wall Street has thrown in the towel on slot machine manufacturers for 2014. Without new hotel-casino openings (other than The Cromwell and SLS Las Vegas) and a slot machine replacement market that analysts term “nonexistent,” the investment community has been advised to view the gaming equipment sector with caution. Janney Capital Markets gaming analyst Brian … [Read more...]

Last Wednesday the following story appeared in the Wall Street Journal: Online Gambling Suffers Setback - American Gaming Association Withdraws Support, Citing Differences of Opinion. During a WSJ interview (at G2E Asia) Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA, said that the group can no longer support online poker legalization due to disagreements among their membership and the entire … [Read more...]

There has not been much good news for the casino industry lately and sometimes even the good news is not really good. For example, two jurisdictions reported an increase in gaming revenues in April. Atlantic City reported an increase in revenue for the first time in years. The casinos in Atlantic City once again reported less revenue for the month, but when the online gaming revenue is added in, … [Read more...]

Chad Barnhill carefully maneuvered visitors through an active construction site Monday that is quickly becoming the $442 million Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. He paused in front of floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor. In clear view was M&T Bank Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Baltimore Ravens, seemingly as close as a couple of Joe Flacco passes. The windows open … [Read more...]

Just as the recession began to grip Las Vegas in 2008, gaming executive Terry Lanni made a prediction. During an interview at his offices in the Bellagio, Lanni said a Las Vegas market recovery was not going to be like any other time tourism and gaming businesses experienced a downturn. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it took 18 to 24 months for tourists to get comfortable … [Read more...]

AGA’s upcoming event G2E Asia, held in partnership with Reed Exhibitions, has grown rapidly in just the past few years, mirroring the growth of the Asian gaming market. AGA is proud of the value that this show provides to gaming professionals by facilitating connections and building a better understanding between United States and Asian gaming professionals. The 6,500 anticipated attendees to … [Read more...]

The Beatles broke up in 1970. Only two of the original band members are still living, and occasionally recording and touring. The band is considered to be a 1960's phenomenon, yet its music and personalities enjoy widespread, loyal fan support today. So perhaps it’s not surprising that there are two successful, yet quite different, Beatles-related productions in Las Vegas. Cirque du Soleil's … [Read more...]

Anytime the investment community gets downwind of a potential hiccup in the Macau gaming market, a slash-and-burn mentality sets in. The victims are often MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. The Las Vegas-based companies have subsidiaries listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and those stock prices usually take a beating. Sometimes, the companies’ share … [Read more...]

A week or two ago, it seemed as if Massachusetts had settled down and the casino licensing process was becoming something close to normal. But last week, the Massachusetts process erupted into a circus-like atmosphere. A circus is probably a politically incorrect metaphor after nine performers in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were injured in an accident in Providence, Rhode … [Read more...]

When MGM Resorts International announced plans in 2013 to rebrand The Hotel into Delano Las Vegas, company officials said the 11-year-old property would be given a new look from top to bottom. Details of the $80 million renovation were announced in late April and when the project is completed by September, nearly every square foot of public space inside the 1,100-room nongaming hotel will be … [Read more...]

Where exactly is the line between sports gambling and fantasy sports contests? While it must exist, no one seems to be able to pin it down. Last week, Intrade, a popular but controversial website that formerly offered wagering on everything from presidential elections to weather, re-emerged in a new, beta version. Now it is a US-based sports wagering site, and the distinction between sports … [Read more...]

The investment community long has expressed concern over the growing debt that weighs down many casino companies, most notably the $21 billion anchor around the neck of Caesars Entertainment Corp. Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett in April told investors that Caesars might have to sell or close properties to get out from under its obligations. He included $1.04 billion in debt that … [Read more...]

Blackjack, as a casino game, is an endangered species to my way of thinking. Not everyone will agree with me, but they will agree that blackjack has had a bad week. On April 29, a very high profile Hollywood actor was asked to leave a blackjack table at the Las Vegas Hard Rock. The pit boss told the actor, Ben Affleck he was too good and he would not be allowed to play blackjack at the Hard Rock. … [Read more...]

The next phase of Las Vegas starts today in, of all places, the Sawyer Building. Nearly a dozen representatives and executives from Genting Berhad, the Malaysia-based company that acquired the unfinished Echelon project on the Strip for $350 million 14 months ago, will face questions from the Gaming Control Board. The corporation and several of its entities seek a finding of suitability from … [Read more...]

Should an economic collapse ever ruin the U.S. dollar, you could still shop for your cataclysmic needs at the Zombie Apocalypse Store. Behind the door protected by wrought-iron bars and near a couple of machetes, black and orange signs read: “Bitcoin accepted here.” Monko decided to start dealing in Bitcoin about six months ago. He said he’s constantly mixing things up at the store. “I … [Read more...]

Remember the photo from the 2012 Summer Olympics of U.S. gymnast McKayla Maroney, standing on the medal podium after taking silver in the vault finals, arms crossed, lips pursed to the side, with a look of disappointment? The image became a viral Internet sensation known as “McKayla is not impressed.” The investment community might give giant International Game Technology the same disdainful … [Read more...]

Somehow, “What happens in Crimea, stays in Crimea,” doesn’t seem like an appropriate catchphrase. In April, a month after Russia forcibly annexed the Black Sea peninsula away from Ukraine, President Valdimir Putin said he wants to turn the territory into his own version of Las Vegas. He wasn’t talking about replacing “Thunder From Down Under” with the “Shirtless Putin Dancers.” Putin … [Read more...]

Neighborhood gambling giant Station Casinos hasn’t been shy about criticizing the Dotty’s chain. According to Station, Dotty’s doesn’t follow the law, blurs the lines between regular casinos and taverns and preys on legitimate gambling businesses. So it might come as a bit of a surprise to learn that Station Casinos allegedly tried to purchase Dotty’s. According to Susan Johnson, general … [Read more...]

Last week I had dinner with CDC Publisher Jeffrey Compton at the flagship restaurant at the El Cortez called Flame. (Note - Jeff has had a long-time professional relationship with the El Cortez.) I had never been to the El Cortez, but always admired its location and legacy. During our dinner Jeff mentioned that though the property is well-maintained and doing well, he was concerned that it, as … [Read more...]

Everything is constantly changing. Business, like all aspects of society, is dynamic and in a constant state of flux. The problem is not to understand change, but to anticipate the nature of the change. It is no secret that I believe the casino industry is at a critical juncture, a tipping point. To survive and remain viable the industry will have to change, re-engineer its business model and … [Read more...]

There is a reason analysts spent about 40 minutes questioning Las Vegas Sands Corp. officials last week about the company’s over-the-top results in Macau. It has to do with Confucius. During a conference call to discuss Las Vegas Sands’ first-quarter earnings — net income of $776.2 million on a single-quarter record of $4.01 billion in revenue — analysts didn’t ask a single question about … [Read more...]

In every gaming jurisdiction experiencing a long-term decline in revenues, casinos are being forced to cut expenses and restructure. The way a casino approaches the problem differs according to the management, location and conditions that created the problem, but there are some commonalities. Generally, the first order of business in a downturn is to cut all “non-essential” expenses, reduce staff … [Read more...]

About two weeks ago a news tornado blew through the casinosphere, when the Borgata Casino filed a federal suit against Phil Ivey, seeking to recoup $9.6 million that Ivey won playing baccarat in 2012. In case you don’t know the name, Phil Ivey, the number one rated poker player in the world, is sometimes called the “Tiger Woods” of poker. He has won nine World Series of Poker bracelets. Now Ivey … [Read more...]

  By now, everyone has read the stories of gaming communities struggling under the weight of the Great Recession and increased competition. The economy is improving, so gaming’s struggles must be related to competition, right? Economic downturns affect every business, but they pass and things get better. The impact of added competition is usually worse and longer lasting. The impact of … [Read more...]

Apparently, the only folks making money from the U.S.’s fledgling Internet gaming market are lobbyists. That won’t change anytime soon. Bills for and against Internet gaming continue to surface in statehouses and Congress, which means more billable hours for the lobbying sector. So far, the return on investment for casino operators that have launched Internet gaming operations in three … [Read more...]

Haggling over legislation to bring a casino to Chicago has become a springtime ritual. This time around, state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, has dealt out two new amendments that just might get the job done. To our way of thinking, that's welcome news, but only if the talks in Springfield have no influence on City Hall's continued efforts to sharply reduce costs, especially the costs of … [Read more...]

Like much of Nevada, the casino industry is grappling with issues surrounding medical marijuana. So much so that gaming companies and regulators have had little to say publicly about doctor-prescribed pot. Medical marijuana has been legal in Nevada since 2000, but it took state lawmakers 14 years to allow dispensaries to operate. Now, with a state law in place calling for up to 66 potential … [Read more...]

In Chicago, Illinois on April 16th, the state gaming commission held a hearing on two proposed casino expansion bills. One would allow for an additional casino in Chicago with up to 10,000 gaming positions; the other bill proposal would authorize five more casinos in the state, including one in Chicago and slot machines at racetracks. Casino expansion comes up in the legislature every year in … [Read more...]

Celebrity magician Murray Sawchuck has been performing for the past two years at the Laugh Factory in the Tropicana. On a recent weekday, I attended his 4:00 p.m. show. I was perplexed that this well-branded and known talent only had an audience of 28 for a show in a venue with a capacity of 250. Sawchuck's 55-minute show was energetic, fast paced, and over-the-top with improv humor, audience … [Read more...]

Gaming industry set to create thousands of jobs, help small businesses and support public services in the Commonwealth. Washington — American Gaming Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman issued the following statement after Massachusetts Attorney General candidate Maura Healey announced her opposition to casinos in the Commonwealth based on outdated myths: “Ms. Healey's comments … [Read more...]

"Big Luther," Alabama's hyper-ambitious Attorney General Luther Strange, had been warned more than once. This page warned him. Other commentators warned him. If he had bothered to ask, members of the Alabama Bar Association most assuredly would have warned him, too. Nevertheless, Strange went to court to challenge the right of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to operate their casinos on tribal … [Read more...]

While the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down limits on individual political donors captured the headlines last Wednesday, a new law signed by President Obama on the next day will also increase the political system’s reliance on wealthy donors. Known as the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, the new law will provide increased funding for childhood disease research. In a rare sign of … [Read more...]

Winter’s long grip on the Midwest and other parts of the U.S. is finally subsiding. But even as the snow melts, regional gaming operators might have to wait for their bottom lines to warm up. Weather issues kept casino patrons at home in several states where companies such as Penn National Gaming, Isle of Capri Casinos, Pinnacle Entertainment and Boyd Gaming Corp. derive the bulk of their … [Read more...]

I recently attended the Donnie and Marie Show at the Flamingo Showroom with the understanding that they were soon taking some time off to allow for Olivia Newton John to begin her new "Summer Nights" show. Was it perhaps that Donnie and Marie Show ticket sales were in a decline as their market appeal to the fifty and older crowd was finally thinning and competitive entertainment options were … [Read more...]

Word that the U.S. Treasury Department may soon require the casino industry to report the source of gambling funds used by their big spending high-rollers sent a few shock waves through corporate offices. It wasn’t so much a rumble as it was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. The move is part of a stepped-up effort by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to crack … [Read more...]

In early 2011, Don Johnson won more than $15 million playing blackjack at Atlantic City. Before he began, he negotiated a number of perks that moved the edge squarely to his side. The most valuable was a 20% rebate on his losses whenever he lost more than $500,000 in a day. These loss rebates had no minimum play requirement and reset after each day’s play. Johnson’s optimal winning strategy is … [Read more...]

The next big thing is coming, Las Vegas. At least, that’s what nightlife guru Jon Taffer said while getting ready for his annual Nightclub & Bar Show to open in late March. During an interview with the Las Vegas Business Press, Taffer noted that nightlife operator Jesse Waits said that he has come up with the next big idea — he just has to implement it. As co-owner and managing partner … [Read more...]

Gambling in England is not like it is in the United States. American gaming is governed by individual states and not by federal regulation, while gambling in England is regulated by the national government. And because of the difference, gambling in England is much more uniform than it is here. In the U.S., regulations are different in every state. Tax rates vary by state as does the size and … [Read more...]

The Salt River-Pima Indian Community has a real estate footprint in this city, 20 minutes east of downtown Phoenix, that makes the 67-acre CityCenter look like a strip mall. The tribe has built a “cultural and entertainment destination.” There is the 36-hole Talking Stick Golf Club, which was designed by noted golf course architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. On the opposite side of the … [Read more...]

While working on the Flash last Tuesday morning, I came upon the opinion piece “Las Vegas made a big, bad bet on casinos” – one of the nastiest anti-Las Vegas (and anti-gaming) commentaries I have read in a very long time. Written by prominent conservative columnist David Frum for the very prominent news website CNN.com, this over-wrought piece says that Las Vegas will never return to its boomtown … [Read more...]

Over the course of my career, I have watched the casino industry fight and lose more than one battle with the federal government. The first battle I remember was over silver dollars; it hardly seems believable today, but at one time silver dollars were in circulation in Nevada and they were popular. In fact, they were very popular – especially with dollar slot players. Somehow winning a bunch of … [Read more...]

Las Vegas is getting smaller. That is, if you call 1,600-room and 1,100-room Strip hotels “boutique” properties. By the end of the year, Las Vegas will have about a half-dozen hotel-casinos that operators classify as “boutique,” “luxury” or “lifestyle” in their marketing efforts. It’s actually not a unique concept. The Hard Rock and The Palms, for example, began as smaller … [Read more...]

The 29th Annual Nightclub and Bar Convention and Trade Show poured it on in style at the Las Vegas Convention Center. There was something for every interest and beyond. Jon Taffer, Executive Producer and Star of Spike TV's popular show "Bar Rescue" along with his team served up an event that would appeal to the record breaking 41,000 attendees and to most anyone else who patronizes clubs and bars. … [Read more...]

ou have to hand it to online gaming giant PokerStars. Despite setback after setback, the Europe-based company won’t give up on its quixotic quest to break into the fledgling U.S. Internet gaming market. After failing in Nevada and New Jersey, the new target is California. But odds are PokerStars is once again drawing dead. The company, operated by the Isle of Man-based Rational Group, … [Read more...]

Over the past month I have been reading negative articles about Ohio casinos, specifically about the distribution of casino tax dollars to local school systems. Counting on casino revenue? Local governments told it’s risky Casinos fall short of vows to voters How much casino money do schools receive? To believe these reports, the checks are nowhere near what the school systems expected, … [Read more...]

Massachusetts came late to the gambling game. Actually, Massachusetts is not quite there yet; it is still in the process of getting into the game. The fact that Massachusetts is so late entering into casino gaming might lead one to think the process in the Bay State would be easier than in other states. After all, Massachusetts has the benefit of the experience of thirty-eight states with casinos … [Read more...]

There is a target on the back of slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology. Despite first-quarter results that were well received by investors, at least two analysts raised concerns in recent weeks that IGT could be bleeding away slot machine market share to the competition. Credit Suisse gaming analyst Joel Simkins said IGT’s stock price — which has fallen 28 percent since its … [Read more...]

Back in 1995, the news crew of 48 Hours followed Brad and me around Las Vegas, filming as we played video poker and reaped comps. On the air, Dan Rather dubbed me the “Queen of Comps”. By then I had been honing my comp skills for more than ten years. After retirement, Brad and I stayed in comped casino hotel rooms in Las Vegas for months at a time. Our low-roller play on quarter video poker not … [Read more...]

Million-dollar fines for violating Nevada gaming law used to be rare. But in the past 15 months, state casino regulators have accepted three separate seven-figure payments from gaming companies to settle Gaming Control Board disciplinary complaints. That’s the same number of seven-figure fines the state had issued in all of the previous 28 years. Regulators in December and again last week … [Read more...]

Last week I ended my column on senior gaming with “I do admit to being concerned that nearly half the casino visitors in 2012 are over age 50. I’m not concerned for the visitors, but for the casinos and the industry as a whole. That concern is not over compulsive gambling, but about the aging audience – but that is a subject for another column or more.” At the time I did not intend to … [Read more...]

It is never easy to understand a complicated issue and the gaming industry in the 21st century has certainly become complicated and confusing, at least for me.  To help myself understand gaming and other things I put Adams Daily Report events into narratives. Looking at the news every day, I develop narratives in my mind about the day’s news.  Sometimes I extend a narrative past one day and make … [Read more...]

It’s been eight years since Macau surpassed the Strip in annual gaming revenue. So it makes sense that the region — the only location in China with casinos — is creating more gaming industry billionaires than Las Vegas. The recently released Forbes 2014 List of the World’s Billionaires shows a large proportion of the wealthy who cite gambling, gaming or casinos as the source of their income … [Read more...]

New visitors to the El Cortez some years ago would have been forgiven for failing to spot the owner of the downtown casino. He wasn’t a fresh-faced CEO or a consummate corporate type with an MBA. On the contrary. He was the affable old fellow in the loud sport coat who moved through the slot bays picking up cocktail glasses and emptying ashtrays while keeping up a playful patter with customers … [Read more...]

A New York-based hedge fund acquired a 5 percent ownership stake in Boyd Gaming Corp. last week and immediately fueled rampant speculation in the investment community. Scenarios ranged from a corporate takeover to moving the company’s casinos into a real estate investment trust. Don’t expect a quick resolution. Elliott Associates, controlled by financier Paul Singer, said in a Securities … [Read more...]

Earlier this week the Concord Monitor ran a column by Paul Davis, an anti-gaming advocate at the Institute for American Values, entitled “My turn: Casinos prey on elderly residents”. The column discussed an elderly New Hampshire widow who moved to Arizona in 2004 and, over the course of eight years, gambled away a considerable amount of money (for her) at a local casino. Her family members were … [Read more...]

Holders of music, film and television copyrights are on the verge of becoming victims of US prohibitions on online play. After a decade-long trade dispute over remote online gaming, the small Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda is now planning the lawful taking of $21 million of US entertainment industry intellectual property per year. This development results from a complaint filed by … [Read more...]

Since their public opening at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino early last January I had been reading and hearing a variety of reviews about Jeff Beacher's Madhouse so I finally decided to purchase my general admission ticket online and experience this unique entertainment option. They have years of a successful run under the identical theme and branding at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and is … [Read more...]

Nothing is simple when it comes to Caesars Entertainment Corp. Take last week’s announcement that the company is selling four casinos to its Caesars Growth Partners subsidiary for $2.2 billion. Some analysts worried the deal would diminish the parent company’s results. Caesars is giving up valuable revenue and cash flow from three Strip casinos and Harrah’s New Orleans to a subsidiary in … [Read more...]

Indian gaming is twenty-six years old and for all of that time, its existence has been contentious. That is not surprising as the entire history of Indian tribes with the federal and state governments has been contentious. Popular myth tells of the first pilgrims stranded alone, hungry and cold in an alien land where they found help and friendship in the local Indian tribes. It was a short and … [Read more...]

In 1994, one evening and late into the night during the annual gaming show, I was walking the floor of the MGM Grand.  I was tired and wanted to go to bed, but could not resist exploring just one more casino.  Every year, those walkabouts were one of the most important aspects of attending the gaming trade show, not just for me but for all attendees.  Everyone went out scouring casinos, hoping to … [Read more...]

MGM Resorts International is showing investors what a 51 percent ownership stake in its publicly traded Chinese subsidiary means financially to the casino operator’s business back home. At least $320 million this month alone. The figure is MGM Resorts’ share of some $628 million in quarterly and special dividends that MGM China will award to shareholders this month. The business, traded on … [Read more...]

Florida is back in play, but no one really seems to care. Last month, legislation was unveiled that could bring Las Vegas-style casinos to South Florida — one each for Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Local voters in both communities would have to approve the resorts through referendums. The legislation would allow racetracks outside current South Florida racinos to add slot machines and … [Read more...]

On February 25th, voters in Revere approved Mohegan Sun’s plan to build a $1.3 billion resort at Suffolk Downs.  Voter approval is one of the most important steps in the Massachusetts casino license process and this vote is particularly important.  If Mohegan/Suffolk wins a license it will be in essence the Boston casino license. It will be the most lucrative of the three casino and one slots-only … [Read more...]

(Bloomberg) -- The first thing to point out about the meltdown of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange is that this is hardly the first time that massive amounts of currency have been stolen, or that a financial firm has shut down and left its depositors with basically nothing. This is not somehow unique to Bitcoin, or a fatal flaw in its design. The second thing to point out about the meltdown of the … [Read more...]

The run-up to the Kentucky Derby 2014, which is on the 4th of May this year, began on Saturday the 2nd of February with the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans and the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Kentucky Derby is still a big event attracting large crowds every year, which has no problems selling out tickets for the big day. However, in recent years horse … [Read more...]

The nation faces a dangerously seductive form of gambling, as cross-border, high tech telecommunications networks threaten to siphon money out of homes across the country. The problem is getting worse, and the states, with the constitutional mandate to regulate gambling within their borders, are indifferent or worse. The only solution is for Congress to act now. It took years, but Congress … [Read more...]

Lost in the heated rhetoric over the expansion of Internet gaming is a harsh reality. Legal online wagering has not been the financial windfall many analysts predicted. Initial returns from the three states that enacted Internet gambling laws are not overflowing the balance sheet. New Jersey’s online revenue is a letdown. Delaware’s figures are inconsequential. Nevada won’t break out … [Read more...]

In his recent commentary Is the Internet Ready for Casino Gambling?, my colleague Ken Adams discussed the recent history of Internet Gaming. He also discussed recent incidents of Internet hacking, primarily to the Las Vegas Sands website but also to several companies in other industries. He concluded that “the casino industry might be ready for the internet, but the internet is not yet ready for … [Read more...]

The internet gambling story gets more interesting by the day.  For the last few years, internet gambling has been mostly a side story.  It was important, but not a dynamic story; not much happened from day to day or even month to month.  The story started to gain momentum in December of 2011 when the Department of Justice issued an opinion on the Wire Act that opened the door for individual states … [Read more...]

As I write this column the Las Vegas Sands website has been down for six days. Over those days a plethora of ideas has gone through my head – plus some decisions about emergency planning for my very small business. Who did this and why? I know little about website hacking, so I started my questioning with my own technical director (Cory Roberts) and web designer (Jill Merk), and went from … [Read more...]

If there’s one thing we learned from last week’s telephone press conference by the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling it’s that all five speakers “were honored” to be on the 45-minute call. They said so, several times. That, and Internet gambling is responsible for every ill known to mankind. The paid representatives for the Washington, D.C.-based coalition — funded by Las Vegas Sands … [Read more...]

It has been a really cold winter this year and the weather is affecting gaming revenues all over the country.  Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, New York and Indiana all reported lower year-over-year gaming revenues in January and each blamed the cold weather for the decline.  But no one mentioned the weather when reporting Atlantic City’s gaming revenues for January.  The Atlantic City story for … [Read more...]

Patricia Becker holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve on the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She’s actually the only woman to ever hold a seat on the regulatory panel. Twenty years have passed since then-Gov. Richard Bryan elevated Becker from chief deputy attorney general in charge of the gaming division to one of three Control Board members who oversee the full-time state … [Read more...]

The gaming debate is back on in Florida; it debate took a two year hiatus.  It is about time it came back, we need something exciting to follow.  For far too long, Massachusetts has dominated the expansion narrative in the media.  Even New York could not dislodge Massachusetts.  Probably New York could not unseat Massachusetts because there was simply no drama in New York.  There was no name … [Read more...]

Monday was the busiest day in the history of the CDC Gaming Reports website. Fueled by interest in the Super Bowl over 1,400 people visited the site – with over 2,300 page views. However it was two other stories that caught my eye: Wynn joins Adelson crusade against web gaming (in respected political reporter Jon Ralston’s blog) and from the equally respected Wayne Parry (Associated Press) NJ … [Read more...]

MACAU (AP) - In a scene from the James Bond movie "Skyfall," the British superspy arrives in Macau aboard a small raft that glides under an arched bridge, past hundreds of floating paper lanterns and through an illuminated dragon head to reach a casino. When I made the trip to the tiny Chinese gambling mecca at the height of the Lunar New Year holiday on Monday, it was decidedly less … [Read more...]

Did you seriously think Las Vegas was going to lose the National Finals Rodeo to Orlando, Fla., or Dallas? After six weeks of back-and-forth rhetoric, a new 10-year agreement was announced Jan. 24 to keep the NFR in Las Vegas — its home for 29 years — through 2024. Cowboys and stock contractors will get about $6 million more a year in prize and sponsorship money. The hotel-casino industry … [Read more...]

The European Casino Association (ECA) represents the interests of approximately 800 companies operating in 23 EU countries, with more than 55,000 employees. In November 2013, ECA issued its first comprehensive report on the casino industry in Europe, using information provided by its members and the National Casino Forum, UK. European casinos have struggled in recent years, with causes … [Read more...]

In the 21st century, poker has become big business.  It is played online, in casinos and in free standing poker rooms.  Poker has been played in this country for a very long time. Poker has had a checkered past; it has been legalized and banned, it has been commercially successful and it has been a backroom, private game only.  In the 1970s, poker was a mainstay in Nevada casinos, but with the … [Read more...]

Impact is one of my favorite typefaces – because it delivers on its promise – it has an instant impact on the reader.  But Impact is fast becoming much more than a typeface for me.  Impact is becoming the dominant theme in the national gaming narrative.  Like the typeface, the impact theme demands attention; however, it is not one of my favorite themes.  Take Ohio for example. Even as new casinos … [Read more...]

New casino development in Las Vegas is on lockdown. Gaming expansion into states beyond recently approved markets is virtually nonexistent. Those are two reasons regional casino giant and M Resort owner Penn National Gaming struck a deal with a San Diego-area Indian tribe to develop a long-stalled casino complex in Southern California. A third reason is simple. Penn National, which has … [Read more...]

In recent months CDC Gaming Reports has run several news stories and one commentary expressing the fear that a casino expansion could hurt a region’s performing arts. Since I have a personal and professional interest in both gaming and the arts (five years ago I wrote a guidebook on American performing and visual arts, and built a related website), I can’t ignore expressions of that fear. To put … [Read more...]

It’s game on, Japan. Word leaked out this past week that two Nevada casino companies have made inroads with Japanese officials to build a nearly $5 billion hotel-casino in Osaka. Now other gaming operators have their corporate jets pointed toward the east Asia island nation. The only thing missing is legislation authorizing casinos. Analysts and gaming leaders consider it a foregone … [Read more...]

There are undoubtedly cities in New York that can benefit from a casino.  Saratoga Springs, however, is not one of them. In 2013, the State of New York decided that a quick way to fill its fiscal coffers was to get a number of casinos to open, as soon as possible, in the upstate area.  With the gambling industry outspending opponents by millions of dollars, a statewide vote authorized the … [Read more...]

It is budget time in New York and gaming is in the budget.  Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal anticipates casinos opening by January of 2015.  There is no time to waste, the state needs the tax money those casinos will generate as soon as possible.  Cuomo is not planning on any long delays, stumbles or bloody battles at the ballot box or in the competitive trenches that has marked the … [Read more...]

I am 59 years old today – and could not be more thrilled. And in six months I expect to be telling folks that I am “going on 60” because I like the sound of that. I have never been concerned about how old I am – plus there can be a wonderful feeling of contentment that comes at this age (Maurice Chevalier expressed it best over 50 years ago.) Thanks to the advances in technology (including … [Read more...]

There is a reason officials from CG Technology (formerly Cantor Gaming) said they were “glad to have reached a resolution” with Nevada gaming regulators and will pay the largest fine ever leveled against a casino or affiliated company. The Las Vegas-based bookmaker — a subsidiary of Wall Street financial giant Cantor Fitzgerald LP — faced a potential death sentence by the state Gaming Control … [Read more...]

It is being reported that HBO has decided to stop producing Boardwalk Empire after its fifth season.  The HBO series was based the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson.  It is a story of politics, crime and corruption during Prohibition in Atlantic City.  Five seasons is not bad, not great, but not bad.  Although the lifecycles of … [Read more...]