Commentaries

My father died Wednesday morning. He had prostate cancer for more than ten years, but it really caught up with him over the last few months, and especially after we celebrated his 98th birthday, ten days ago. On Monday he moved to a hospice. While I assumed the next days would be demanding, what I did not expect was that they also would be enlightening. Hospices are wonderful places – and … [Read more...]

There is no debate that Station Casinos had a strong finish to 2014, giving analysts hope that recovery in the Las Vegas locals gaming market is underway. Now, the investment community may want a piece of the action. During the Station Casinos’ fourth-quarter earnings conference call a week ago, an analyst asked if the privately held casino company would be publicly traded once … [Read more...]

If there were one property you could point to that has represented the evolution of our city’s casinos over the past 60 years, it would be the Riviera. So it’s only fitting that, in its final days, the hotel-casino is doing so again. By now you know that the Riviera is being sold to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (the $182.5 million transaction was unanimously approved by the … [Read more...]

Las Vegas has had its difficulties since the Great Recession began in 2006. However, the city continues to move forward and there is always a new project waiting just around the corner. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) expansion is one of the projects in the queue. To maintain its lead as the nation’s number one convention city, the city needs more convention space. The … [Read more...]

So this weekend, I went to Las Vegas for the first time. I’m not much of a gambler -- I quit playing when they raise the minimums past $5 -- but there’s enough of a theme-park aspect to the place that a few friends and I managed to have a terrific time. Two things immediately stand out to the libertarian visitor: In some ways, it has the most liberty of any place in the U.S. -- and it also has the … [Read more...]

Legalizing sports betting in the U.S. would be bad news for local street-corner bookies and the Internet’s unregulated off-shore gambling market. But could the idea hurt the Nevada sports betting industry? If legal sports books pop up in California Indian casinos, for example, would the Strip’s high-end gambling facilities dry up? This question doesn’t need an answer today. We’re a long way … [Read more...]

If 2014 appeared to be a very bad year for Macau, 2015 is shaping up to be worse. The president of China has called for a critical review of gaming. He expressed concerns that the casinos in Macau are contributing to the corruption of China and have put Macau in a precarious position with only one major source of revenue and employment. President Xi Jinping wants Macau to clean up the casino … [Read more...]

If California’s Internet poker debate was an actual card game, PokerStars just doubled up. But the European online gaming giant is still short-stacked against two of the state’s largest tribal casino operators in its effort to gain a piece of California’s potentially lucrative — albeit nascent — Internet poker market. Three tribes embraced legislation this month that would allow PokerStars … [Read more...]

If the American Gaming Association 1.0 was built around the rolodex of longtime chairman and political operative Frank Fahrenkopf, the AGA 2.0 is built around the savvy pragmatism and consensus-building approach crafted by Geoff Freeman, who in 2013 brought a wealth of knowledge to the AGA as a former public relations man and trade association executive. The chic new office space in Washington … [Read more...]

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin is a controversial governor. He began his term in office by taking on the state’s public employee union as part of some dramatic cuts in the state’s budget. Those cuts and his stance on unions led to a recall effort. Walker is a fundamentalist Republican who seemed to act from his principles, that is until he was faced with the Menominee tribe’s request to open a … [Read more...]

Internet gambling supporters rejoiced when the Justice Department — two days before Christmas in 2011 — changed its opinion on the Federal Wire Act and opened the doors for online wagering expansion across the United States. However, the growth has been in state-run online lotteries, not poker or other casino games. A study released this month by GamblingCompliance.com found Internet lottery … [Read more...]

The U.S. Department of Justice’s groundbreaking reinterpretation of the Wire Act, in December 2011, led directly to the introduction of online gambling by the states of Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware. It has also led to some key players in the gaming scene casting about for ways into the online market. The horseracing industry, tribal interests, and even a number of state lotteries have shown a … [Read more...]

The odds are good even the most perceptive bookmaker didn’t see this turnaround coming: U.S. Sen. John McCain speaking out in favor of expanding legalized sports betting in America. “We need a debate in Congress,” the Arizona Republican said recently. “We need to have a talk with the American people, and we need to probably have hearings in Congress on the whole issue so we can build … [Read more...]

Las Vegas is back from the near-dead. Now what are we going to do? That’s the question posed by MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren as he surveys post-recession Nevada in the early days of the 2015 Legislature. Murren says the state ought to use its new lease on life to make real progress instead of simply re-creating the life it had before 2007. “We had a near-death … [Read more...]

As part of the AGA’s “Get to Know Gaming” campaign, which will aggressively promote the value of the industry, today we released a seminal report outlining the quality, range and skills associated with the more than 200 types of careers at hundreds of casinos across 40 states. Beyond the research, we have launched a video series that highlights real-life stories of gaming employees, and announced … [Read more...]

The opportunities for casino companies to expand into new jurisdictions are dwindling. With the recent expansion in New York, Massachusetts and Maryland, the best potential gaming jurisdictions have been taken. However, there are some opportunities remaining, not as desirable as earlier ones maybe, but still opportunities. Many in are in the south; Georgia, North and South Carolina, Texas, … [Read more...]

By numbers alone, the merger of Golden Gaming and Lakes Entertainment doesn’t equal any one of the combined $18.5 billion in gaming equipment manufacturing buyouts that have happened in the past 18 months. But the transaction between Nevada’s largest tavern owner/slot machine route operator and the Minnesota-based casino company might signal consolidation in the regional gaming market. At … [Read more...]

The (almost) former CEO's strategy to turn the company into a gaming Goliath worked … but did it work too well? Caesars Entertainment announced February 4 that Gary Loveman, CEO since 2003, would be stepping down effective June 30. While he will remain as chairman of the board for the foreseeable future, this marks the end of his time as the chief decision-maker of the gambling giant. What … [Read more...]

Tables that resemble giant smart phones inside The Mirage and MGM Grand Las Vegas are the future of gaming. You just can’t gamble on them quite yet, at least not for real money. The InteractivePro tables, manufactured by an Australian company, have quickly developed a following from MGM Resorts International customers. For now, the 42-inch screens allow customers to watch television, gain … [Read more...]

Scientific Games Corp. is Nevada’s new International Game Technology — without the baggage. Over the past 18 months, the lottery provider spent $7.6 billion to acquire the gaming industry’s No. 2 and No. 3 slot machine manufacturers. Last month, Scientific Games said it will move its corporate headquarters from New York City to offices off the 215 Beltway. The company will consolidate its … [Read more...]

Friends of CDC Gaming Reports: I am happy to present the latest innovation of CDC Gaming Reports - our Casino Industry News Database. Over the years CDC Gaming Reports has been asked many times by subscribers, researchers, reporters, professors, students and legislators whether it was possible to get a list of articles written on a particular gaming industry topic or for a particular region. … [Read more...]

After implementing a partial casino smoking ban in October, Macau is contemplating a total prohibition on smoking in all areas of the region’s gaming market. Talk about throwing gasoline on a raging inferno. Macau’s casino industry is challenged, and that’s an understatement. The market has had eight consecutive monthly gaming revenue declines. A 2.6 percent dip in 2014 was the first … [Read more...]

In the waning days before Super Bowl 49, when the media was at a frenzied pitch, the Northwest Indiana Times ran an article about changes in the public’s interest in horse racing over the last 49 years. It describes the world of racing fifty years ago, when horse racing was a major sport on the level of boxing and professional baseball. Football had not yet reached that grand stage; baseball was … [Read more...]

Falling gasoline prices and rising consumer confidence mean good news for regional casino operators. Whether this translates into more dollars in casino drop boxes is still up for debate. Two analysts say the regional gaming markets — primarily those in the South and Midwest — are poised for a rebound in 2015, which could help the bottom lines of Boyd Gaming Corp., Pinnacle Entertainment and … [Read more...]

LAS VEGAS (AP) – If there’s a secret to how four buddies managed to beat the house 76 percent of the time during the NFL’s regular season to win a record-setting $736,575, they aren’t giving it up. The four sports bettors from Los Angeles and Boston achieved a feat that was unheard of in the annual SuperContest at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Contestants and organizers have … [Read more...]

Governor Christopher “Chris” Christie is not one to sit still and watch the grass grow. If he sees a problem, the governor jumps in with both feet. And he sees Atlantic City as a problem. Beginning as soon as he took office, the republican governor started to be very active in the affairs of the city and its casinos. It is difficult to imagine another governor taking as much interest, as Christie … [Read more...]

Imagine for a moment that Las Vegas-style sports wagering was legal in other states. Maybe the NFL’s negative attitude toward betting would be relaxed. That way, Strip casinos could advertise their Sunday events as Super Bowl parties, rather than hiding behind the term “Big Game,” out of fear of trademark lawsuits by NFL attorneys. The hoopla and festivities surrounding the 49th Super … [Read more...]

Each year, the Gaming Control Board releases a massive document that charts the performance of the state’s casinos for the previous fiscal year, broken down by geographic area and income. The release of the 2014 Nevada Gaming Abstract crystallizes the trends that have shaped the local gaming industry over the past year. Not surprisingly, the 23 Las Vegas Strip casinos that made more than $72 … [Read more...]

Last week, the AGA estimated that $3.8 billion dollars will be wagered illegally in the United States on the Super Bowl, and national media paid attention – from Bloomberg, Politico, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes and more. The AGA is taking a rigorous look at the issue of sports betting and the 1992 federal ban outside of Nevada and three other states. While the industry has not yet … [Read more...]

A new technological convergence which has already swept across Europe seems set to make inroads in the USA, at least where states allow online gambling. The arenas of social networking and real money gambling each have a number of mega-corporations, and these behemoths appear to be quite interested in moving into the other domain. Moves have already been made by giants on both sides. Social … [Read more...]

The past 18 months were a transformative period for Nevada’s slot machine industry. The next 18 months won’t contain the fireworks associated with five multibillion-dollar corporate mergers, but the time period could foretell the manufacturing industry’s future. The five transactions placed a large swath of Nevada’s gaming equipment manufacturing business into the hands of the lottery … [Read more...]

Gaming industry predictions are not exact science. A year ago there wasn’t an analyst who thought Macau’s casino market would see its first annual gaming revenue decrease in 2014. Atlantic City was easy to predict. Most gaming observers correctly said the Boardwalk would suffer through its eighth straight annual revenue decline, although no one anticipated four casinos would be closed by … [Read more...]

Dear Gaming Colleague: The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently released guidance for casinos’ sports book operations. As Reuters reported, while the American Gaming Association (AGA) welcomes continued insight, we ask FinCEN for its support along with other law enforcement agencies to join our current efforts to root out illegal gaming. As … [Read more...]

Bill Boyd said a 1983 decision to take over management of the troubled Stardust was an easy choice. He worried that 2,000 workers would lose their jobs if Boyd Gaming Corp. didn’t step in after state gaming regulators filed an emergency order of closure against the failing Strip hotel-casino. “We thought it was the right thing for us to do,” Boyd, 83, said last week. It was also an old … [Read more...]

Since its creation in 1995, the American Gaming Association (AGA) has acted as the premier national trade group representing the $240 billion U.S casino industry, which supports 1.7 million jobs in 40 states. Our mission is simple: To be the single most effective champion of the industry, relentlessly protecting against harmful and often misinformed public policies, and paving a pathway for … [Read more...]

Texas Hold'em tables often serve as less-genteel clubs for blue-chip businessmen. Instead of walking down fairways 30 yards apart from each other, or quietly hunting pheasant or muskie, poker buddies are elbow to elbow all night, competing and talking. The experience can tell them a lot about the other fellows' ability to make sound decisions under pressure. The quantitative and psychological … [Read more...]

Monday I turn 60! I have been celebrating the event all week with a series of small dinners with one or two friends – and Monday night I will be with one of my very best friends. I was considering something more celebratory, but we just lost my beloved aunt, Dorothy Arnos. And while that dampens my spirits a bit I am excited about looking forward to 60+ – and very thankful when I look back. (If I … [Read more...]

Inside the American Gaming Association’s new headquarters in Washington are a few slot machines to entertain policymakers and other visitors. The free-play games also serve as instructional tools to teach gambling novices about the inner-workings of the casino industry. A large poker table is on order. No word yet on house rules. The offices also feature a sports ticker, a personal … [Read more...]

The gaming industry is many things to many people. To the people who buy a lottery ticket, play a hand of poker, bet the ponies or go to a casino for an evening of fun, gaming is a participatory experience. Most of the forms of entertainment in our society are spectator events; we watch other people play games, sing, dance and make jokes. Gaming is one of the few options available for a person, … [Read more...]

Back when Nevada and Atlantic City were the only places in the United States to find casinos, the law firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins ruled the legal roost. With its merger New Year’s Day into the Fennemore Craig law firm, Lionel Sawyer & Collins has been relegated to the gaming industry history pages, joining the names Frontier, Dunes, Stardust, Aladdin and El Rancho Vegas. The firm … [Read more...]

Las Vegas is at its best when its attractions appeal to both Sometimes, it can seem that life in Southern Nevada is a big zero-sum game. With limited money to spend in both the private and public sectors, this dilemma is ever-present: Invest in infrastructure and attractions that will draw more tourists and pump more money into the economy, or add more services and institutions that enhance the … [Read more...]

It's difficult to find much optimism in the temporary ceasefire between Carl Icahn and the union representing the employees of Trump Taj Mahal. The troubled Atlantic City casino will remain open for the time being, perhaps up to a year, but there will be no winners in this struggle, regardless of who loses. By ponying up $20 million to keep the facility open indefinitely, Mr. Icahn avoided the … [Read more...]

Predictably, as soon as New York State announced (last week) that it was awarding Vegas-style casino licenses to three upstate locations, the chatter about the feasibility of a casino in north Jersey was back in full force. A casino in Jersey City, or in the Meadowlands, or both, certainly seems to offer rosy possibilities. The destination, directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, is … [Read more...]

Gambling in Macau is the least popular topic that I ever discuss in a column. I have often wondered why no one wants to read about Macau as it has been one of the most dynamic stories in gaming for the last eight years. While we have been mired in a recession and too competition, gaming revenues in Macau have increased by seven-fold going from $6 billion in 2006 to $45 billion in 2013. For anyone … [Read more...]

10 - NBA commissioner Adam Silver says sports betting should be legalized. 9 - FinCen increases its money laundering crackdown on the casino industry. (At the end of the year, the American Gaming Association issued a policy report on money laundering compliance). 8 - An illegal World Cup betting ring was busted up at Caesars Palace by FBI and state gaming agents. The ring had originally … [Read more...]

Every year, in every sport, business, industry and community, someone compiles a list of the most important events of the outgoing year. Gaming is no different; most of the media that follows gaming will publish its own list of the top events of the year. There will be different lists for lotteries, horse racing, sports betting, poker and casinos. My list is primarily a casino industry list. I … [Read more...]

In 2014, the evolution of the gaming industry—and of the American Gaming Association—was never more apparent. Through the lows of Atlantic City and the highs of Massachusetts, the AGA served as a passionate champion for the gaming industry. We are growing more inclusive of new players, more transparent about our initiatives and more communicative with gaming stakeholders in the United States and … [Read more...]

Caesars Growth Partners was never built for the long haul. But even creators of the company that is 58 percent owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp. might have been hard-pressed to predict the business would have a lifespan of less than two years. It’s abundantly clear Caesars Growth Partners is key to the planned bankruptcy restructuring of overly leveraged affiliate Caesars Entertainment … [Read more...]

It has been a good year for CDC Gaming Reports: Traffic to our website (measured in both visits and page views) has more than doubled since December 2013. According to Alexa.com CDC Gaming Reports is among the highest ranked casino industry business websites in the world. We re-designed our home page and now feature links to Global Gaming Business, UNLV Center for Gaming Research and the Las … [Read more...]

Two years ago the Department of Justice decided that online gambling was not against federal law. In the opinion of the feds only sports betting violated federal law. However, that prohibition did not extend to fantasy sports. The decision opened the door for legalized online gambling on a state by state basis. It is now the end of the first full year of online gaming and to say that legalized … [Read more...]

On paper, it appeared MGM Resorts International lost the construction defect lawsuit over CityCenter’s mistake-riddled Harmon Hotel. The reality is the casino giant won the war by making this 4-year-old legal mess go away. As 2014 draws to a close, MGM Resorts is on an upswing. Analysts view the company as an investment opportunity, primarily because of its new properties under … [Read more...]

The most recent publicity stunt in the ongoing skirmish between Culinary 226 and Station Casinos had a holiday street party feel combined with an arts and crafts project. In the past, the union has blocked entrances and streets, which resulted in the Culinary’s leadership being led away in mock arrest. A few years ago, several Culinary workers held a weeklong hunger strike in front of the … [Read more...]

Recently there was a short article from Eureka, California about the promotion of a tribal member to the position of general manager at the Bear River Casino. In the grand scheme of things, it is not a very big story, except that it is one of the biggest storylines in Indian gaming. John McGinnis, a member of the Bear River Band and an elected member of the Tribal Council, will be the new General … [Read more...]

These days, the hospitality industry may need to do more than simply market broadly to gay tourists. It’s more complicated than that because of the niche groups within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Therefore, some hotels, attractions and tourism marketing groups are educating themselves about the subgroups to target-market specific niches or at least avoid offending … [Read more...]

By any measure, 2014 has been a humbling year for the online gaming business in the U.S. After starting with a bang in late 2013, all sorts of problems have completely halted its momentum. A quick recap: banks and payment processors have been reluctant to honor payments made to online casinos, Sheldon Adelson’s militant opposition to online play has created a massive schism in the industry, … [Read more...]

Visitors to Macau can capture spectacular images of the city’s downtown peninsula skyline from the Ruins of St. Paul, a hillside area that includes the stone facade remnants of a 16th century cathedral. Above the church site is Mount Fortress, which was built by Jesuits to protect the Portuguese colony. The historic fort’s cannons point toward Macau and the peninsula area’s casinos, the most … [Read more...]

Things continue to be rough for our industry. Financial results remain soft; discussion of bankruptcy in other quarters abound. There is little optimism out there. With just cause. While it has taken far longer than it should have, the industry is finally realizing that the glory days (aka everything before 2007) will never return. This is partly due to the “new normal” of stagnant economic … [Read more...]

The U.S. states which don’t authorize casinos can be put into two groups. There are those likely to remain without casinos into perpetuity, such as the staunchly anti-gambling Utah. Then there are those where allowing casinos has merely a long-shot, outside chance. In two cases these long-shot states are even famous for having their own form of gambling: Kentucky, with its Derby; and Texas, where … [Read more...]

Sam Nazarian hasn’t asked me for advice. But I’ll give it to him anyway. When he appears Thursday at the Nevada Gaming Commission meeting, Nazarian — the visionary behind SLS Las Vegas — should accept the Dec. 3 recommendation by the Gaming Control Board for a one-year limited gaming license with about a half dozen conditions. One provision bars Nazarian from having any say over the SLS … [Read more...]

The time has come for the gaming industry to address gambling addiction. In the long-term there are no absolute solutions, just as there are no solutions to alcohol, tobacco or shopping addictions. Prohibition has been tried and it does not work. Many states are using excessive taxation on alcohol and tobacco, but there are no signs that strategy is working either. Although, the laws prohibiting … [Read more...]

The efforts of a handful of good regulators in the early 1960s kept Nevada’s gaming industry from crapping out Grant Sawyer deserves much of the credit for Nevada taking its current shape. In his first year as governor in 1959, Sawyer created the Nevada Gaming Commission, taking the responsibility for issuing licenses and directing policy away from the state’s Tax Commission. According to … [Read more...]

California’s latest effort to legalize online poker would sideline PokerStars, shut out the racetrack industry, and offer a twist that makes traditional casinos and card rooms part of the game. Of course, the whole idea could be tossed out with yesterday’s garbage if billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson’s effort to kill online gaming makes an eleventh hour resurrection during Congress’ lame … [Read more...]

The latest development in the ongoing wave of casino expansion in the Northeast took place in Pennsylvania on November 12th.. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board state gaming commission granted a second casino license for Philadelphia to Stadium Casino and its project Live! Hotel and Casino. The process of granting the two licenses authorized for Philadelphia has been long and arduous. The first … [Read more...]

The demise of Ultimate Gaming just five months short of the company’s second birthday was attributable to several factors that make online poker in Nevada a challenging business model. Until Nevada is able to find a populous state to be an online gaming partner — the pending agreement with Delaware won’t move the needle — the Silver State is just too small in population to support a vibrant … [Read more...]

It’s really too bad for the Clark County Commission that they simply couldn’t pass an ordinance that says, “All Dotty’s must close immediately!” Because no matter what else, it was unmistakably the intent of an ordinance approved last week by a commission majority to make it more difficult for the Dotty’s neighborhood gambling bars to continue to do business. By approving an ordinance that … [Read more...]

The irony was not lost on Gavin Isaacs. On Nov. 21, 2013, Isaacs sat in the audience of the Nevada Gaming Commission hearing in the Sawyer Building. He watched as SHFL entertainment, where he was CEO for 32 months, was sold to slot machine giant Bally Technologies — his former employer — for $1.3 billion. The next day, Isaacs was out of work and unsure about his future. Funny how things … [Read more...]

Nearly a year ago, it seemed like everyone had a beef with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based organization that sanctions the National Finals Rodeo. The PRCA was engaged in a major dustup with Las Vegas Events, the NFR’s promoter, which was ticked off at the rodeo organization for flirting with moving the NFR from Las Vegas to either central Florida or … [Read more...]

“O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?” These words were written in 1599 by William Shakespeare for his tragedy, “Julius Caesar.” But they actually have meaning today when it comes to the tragedy of Caesars Entertainment Corp. The nation’s largest casino operator — with almost 40 properties in 14 … [Read more...]

(Bloomberg View) -- No one really gives ties anymore, do they? Plus everyone on your holiday list already has HBO, Netflix and Hulu. What about the latest Android-powered intelligent telephone? Yawn. While the poker player on your list might not be pushy enough to mention it, the gift she or he almost certainly covets most is the $10,000 buy-in to the World Series of Poker Main Event next July, … [Read more...]

Pennsylvania gaming regulators this month drove another nail into the coffin containing Atlantic City’s gaming market. At the same time, they unwittingly damaged their own state’s casino industry. Stadium Casino, a joint venture of the Cordish Cos. of Baltimore and Greenwood Gaming, was awarded the rights to build the $425 million Live! Casino &Hotel in South Philadelphia. Analysts, … [Read more...]

Did you hear the joke about the poker player who counterfeited chips? He got a flush, but still lost. In January, a poker player from North Carolina brought his own chips to a big-time poker tournament in Atlantic City. He got caught because he flushed them down the toilet, hoping, it was supposed, to avoid detection. He got a flush, not a royal, but a flush nevertheless. We all had a good laugh. … [Read more...]

A congressional hearing on a bill to restore the Interstate Wire Act has lost steam in the current lame-duck session. Pro-Internet gaming folks, however, aren’t taking the silence for granted. The Justice Department ruled in December 2011 that the Wire Act applies only to sports wagering, paving the way for legal online gaming in the U.S. Online wagering proponents worry the “Restoration … [Read more...]

November 1989 – Thanksgiving week. I was in Los Angeles dealing with family issues. My brother Bill had developed schizophrenia and walked out of his treatment center to who knows where. I was trying to figure out what to do about it – and getting generally frustrated. (He walked back into treatment nine months later and went on to become a renowned mental health care advocate before his death … [Read more...]

California is shaping up as the nation’s Internet poker battleground in 2015. Everyone wants a piece of the potentially lucrative pie. With 38 million residents, California has an Indian casino industry that produces almost $7 billion in annual gaming revenue — one-fourth of the nation’s total. Internet gaming proponents think the Golden State will erase doubts about the financial strength … [Read more...]

Politicians and regulators are starting to listen to casino operators. In nearly every state, operators are struggling with a depressed economy and increased competition from neighboring states. Regulation and taxation that have always been burdensome for the industry have become nearly unbearable in the current conditions and casinos are asking for relief. A trend toward a reduction of regulation … [Read more...]

Hit hard by a government crackdown, the former Portuguese colony would be wise to borrow ideas from our city to help rebuild its stack. Back in 2002, when the government of the Macau Special Administration Region awarded its first gaming concessions to American companies, it was conventional wisdom that the former Portuguese colony would learn a great deal about gaming from the wizards of Las … [Read more...]

Nevada’s virtual monopoly on legalized sports wagering could be in danger. But is that bad for business? In a New York Times op-ed piece last Thursday, National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver wrote the league should reconsider its stance against the expansion of legal sports gambling. Silver, who became NBA commissioner in February, is the first head of a major … [Read more...]

After decades of steadfast and unified opposition, cracks are emerging in the coalition of U.S. sports leagues that has for years impeded the expansion of sports betting outside of Nevada. In a New York Times op-ed last Friday, National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver broke ranks to advocate that the U.S. follow the model set by European countries, legalizing and regulating … [Read more...]

Boyd Gaming Corp. plans to revamp its restaurant offerings throughout its locals-oriented properties. The company began the effort recently at the Suncoast by opening The Game, a sports bar and grill near the property’s race and sports book. The space replaced TGI Friday’s and offers a new restaurant menu and bar items. For sports fans, wide-screen high-definition televisions line the walls, … [Read more...]

The crushing defeat of Proposition 48 in California is negative way to end the year for proponents of off-reservation casino expansion, but we’ve yet to see the last of battles over tribes seeking to take land into trust for the purpose of building casinos. Despite the increasing number of such developments in the past few years, they have not gotten many national headlines because the big casino … [Read more...]

I went to Atlantic City last month to learn more about how the city's leaders were planning to revive the city's economy and, more importantly, its image. What I discovered something larger: the city's trials and tribulations offer a harbinger of the future challenges that will hit the casino industry nationwide sooner rather than later. It's painfully obvious to anyone who has visited Atlantic … [Read more...]

CityCenter was nothing more than conceptual renderings and a $5 billion idea when I rejoined the Review-Journal business staff 10 years ago. You could still place a wager at the Stardust and the Frontier, Macau was the world’s third-largest gaming market, Internet poker was becoming more than a curiosity and the idea of casinos in Ohio and Maryland was far-fetched. Not to sound like a mix … [Read more...]

National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver has come out in favor of legalized gambling. Will this signal a shift on the issue among all the major sports leagues? In an op-ed article for the New York Times, Silver officially reverses the league’s previous position, advocating for the smart implementation of legalized gambling in order to bring the flourishing industry out from … [Read more...]

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Jimmy Vaccaro never had to go far to find some action in the Pennsylvania town where he grew up. Even as a teenager he knew the bookie in the backroom of the local candy store, where the cigar smoke was thick and bets could be made on any game in the country. Vaccaro's fascination with betting would lead him to this gambling town, where he quickly found work in legal shops that … [Read more...]

(Bloomberg View) -- The World Series of Poker Main Event recommenced at the Rio casino in Las Vegas this week, after a nearly four-month hiatus so ESPN could broadcast the finals almost live over two nights during the November sweeps. There was a 30-minute delay because the hole cards were shown to the television audience. After 244 hands played over 12 hours, six of the nine finalists were … [Read more...]

A few years ago, the American Gaming Association would have stayed away from the recent Massachusetts ballot referendum matter, where voters had a chance to kill the state’s nascent casino industry before the first hand of blackjack was dealt. The Washington, D.C.-based association wanted states and cities to decide whether gaming expansion was right for their own backyards without any … [Read more...]

By all accounts the economy is growing and robust. Unemployment is lower than at any time since the Great Recession began, the stock market is at a dizzying all time high, mortgages rates are still very, very low, new housing starts are up, as are sales of existing homes and for the traveling public, gases prices are down; consumers are confident. Whatever measure one uses, the recession seems to … [Read more...]

The Las Vegas locals market is playing a game of “Waiting for Godot.” But unlike Vladimir and Estragon from the Samuel Beckett play, Boyd Gaming Corp. and Station Casinos aren’t waiting for some imaginary person. Genting Berhad will soon arrive in Las Vegas from Malaysia. The company will create thousands of construction jobs for Resorts World Las Vegas. So they say. A spokesman for … [Read more...]

"A good night for the industry” said an email I received from AGA President Geoff Freeman sometime around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday night. And he is right: Election Day was a good night for the gaming industry. The best news is that the repeal effort in Massachusetts was overwhelming defeated. Except for the tonier towns in the Berkshires (Lenox, Stockbridge, Great Barrington) and those surrounding … [Read more...]

It’s unclear if Boyd Gaming Corp. will ultimately spin off all or a portion of the company’s casinos into a real estate investment trust. But the idea certainly piqued the interest of the investment community. Shares of Boyd jumped almost 5 percent in value on the New York Stock Exchange last Friday, the day after the company said it spent $3 million on advisers to evaluate the idea of a … [Read more...]

A California casino is closed after an armed standoff: the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is closed and may remain that way for months. The area media is having a field day as daily new details unfold. Recently, the sheriff has said there will be arrests and prosecutions in the near future. And then, the two sides announced they would be meeting to discuss their differences – rather like the … [Read more...]

Tuesday is Election Day, with six important gaming-related ballot questions on various state ballots. Two of them (California and Massachusetts) could have serious future impacts for the industry. As many of you know, to better publicize these questions (as well raise money for a good cause – Noah’s Animal House in Las Vegas), CDC Gaming Reports has been running a 2014 Election Contest over the … [Read more...]

By all accounts, a referendum to undo Massachusetts’ casino law should get crushed in Tuesday’s election and lose by 15 to 20 percentage points. That’s what the most recent polls say. Then again, this is Massachusetts. Nothing has been simple when its comes to the state’s nascent casino business. Caesars Entertainment Corp. was tossed from the gaming license process in 2013 when an … [Read more...]

The Chicago Crime Commission is launching a campaign to eliminate the sweepstakes machines in the state. The commission is sending out a report to local law enforcement that claims the machines are illegal and cites twelve other jurisdictions where the games were determined to meet the legal definition of gambling machines. The Illinois Gaming Commission agrees with the Crime Commission. But … [Read more...]

The more things change, the more Nevada adjusts to make sure the cash registers keep ringing - See more at: http://vegasseven.com/2014/10/28/new-jerseys-move-legalize-sports-betting-nevada-stays-one-step-ahead/#sthash.2RAJqfl3.dpuf The more things change, the more Nevada adjusts to make sure the cash registers keep ringing - See more at: … [Read more...]

In the grand scheme of things, the proxy fight over Full House Resorts seems like small potatoes. But with regional markets on a downward trajectory, the company is ripe for the taking. Las Vegas-based Full House owns three regional casinos and has a management contract for a Lake Tahoe resort. Full House, which is traded on Nasdaq, has a market capitalization of less than $24 million. As … [Read more...]

Note from Jeffrey Compton: Two hours after we published this column (and posted in The Flash) we received a note from Sarah M. Regan, CPPL, McCormick & Sons Ins. Agcy Inc. (and on-going adviser to CDC Gaming Reports) that the column below should have stated that Airbnb hosting may be in violation of local ordinance (including homeowner association regulations). It should also be noted that … [Read more...]

What began as a way to financially help area schools in need has become a year-round effort for Station Casinos. The company hosted its annual Smart Start breakfast this month at Red Rock Resort’s T-bones Chophouse and awarded $50,000 — $5,000 each — to 10 elementary schools designated by the Clark County School District as needing the greatest assistance for students. The donation brought … [Read more...]

Earlier this month, Macau implemented a smoking ban inside its casinos. No, the region’s $45.2 billion-a-year gaming market didn’t collapse into the South China Sea. In fact, the new smoking rules have been the least of the problems to beset Macau this year. The Chinese gaming enclave has experienced four straight months of gaming revenue declines. A fifth monthly drop is expected when … [Read more...]

The first nine months of 2014 are on the books, enough to give us a pretty clear picture of the casino industry’s performance in 2014. It is not a pretty picture as I read it. Two things are very clear from the results; first, the gaming industry has not fully recovered from the Great Recession; and secondly, every time a new jurisdiction opens casinos, casinos in nearby jurisdictions take a big … [Read more...]

To paraphrase Monty Python, gaming expansion in Japan is apparently not dead yet. That’s good news to some of the world’s biggest casino operators. They view the Land of the Rising Sun as the Holy Grail. Reuters news service reported this week that a Japanese casino expansion bill wouldn’t be voted on by the time country’s legislature (or Diet) adjourns Nov. 30. Union Gaming Group … [Read more...]

One of the most insidious and inherently absurd forms of gaming enterprise to have sprung up in the U.S. in recent years is approaching its tenth birthday. Internet sweepstakes cafes began around 2005; they have since spread widely across the country. These ventures have gone by many names in their efforts to remain on the good side of the law, including “cyber cafes” and even, recently, “skill … [Read more...]

A year ago, Las Vegas Sands Corp. was looking to sell its Pennsylvania hotel-casino complex, housed on the historical site of the long-closed Bethlehem Steel Mill. Now, the company is prepared to invest $800 million in the development, now one of the top two gaming revenue producing properties among that state’s 12 casinos. In an interview with The Morning Call of Lehigh Valley earlier this … [Read more...]

A recent and interesting editorial from the South Jersey Times suggested that New Jersey gaming regulators should have questioned the number of casinos in Atlantic City. The editorial rightly asserts the regulators only thought of preventing criminals from entering the industry and never thought of protecting the industry from anything, least of all from competition. Voters in New Jersey in 1974 … [Read more...]

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) - Apple's skinnier iPads and flashy big-screen iMac are sleek and stunning. But the tech giant is making a bigger strategic bet with next week's launch of Apple Pay - the mobile pay service aimed at turning your iPhone into your wallet. The service, which goes live Monday and has hundreds of banks on board, is "hugely important" says Forrester Research analyst Frank … [Read more...]

Long a dominant force in the casino industry, slot machines are now at a crossroads. How will they adapt to tomorrow’s players? Among the more important topics addressed at the annual Global Gaming Expo, held earlier this month at the Sands Expo Center, focused on an industry in transition. Even as the number of casinos where people can gamble is increasing, the interest of millennials—those born … [Read more...]

Anyone who has followed Dan Lee over the years understands his motivation in launching a proxy fight for control of regional casino operator Full House Resorts. He sees opportunity. Lee, 56, is one of five shareholders controlling 6.2 percent of Las Vegas-based Full House. They want a special meeting to remake the board of directors and change the company’s direction, and asked the … [Read more...]

It’s not every day that the CEO of a Canadian gaming company steals attention from the chief executives of four major slot machine manufacturers during a keynote round table at the Global Gaming Expo. Amaya Gaming Group CEO David Baazov, however, engineered the $4.9 billion acquisition this summer of online gaming giant PokerStars. The transaction was arguably the most intriguing deal in what … [Read more...]

There’s a brand new sports bar at Monmouth Park with televisions hanging from nearly every available rafter. Mostly empty now except on racing weekends at the horse track little more than an hour from Manhattan, it may not stay empty long. Depending on how a judge rules, it could soon become the first fully functioning – and fully legal – sports book in the country outside of Nevada. The … [Read more...]

In August 2012, Crockfords, one of London’s poshest casinos, refused to pay Phil Ivey $14.3 million he won playing Punto Banco (a form of baccarat), claiming he cheated. Ivey sued, and has now lost, in Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice. Meanwhile, in a mirror-image case, the Borgata in Atlantic City has sued Ivey to recover $9.63 million he also won playing that game. And yes, this is the same … [Read more...]

Since Secaucus, N.J., “no longer smells like pig farms,” Sheldon Adelson wouldn’t mind building a casino in the nearby Meadowlands sports complex. The Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman said the location in Northern New Jersey — across the Hudson River from New York City — would be “a very attractive place” for a hotel-casino. Adelson’s interest in New Jersey was part of his keynote discussion … [Read more...]

Bob Scucci can recall an era when Nevada’s race and sports books displayed signs banning cellular telephones. If the signs were still in place today, the casinos would be giving away a growing chunk of revenue. Scucci, the director of race and sports for Boyd Gaming Corp., said the company’s recent launch of its mobile wagering application could bring more gamblers into the fold. The … [Read more...]

Did you hear that MGM Resorts International — purveyors of the M Life customer loyalty program — is suing a medical marijuana company calling itself “M’Life” on grounds of copyright infringement? In addition to the usual copyright complaints, MGM is alleging the association with medical marijuana is tarnishing the gambling giant’s hard-won reputation. So, on the one hand, you have a company … [Read more...]

The lines between the commercial casino industry and Indian gaming are seemingly evaporating. Caesars Entertainment Corp. runs Indian casinos in Phoenix, San Diego and North Carolina through its Harrah’s brand. Station Casinos opened one of the largest California Indian casinos near Sacramento in 2003 and managed the property for seven years. The company operates an Indian casino 45 minutes … [Read more...]

Historically, Las Vegas was the bad-boy of the gaming industry in the eyes of legislators and regulators. When introducing casinos into a new jurisdiction there was one thing they all knew for certain – they did not want to be like Vegas. For years people compared the casinos in Atlantic City to those in Las Vegas. In 2014 it is clear that Atlantic City was successful; it is not like Las Vegas. … [Read more...]

As he prepared to address what promised to be an adoring audience Tuesday at the Global Gaming Expo, casino king Steve Wynn was a man at the top of his game. Not only is the Wynn Resorts chairmans name synonymous with the best the gambling resort industry has to offer, but hes personally worth $3.5 billion, according to the latest Forbes rankings. Hes also just managed to wow skeptics in … [Read more...]

Richard Haddrills second term as CEO of slot machine giant Bally Technologies will be short-lived. Seventeen months after he handed the reins of the gaming equipment manufacturer to his hand-chosen successor, Haddrill gave up his chairmans seat and returned to the CEOs desk on May 23. Seventy days after taking over, Bally was sold to lottery provider Scientific Games for $5.1 billion. The … [Read more...]

Heading into G2E everyone is looking for the next trend, the next big thing in the gaming industry. We all want to know what to expect in the year to come. Thousands of people will be scurrying around the displays searching for a glimpse of the future. Slot machines, slot machine displays and slot machine manufacturing companies will dominate the speeches, the dialogue on the floor and the after … [Read more...]

A gaming insider whose opinion is respected in the industry has a theory that Massachusetts gambling regulators unknowingly handed some momentum to those who want to overturn the state’s 2011 casino law. They did it by giving the single Boston-area gaming license to Wynn Resorts Ltd. on Sept. 16. Saying the Las Vegas-based company isn’t well liked in Boston or in surrounding communities is … [Read more...]

Note: A couple of Saturdays ago I made the comment – in plugging a column by Cory Roberts, our technical director, that “based on Cory's advice I cut out cable television, saved $100 a month and have more - good - choices than ever before.” While quite a few people clicked to read his column on new Apple products, quite a few more emailed me requesting details on my cable cutting. Last week I sent … [Read more...]

As casinos close (and open) up and down the Eastern seaboard, it’s reasonable to ask if the industry is becoming oversaturated. One-third of Atlantic City’s casinos have closed this year. Simultaneously, new casinos are under construction or on the drawing board in surrounding states. So how many casinos are too many? More pressingly, has the industry reached the saturation point? Answer: … [Read more...]