Time to end the fight against Prairie Flower Casino By Ron Cumberledge, Des Moines Register • May 21, 2019 In Carter Lake, Ia., a town of less than 4,000 citizens on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska has been working to develop gaming and entertainment options on its sovereign land within our city limits. In November 2018, the Prairie Flower Casino opened to large crowds and excited locals. The opening was a long time coming. For more than a decade, the State of … [Read more...]
Massachusetts is the big loser, thanks to casino board’s bungling By Jacklyn Cashman, Boston Herald • May 21, 2019 The Gaming Commission gambled on two Las Vegas giants — Wynn Resorts and MGM — and Massachusetts lost.Wynn lied to the commonwealth of Massachusetts to get its license when it failed to disclose a raft of sexual-harassment claims against former chairman Steve Wynn. It was rewarded for duping the regulators with a slap-on-the-wrist fine of $35 million — a pittance. But probably fearing the legal … [Read more...]
Could Wynn Resorts really consider quitting close to the end of its Boston marathon? By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • May 20, 2019 Imagine a top long-distance runner entering the Boston Marathon.He springs to the front of the pack, outpaces the best competition on the planet, manages to survive Newton’s Heartbreak Hill, the downward slope of “Cemetery Mile,” and pounds out 26 grueling miles through the city.With the finish line in sight, he can’t help but smile.Then the marathoner pauses, hails a cab bound for the airport, … [Read more...]
ESPN and other media entities risk their credibility with sports betting deals By Tom Hoffarth, Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2019 There are slippery slopes to continually sidestep on the sports media landscape. And then there’s the bedazzled Las Vegas Slip ’N Slide that ESPN just went barreling down last week, head over billfold. If all the other crazy kids are taking this crap shoot into the green-tainted pool, what’s the problem? They’ve tried to at least present some transparency of this business transaction — … [Read more...]
What I loved, liked and disliked about ICE North America By Jeffrey Compton, CDC Gaming Reports • May 19, 2019 In summary, ICE North America was a good show – not a great one, but for a first-time effort I came away with some great insights and a better understanding of the future of gaming.I loved:The focus of ICE North America: The primary focus of both the conference and the exhibits was gaming technology – sports betting yes, but also eSports, affiliate technology, and (as much as possible in the … [Read more...]
The Slot Club Overhaul: Recommendations from then and now By Nicole Barker, President, Relationship Marketing Solutions • May 18, 2019 Let’s journey back in time to sage advice from Jeffrey Compton of CDC Consulting regarding how to overhaul a tiered club program. Eleven years ago, Jeffrey offered four main factors for consideration. Has the conversation changed in the years since?Consideration of Open-Tiered ClubsIf one card is good, more cards are better, right? Ten years ago, the large commercial casinos were minting new … [Read more...]
As sports gambling grows, an athlete’s divorce is now more than just gossip By Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune • May 17, 2019 I wish I could say the pending dissolution of Ben and Julianna Zobrist’s marriage was nobody’s business but theirs. I can’t. This isn’t just because it’s two celebrities — he a Cubs World Series MVP and she a Christian pop musician — who talked up their marriage in the national media. It’s also not just because Zobrist’s leave of absence affects the Cubs. There was the initial mystery … [Read more...]
A Derby to end all Derbies By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • May 16, 2019 The May 4th Kentucky Derby was first of three horse races that constitute the Triple Crown. It was squeezed into a very busy weekend that included Cinco de Mayo, the beginning of Ramadan, the National Hockey League championships and the NBA finals. Horse racing seldom makes the national news, except for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. There are other stakes, cups and derbies … [Read more...]
Trumpet master continues to hit the high notes in Las Vegas By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • May 15, 2019 I ran into Las Vegas trumpet master Tommy Porrello recently after he’d finished another gig, albeit a somber one.He played taps at the April 27 celebration of life for former Las Vegas journalist and casino communications specialist Gary Thompson, a proud former member of the U.S. Air Force. Porrello for many years has been part of a small group of professional musicians who volunteer their time … [Read more...]
Dispatches on ICE North America 2019: From the Publisher By Jeffrey Compton, CDC Gaming Reports • May 15, 2019 Entries: May 15, 2019 - Industry Experts address the industry’s need to adapt and adopt technology to attract tomorrow’s players May 14, 2019 - Answering the eSports question - from someone who should know May 14, 2019 - Legal vs. Illegal Sports Betting in the U.S. May 13, 2019 - Welcome! May 15, 2019 - Industry Experts address the industry's need to adapt and adopt technology to … [Read more...]
Casinos and marijuana continues to be an evolving issue in Nevada By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • May 14, 2019 Nevada’s booming legal marijuana business is seemingly on a collision course with the state’s legacy casino industry, despite efforts that began five years ago to keep the businesses separate.Those intentions notwithstanding, the lines between the two are quickly evaporating.Nevada Gaming Control Board member Terry Johnson drafted the May 2014 industry notice that admonished gaming … [Read more...]
Ex-chairman now ‘stars’ in WSJ ad as Wynn Resorts moves forward By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • May 13, 2019 Just when you think it’s safe not to think about all the ugliness that emanated from Wynn Resorts, a check of Twitter brings it all back. “Discover how the king of the Las Vegas Strip met his downfall,” the rolling advertisement from The Wall Street Journal says. The tweet is accompanied by a photo of a seemingly distressed Wynn. “Read more and see where the money leads.” Not to mention, … [Read more...]
How the ‘Las Vegas of Italy’ is kicking its slot machine addiction By Giorgio Ghiglione, The Guardian • May 8, 2019 At the start of this year, Massimo was standing on a bridge “determined to jump off”. The 45-year-old had been struggling with gambling addiction since 2001. “I started to play slot machines and video poker after the death of my father and ended up spending €5,000 a day,” says the artisan fence-maker, from the city of Pavia in northern Italy. He was soon in debt to loan sharks and ended up … [Read more...]
“At risk” players and the risk of competition By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • May 8, 2019 Recent weeks have seen GVC, Svenska Spel, and number of other online gambling operators all calling for a total ban on broadcast advertising. Svenska Spel, the former gambling monopoly in Sweden (lottery and casino games), is owned by the state of Sweden and is being forced to compete now that Sweden has opened up its online gambling market to private operators. Sweden’s former monopoly operator … [Read more...]
In-play betting and the future of exchanges in the USA By Paul Sculpher, Special to CDC Gaming Reports • May 8, 2019 It’s news to no one that the US betting market is about to explode, state by state, as betting on sports becomes legal. No doubt in-play betting will almost immediately be a hot potato. There’ll be scare stories, some justified, about how easy it easy for customers who display problem gambling tendencies to get in much deeper, in the heat of the action, than they intended. One open question is … [Read more...]
After a rough start, convenient bond fostered between California tribes and ‘Big Gaming’ By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • May 7, 2019 The relationship between Nevada’s major casino operators and California’s Indian tribes wasn’t always so cozy. Two decades ago, Las Vegas-based gaming companies spent millions of dollars to try and stop a burgeoning tribal casino industry before it left the starting gate. Times have definitely changed. Both Caesars Entertainment and Red Rock Resorts continue to reap benefits from the … [Read more...]
A single available racino license causing consternation in New Mexico By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • May 6, 2019 New Mexico officials find themselves in a surprisingly prickly political predicament these days: How to move forward with the issuance of a single coveted racino license for one of several applicants. At a time of unprecedented legal expansion of various forms of gaming, the state’s horse racetracks have run up against the hard-line policy of its tribal gaming compacts: Only six racinos are … [Read more...]
Adelson-owned casino scores victory in Pennsylvania’s high court By Brian Pempus, PennBets • May 4, 2019 A component of Pennsylvania’s 2017 gambling expansion law was struck down late last month. The legal challenge was led by Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, owned by Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The lawsuit argued that provisions in the law that called for the state’s top-performing casinos in terms of slot revenue to send some of that money to the worst-performing casinos was … [Read more...]
Osaka Stands Alone As Japan Big City Casino Candidate By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • May 1, 2019 Casino operators have declared Osaka their favorite major Japanese city to develop an integrated resort the way parents declare their only child their favorite. None of Japan’s other largest metropolitan areas have entered the competition for an IR license, so Osaka stands alone. Under the licensing process, local jurisdictions will nominate a single consortium for the national government to … [Read more...]
How To Be The Casino’s Landlord By Nathan Slaughter, Nasdaq • May 1, 2019 Back in the early 2000s, I used to write a column called "The Gaming Investor" for Casino Player magazine. As a result, I had a front-row seat to the gradual transformation that's taken place in the casino business over the years. The days of cheap drinks and 99-cent shrimp cocktails are sadly gone for the most part. Once considered loss-leaders just to lure in gamblers, property owners have … [Read more...]
Some basic tips for betting on horse racing, Kentucky Derby By Gary B. Graves, Associated Press • May 1, 2019 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Picking a horse to win the Kentucky Derby is easy. Placing a bet is as close as a cellphone, tablet, computer or even a smart TV with internet access. But for the novice or inexperienced bettor, making a wager that pays off with a profit can be a challenge: Beginners need to know how to place a bet, who to bet on and where to place the bet. Off-track simulcasting in … [Read more...]
Murren says the focus is on MGM 2020, downplays any deal for the Cosmopolitan By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • April 30, 2019 Jim Murren attempted on Monday to stamp out speculation that MGM Resorts International wants to acquire the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which was put up for sale two weeks ago. I’m not sure he succeeded. MGM’s CEO would rather have the investment community focus on the MGM 2020 corporate restructuring program, which the company expects will result in $300 million of additional cash flow … [Read more...]
What is a gaming regulator’s job? By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • April 30, 2019 Gambling regulators in Louisiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts have some big issues on their plates and no one is quite sure what to expect. Big issues in regulation are not uncommon in gaming. Casino gaming is a highly regulated industry and regulators play very prominent roles. As conditions change and the industry evolves, regulators are faced with adapting to new circumstances and that can … [Read more...]
Celebrating spring, baseball, and old-school sportsmen Gaughan and Exber By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 29, 2019 Every year about this time I’m transported back to childhood by the smell of fresh-mown grass, the crack of the bat, and the many signs of the start of another baseball season. Big league, minor league, or little league, I can’t pass a ballpark and not sense the thrill of the grass. That sense was only accentuated after making my first visit to the sparkling Las Vegas Ballpark for an Aviators … [Read more...]
Too big to fail U.S. Pacific Island casino keeps failing By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • April 26, 2019 Last Friday’s Marianas Variety newspaper reports the Rotary Club of Saipan raked in US$34,000 from a Las Vegas Night. Perhaps the Rotarians can teach Imperial Pacific International how to operate a profitable casino on the U.S. Pacific island, part of the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands. Hong Kong listed IPI declared a loss of nearly HK$3 billion (US$382 million) for last year. After … [Read more...]
Unlucky Dragon sale: Rental king Ahern picks up a bargain By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 24, 2019 If ever a place needed an owner handy with his hands with a sharp eye for figures, it’s the lowly Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino just off the Strip. And this week, after more than a month of rumors linking him to interest in the bankrupt property, equipment rental king Don Ahern announced publicly his purchase of the Asian-themed operation for a bargain price: $36 million. The Las Vegas … [Read more...]
The FOBT Debate By Chris Brady, Special to CDC Gaming Reports • April 24, 2019 Whoever first coined the phrase, “FOBTs are the crack cocaine of gambling” has a lot to answer for, as do bookies screaming that they will all become destitute because of legal restrictions on these machines. Both distort, with hyperbole, a debate that cries out for honesty. In their preparations for the curbs on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) that the British government was about to … [Read more...]
Sports Betting – A Golden Age By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • April 24, 2019 Despite the efforts of the US Department of Justice, the United States is crossing the threshold into a world of legal sports betting. Admittedly this is on a state-by-state basis, and the first states that have legalised sports betting have tended to be ones with smaller populations. So, to date, revenues have not been something to write home about. However, as the number of people that can bet … [Read more...]
Report: Six states with limited stakes gaming produced more than $4 billion in revenue in 2018 By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • April 23, 2019 Call it whatever you want; limited stakes gaming, slot machine route operations, convenience gaming, or distributed gaming. It’s all big business. In 2018, six states with locations that have a limited number of slot machines grew revenues 7.5 percent to $4.04 billion, according to a report by St. Louis-based accounting firm RubinBrown. Those figures don’t include Nevada, which doesn’t … [Read more...]
Gaming reporter-turned-casino-communications man Thompson stayed cool to the end By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 22, 2019 Gary Thompson was the cool one, that much I could tell as I began hustling as an intern at the Las Vegas Sun in the late 1970s. I knew next to nothing, but even I could tell that. Thompson was as cool as Tony Rome, and as quick as a gunslinger on deadline. That’s the way I’ll remember him. The longtime newspaper reporter and corporate casino communications expert died April 14 after a … [Read more...]
Legal gambling would be better than Utah’s tax ‘modernization’ By Ron Mortensen, The Salt Lake Tribune • April 22, 2019 Utah’s governing and business elites are doing their best to convince Utahns that the state’s tax system must be modernized. However, their solutions are to do more of the same rather than doing something really innovative, such as implementing a lottery and online sports betting. For example, the Salt Lake Chamber — dubbed an “Enemy of the Taxpayer” by Americans for Tax Reform — is the driving … [Read more...]
Gambling will take over TV sports By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., The Wall Street Journal • April 20, 2019 Folks in the cable TV business aren’t taking any chances. When the Supreme Court last year struck down a federal law banning sports betting, they knew it was good news for the beleaguered cable bundle, the glue of which is live sports. But why wait for gambling to find its way to sports fans and sports fans to find their way to the TV? Why not give them a push? Now underway are experiments to … [Read more...]
A tale of Tunica’s decline By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • April 18, 2019 The Resorts Casino in Tunica, Mississippi is scheduled to close on June 30th. It will be the third casino to close in Tunica since 2014. The Roadhouse closed in January of this year and Harrah’s Tunica in 2014. Tunica has been on a long downward slide caused by competition from neighboring states. In 2006, there were ten casinos in Tunica with 14,000 slot machines, 400 table games and 12,000 … [Read more...]
Nine of the craziest legal sports betting proposals across the U.S. By Brett Smiley, SportsHandle • April 17, 2019 A Missouri sports betting bill on Monday cleared the House General Laws Committee, and one of its provisions is a doozy: It calls for an “entry and facilities infrastructure fee” to be funded with an off-the-top cut from all legal sports bets — in order to pay for the construction and upkeep of private or commercial stadiums in the state. This 0.6% fee on total betting handle would come in … [Read more...]
Rodio to helm Caesars Entertainment, but what will the company ultimately look like? By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • April 16, 2019 One wonders if Tony Rodio just signed on for a very short tenure as CEO of Caesars Entertainment. Within the same breath that it announced Rodio’s hiring, the casino giant said it has created a “transaction committee” of the company’s board that will evaluate “ongoing efforts in creating additional shareholder value.” The language downplayed previous wording from Carl Icahn, Caesars’ … [Read more...]
New York’s state constitution already permits mobile sports betting By Robert S. Smith and James M. McGuire, Times Union • April 16, 2019 If you live in New York, and you want to bet on the Super Bowl or the Final Four, you will soon will be able to do it legally — if you get into your car and drive to one of the casinos that are going to have sports betting licenses. That might be OK if you live near Tioga Downs, for example, but it would be a lot easier to sit in your living room and send your bet to the casino over the … [Read more...]
Fumble! AAF debacle an embarrassing misstep in the name of sports betting By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 15, 2019 These days it’s easy to get caught up in the legalized sports betting fever making its way across the country. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a rush to approve legal bookmaking has precedented growth in the sports gambling industry and business alliances that many wouldn’t have predicted just a few years ago. … [Read more...]
Virginia: Is State Sen. Stanley right? Are casinos a sign of civic death? By Bristol Herald Courier • April 15, 2019 It wasn’t quite like Daniel going into the lion’s den, but perhaps as close as we’ll get without actual big cats. State Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, went to Danville last week and told city leaders they don’t need a casino. This was not what some community leaders there wanted to hear. Before we get to why this matters, let’s recap the very short history of casinos in Virginia: For … [Read more...]
My first Kentucky Derby: You can never forget the experience By Bernard Kroviak, CDC Gaming Reports • April 13, 2019 The Kentucky Derby is only a couple of weeks away, and the racing world has once again turned its attention to the Run for The Roses. The most exciting 2 minutes in sports comes once a year, on the first Saturday in May. It’s certainly the most anticipated race of 2019, for both fans and insiders - since the Derby is only for three-year-olds, a horse (and his owner) only gets one shot at being … [Read more...]
What is going on in Macau these days? By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • April 11, 2019 In March, casino revenue in Macau fell 0.4 percent to $3.2 billion; in February revenue was up 4.4 percent and in January down 5 percent. VIP win was down 10 percent for the first quarter and mass-market win was up 8 percent. Predictions for the rest of year vary, but no one sees any significant growth in 2019. However, Morgan Stanley is predicting dramatic growth over the next 3 years, from $37 … [Read more...]
Massachusetts officials study gambling perceptions in African-American community By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 10, 2019 The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has had its hands full lately with the fallout from the sexual harassment at Wynn Resorts. But there’s more going on at the agency that’s important – even if it doesn’t generate startling headlines. Beyond acting as a licensing and regulatory agency, the MGC continues to press for a greater understanding of legalized gambling’s impact on the community. For … [Read more...]
Contagion By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • April 10, 2019 Four recent pieces of news from around Europe are all related, although they are about events in four different countries. Firstly, the Mayor of Riga, Latvia, not content with the closing of gaming halls (arcades with casino style slot machines) in the Old Town of Riga, has now demanded that most gaming venues in Riga be closed, excepting those in 4-star and 5-star hotels. In Latvia, casino and … [Read more...]
Why is Italy afraid of online poker shared liquidity? By Valérie Peano, Attorney-at-Law, EGLA – European Gambling Lawyers & Advisors • April 10, 2019 At the end of January 2019, the online poker regulatory authorities of France, Portugal, and Spain released a public statement on the implementation of the agreement concerning online poker liquidity sharing that they signed on 6th July 2017. The fourth signatory to that agreement was the gambling authority of Italy. The purpose of the agreement between the four authorities was specifically to … [Read more...]
What to make of the most recent German Prime Ministers’ decision By Dr. Joerg Hofmann and Jessica Maier, Melchers Law • April 10, 2019 On 21 March 2019, the Prime Ministers of the sixteen German states met for a conference intended to mark an important step forward in the debate on Germany’s future gambling regulation. They agreed on a Treaty amending the current Interstate Treaty, Germany’s core legal framework governing gambling. The new Treaty, which has become known as the Third Amendment Treaty or Interim Interstate Treaty, … [Read more...]
Skill-based gaming push a reminder of past slot machine efforts By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • April 9, 2019 Remember Silicon Gaming? In the late 1990s, the Palo Alto, California-based slot machine manufacturer created a series of games operated on a system called Odyssey that featured a futuristic design and what, for the time, were high-tech 3D graphics. One of the company’s best-remembered games was a video poker product where a pair of disembodied white gloved hands would deal the … [Read more...]
Singapore makes casinos an offer they can’t refuse By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • April 9, 2019 Singapore’s two casinos came out of the gate strong in 2010 with estimated gross gaming revenue of US$6 billion. The city appeared poised to join Macau as a second Asian jurisdiction surpassing the Las Vegas Strip in GGR. But Singapore’s 2019 GGR was US$5.9 billion. Last week, Singapore granted Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa long desired paths to growth, an offer they couldn’t refuse … [Read more...]
Rubinstein’s experience speaks to secretive nature of Wynn Resorts corporate culture By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 8, 2019 Obscured in the many sensational elements of the 209-page final report by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in its investigation of the sexual harassment scandal inside Wynn Resorts is an intriguing moment that might shine a little light on the atmosphere at the company under its former chairman, Steve Wynn. Wynn, in a deposition in an unrelated case, claimed he was being extorted when he … [Read more...]
Who got rich this week: Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson gains $2.2B thanks to Macau’s high-rollers By Hayley C. Cuccinello, Forbes • April 7, 2019 When casino magnate Sheldon Adelson decided to build a string of resorts in Macau in 2002, his competitors were skeptical. “Everyone else in the gambling industry thought it was the dumbest idea ever,” Adelson told Forbes. “Now all the naysayers would cut off their right arm to get a piece of land there. I’ve got a warehouse full of arms, and a couple of left ones, too.” Nearly two decades … [Read more...]
See Macau monthly casino revenue numbers, watch larger trends By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • April 5, 2019 Gaming revenue in the world’s casino capital beat expectations in March, even though it fell marginally compared with a year ago and decreased 0.5 percent in the first quarter. Gaming revenue numbers matter, to be sure, but not as much as the underlying trends creating those numbers. Those trends, like the numbers, paint a mixed picture with plenty to like, albeit perhaps not right now. For … [Read more...]
Casinos are still a bad bet in Pennsylvania By Philadelphia Inquirer • April 5, 2019 The casino industry and its addicted enabler — a.k.a. your elected Pennsylvania representatives — never ceases in their efforts to bring more gambling options to every corner of the Commonwealth. From slots to table games to sports betting, to online gambling to gambling at truck stops and airports, the gambling industry complex has spread across the state faster than the the emerald ash borer … [Read more...]
Predictably, another gamble lost in AAF failure By Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press • April 4, 2019 Charlie Ebersol was sure his new football league was different, even as it ventured into the dark hole that had swallowed up ventures like his before. I talked to him in November, before uniforms had even been ordered and one game had aired. The Alliance of American Football league was well financed and for real, he said, and ready to put on a show for a country supposedly starved for more … [Read more...]
Wynn Resorts weathering Massachusetts storm in final pitch for approval By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 3, 2019 Given the sordid nature of so much of the Steve Wynn sexual harassment mess, it’s hard to call anything shocking anymore. It’s like an epic Stephen King ghost story that keeps scaring you until you’re just worn out. After a steady drumbeat of ugly allegations, including a $7.5 million confidential settlement with a woman who he allegedly raped, Tuesday’s hearing between a new slate of Wynn … [Read more...]
AGA provides backers of sports betting ammunition for state legalization By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • April 2, 2019 After a fast and furious sprint out of the starting gate, the expansion of legal sports wagering across the U.S. has slowed to a trotter’s pace. For many state legislative bodies – working under abbreviated sessions and facing other complicated issues – sports betting legalization isn’t viewed as a pressing matter. Last week’s Sports Betting Executive Summit at MGM National Harbor … [Read more...]
With Mass. Gaming Commission hearing, is Wynn Resorts’ nightmare finally moving toward closure? By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • April 1, 2019 It isn't Watergate, but I am reminded of the words of accidental President Gerald Ford whenever I’m forced to think about the gaming industry’s long nightmare at Wynn Resorts. At some point, it just needs to be over. I’m probably kidding myself. What feels like a decade of ugly drama has really been only 14 months since The Wall Street Journal scorched high-flying company chairman Steve … [Read more...]
Osaka votes to decide casino question, but not the big one By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • April 1, 2019 On Sunday, voters in Osaka will choose a new mayor and governor in elections that carry strong implications for the effort to obtain a license for a casino complex in Japan’s third largest city. But the results won’t address the most basic question looming behind the drive for a so-called integrated resort in Osaka Bay with a multi-billion dollar price tag. On March 7, Osaka Prefecture Governor … [Read more...]
Gaming Commission won’t stream Wynn hearing or post report online By Boston Globe • April 1, 2019 Back in 2013, when Steve Wynn came before the state Gaming Commission to argue that he was suitable to hold a Massachusetts casino license, the commission took all its normal steps to make the proceedings transparent. It posted the results of the commission’s suitability investigation online and streamed the proceedings on its website. Ultimately, the commission deemed the Las Vegas mogul and his … [Read more...]
Caesars is for sale: Let the buyer beware By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • March 30, 2019 Oh, once mighty Caesar, what has befallen thee? Caesars Entertainment, once the strongest of casino companies appears to be nearing its end. Since December Carl Icahn has acquired nearly 20 percent of the stock of Caesars Entertainment. Icahn thinks the company is underperforming and the stock undervalued. To rectify the situation, Icahn wants Caesars to make some structural changes including … [Read more...]
Editorial: Casinos are still a bad deal for New Hampshire By Concord Monitor • March 28, 2019 Opening New Hampshire to casino gambling, as the state Senate did by a 13-11 vote last week, is an even worse idea than it was on Manchester Sen. Lou D’Allesandro’s 2,347 past attempts to do so. The latter figure is a gross exaggeration – but so too, we believe, are the claims that permitting two casinos will net the state between $100 million and $200 million annually within the next few … [Read more...]
Legalized Betting Could Change How We Watch Sports By Derrick Clifton, The Bad Bet, ProPublica Illinois • March 28, 2019 With sports betting legal in eight states, NCAA tournament brackets are more than a hobby for fantasy league fun, bragging rights and office pools. NCAA officials are now renewing efforts to address how sports gambling may affect game integrity, as ESPN reports. March is also Problem Gambling Awareness Month. The National Council on Problem Gambling, a nonprofit that advocates for programs for … [Read more...]
One-time casino executive Douglass ranks as a ‘Distinguished Nevadan’ on many levels By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • March 27, 2019 Around Northern Nevada, William A. Douglass is probably best known as a writer and the co-founder of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Basque Studies Program. The author of an eclectic array of books on subjects ranging from Basque sheepherders and the letters of Tasker Oddie to fly fishing in exotic locales, his writing and academic pursuits have won him much acclaim, including a place in the … [Read more...]
Gaming REITs may find new partners for casino acquisition in 2019 By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • March 26, 2019 REITs - real estate investment trusts - have grown into an important gaming industry business model. However, don’t look for another REIT to join Gaming and Leisure Properties, MGM Growth Properties and VICI Properties, all three of which were active in 2018’s casino consolidation activities, particularly in the regional markets. Union Gaming Group analyst John DeCree said last week he expects … [Read more...]
Un-Lucky Dragon: Jilted Chinese investors hope their luck improves in court By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • March 25, 2019 Curious Las Vegas visitors may still wonder what happened to the once-sparkling Lucky Dragon, the diminutive Asian-themed casino on the edge of the north Strip at 300 West Sahara Avenue. The operating history was remarkably brief: It opened in December 2016 and almost immediately nosedived toward bankruptcy. Financing, construction and market challenges were many and obvious from the … [Read more...]
China economic stimulus stirs Macau optimism, but white collar slowdown looms By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • March 23, 2019 China’s moves to stimulate its economy have renewed optimism about Macau gaming revenue in some quarters. Beijing’s decision to make tax cuts and ease credit underscores that China’s economic slowdown is real and far reaching. Macau’s two biggest risks remain mainland China further restricting people or money crossing the border into the city. Slowing economic growth is a third threat, and the … [Read more...]
Vegas bookie returns home to new world of betting By Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press • March 20, 2019 The biggest dice game around was just a few miles down the road when Jimmy Vaccaro was growing up in the Pittsburgh area. So was Comet News in Braddock, where those in the know slipped behind the green door into a back room where bookies offered action on both ponies and games. The longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker still likes to drive by the now shuttered Comet when he has time. It reminds him of … [Read more...]
Gambling on sports: The flood gates are open By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • March 20, 2019 The national gaming narrative is being kidnapped by the legalization of sports gambling. It has been less than a year since the Supreme Court ruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 is unconstitutional. Sports betting has leaped from the exclusive territory of Nevada casinos onto the national stage like an Olympic long-jumper. Since that momentous ruling, six states and … [Read more...]
Decisions, Decisions By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • March 20, 2019 If there is one thing we humans are not very good at, it’s making decisions. Ask people if they are good decision-makers, and most will tell you that they are. In fact, though, they are not, generally speaking. Stock and commodities traders and investment managers, for instance, are notorious for thinking they are better than they actually are. It is not enough to know what information we need … [Read more...]
888 Holdings: hero or villain? By Hannah Gannagé-Stewart, CDC Gaming Reports • March 20, 2019 It’s been a busy start to 2019 for the London Stock Exchange-listed 888 Holdings. The operator hit the headlines recently with two major acquisitions – one more controversial than the other – as well as some thought-provoking financial results. On the surface of things, the flurry of acquisition activity looks positive. 888 agreed to an £18m deal to acquire JPJ's Mandalay business in February, … [Read more...]
Icahn deals high-stakes poker game for companies tied to gaming icons Carano, Sarno and Harrah By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • March 19, 2019 The casino company founded by the late Don Carano could soon own properties associated with two other historical gaming figures, Bill Harrah and Jay Sarno. Orchestrating this proposed merger is billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn. It seems like there should be a punchline somewhere. Reno-based Eldorado Resorts – the company Carano founded – is reportedly in talks to acquire gaming giant … [Read more...]
The settlement in the Suen-Sands lawsuit is undisclosed. It shouldn’t be By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • March 18, 2019 In a brawl that was at times reminiscent of a 15-round fight, the 15-year legal battle between Richard Suen and Las Vegas Sands ended abruptly last week with the announcement of a settlement. That was the final bell in a case entering its third trial, but don’t for a second imagine it was a draw. Sure, news accounts accurately reported that Suen’s attorneys estimate their client was owed … [Read more...]
Macau casino extensions leave big questions unanswered By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • March 15, 2019 Macau has finally taken a first step toward acting responsibly on gaming concession expirations, though the major items concerning expiration remain absolutely unclear. On Friday, the government announced it has extended the concession of SJM Holdings and subconcession of MGM China to June 26, 2022, aligning them with the expiration of privileges for the other four casino operators. What … [Read more...]
Why a Chicago Casino May Never Happen By Robert Reed, Chicago Magazine • March 14, 2019 There’s plenty of action at Rivers Casino in suburban Des Plaines on this Wednesday afternoon. Scores of gamblers shovel quarters and dollar bills into banks of garishly colored video terminals with flashing names like Blazing 7’s Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em. Others prefer the high-stakes buzz of table games. “Guess what?” shouts a player to a small stack of pale blue chips as he scoops … [Read more...]
Fantasy sports giants continue to counting winnings, take hits in court By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • March 13, 2019 Some may consider them sore losers, but the ranks of fantasy sports players willing to litigate online giants DraftKings and FanDuel continues to expand at a time of unprecedented growth in America’s legalized sports betting options. Whoever believed that there would come a day sports betting was considered more acceptable than fantasy sports? Of late comes a class-action suit filed by … [Read more...]
Will Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts survive the end of the Adelson-Wynn era? By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • March 13, 2019 The future of sports teams after creative geniuses and super stars leave is a frequent topic of discussion. The same kind of discussion also takes place in business; is there life after Steve Jobs, Sam Walton, Ray Kroc or Colonel Sanders? Recently two major events occurred in casino gaming that have created the “life after” discussions about Wynn Resorts and the Las Vegas Sands. In February … [Read more...]
Nevada watching from the sidelines as Wire Act court battle plays out By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • March 12, 2019 As New Hampshire heads to federal court in an effort to squash the U.S. Department of Justice’s planned changes to the Federal Wire Act, the state is finding its support growing. Last week, Michigan and New Jersey filed amicus (friend of court) briefs in support of the New Hampshire Lottery’s lawsuit to halt the Justice Department from implementing an Office of Legal Counsel reinterpretation of … [Read more...]
Japan casino resort hopeful Wakayama makes its case By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • March 11, 2019 Integrated resorts in Japan’s largest cities promise to be spectacular successes. But most action on the IR front right now is in the so-called regional sector, areas that have been losing population and relevance as economic power becomes more concentrated in major urban centers. Hokkaido, north of main island Honshu, held an IR showcase in January with seven IR operators participating. Last … [Read more...]
Never-ending Suen-Sands case grinds back to court without Adelson By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • March 11, 2019 Forgive me if the story of Richard Suen and Las Vegas Sands sounds familiar. It probably should. The knock-down litigation has been going on in Nevada courtrooms for more than 14 years. President George W. Bush was still in his first term on Oct. 15, 2004, the day Suen filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court against Sands, its Chairman Sheldon Adelson and then-company president William … [Read more...]
Labour needs to wake up to gambling’s complexities By Greg Wood, Talking Horses, The Guardian • March 10, 2019 Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the Labour party and a politician with a long-standing interest in the regulation of gambling, offered some hints of what might be in a new Gambling Act if or when his party returns to power in a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research on Thursday morning. Watson was a prominent figure in the long-running and ultimately successful campaign to reduce … [Read more...]
Horse racing needs to clean up its act, or go away By Paul Newberry, Associated Press • March 10, 2019 It was supposed to be one of the most thrilling days of the year at Santa Anita. Two big races at the historic Southern California track, including one of the top preps for the Kentucky Derby. Bob Baffert in the house, sending out a pair of undefeated 3-year-olds. But the place will be empty on Saturday. After the deaths of nearly two dozen horses in less than three months, Santa Anita … [Read more...]
Minnesota: Why legalizing sports betting (still) faces such long odds at the Legislature this year By Peter Callaghan, MinnPost • March 8, 2019 Legal sports betting may be coming to Minnesota. But it doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. Consider that the Senate bill that would partially legalize sports books in Minnesota narrowly slipped out of its first committee Thursday (and faces an uncertain response at its next stop). The majority leader of the Senate isn’t keen on the idea. The state’s 11 Native American tribes are opposed. … [Read more...]
It’s time for the industry to face reputational challenges head on By Hannah Gannagé-Stewart, CDC Gaming Reports • March 6, 2019 It will have come as no surprise to the industry last week when the UK’s deputy opposition leader Tom Watson unveiled the Labour party’s plans to reform gambling legislation. At least it shouldn’t have done. Over the past year calls for fundamental changes to the way the industry operates and is regulated have been building across various channels of public discourse in the UK. In May last … [Read more...]
Skill or Chance – Is it legal? By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • March 6, 2019 According to the number of times I get asked, there is clearly a misunderstanding about the role of skill in gambling. There is a misconception that if a game during which people can win or lose money has an element of skill in determining the outcome, then it must be legal. This was the argument that the US operators of Daily Fantasy Sports used when they promoted their product all over the US. … [Read more...]
Mistakes will happen, but we’re still in the early innings of the legal sports betting game By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • March 5, 2019 Since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed legal sports betting to expand across America 10 months ago, the race has shifted from a full-on sprint out of the starting gate to a steadier, more gradual pace. Seven states quickly joined Nevada in opening sports wagering facilities at casinos and racetracks; three jurisdictions legalized the activity but are still formulating their sports betting … [Read more...]
At the highest levels, competitive casino industry evolves in real time By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • March 4, 2019 For those immersed in the Las Vegas casino success story, change in the industry has felt more plodding and generational than rapid and revolutionary. These days, however, you can watch the evolution as it happens. The examples are everywhere, and most noticeable in the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting in the wake of last year’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports … [Read more...]
Why the party is over for online gambling By Jonathan Ford, Financial Times • March 3, 2019 When Britain loosened its gambling laws in 2005, then prime minister Tony Blair presented it as a way to legitimise what would happen anyway. “I am not a gambler myself, but people do gamble,” he said. “There is no point in taking a position which says all gambling is wrong.” It was always a strange line as the UK had legal betting and no one was exactly agitating for its abolition. But one … [Read more...]
Here’s why Nevada should worry about the Justice Department’s recent opinion about internet gambling By Chris Sieroty, Desert Companion • March 3, 2019 Internet gambling is a scourge and a plague, a magnet for crime and corruption. Or it’s a blessing and an economic boon — and a digital-era inevitability that we should tax and regulate. Or maybe online gambling is mere fiscal snake oil, a sham panacea that causes more social and economic woes than it solves. In this ongoing debate, some voices are louder than others. And a recent legal opinion … [Read more...]
Las Vegas Sands head Sheldon Adelson illness echoes Macau bid history By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • March 1, 2019 Casino and political heavyweight Sheldon Adelson is being treated for cancer and has been away from the office since late December, according to media quoting Las Vegas Sands Corporation. The 85 year old chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands – his family holds a majority stake – and its Macau subsidiary Sands China Limited, Adelson reigns as the most powerful figure in Asian gaming. Thanks to … [Read more...]
Yes, Virginia, in 2019 it probably makes sense to legalize casino gambling By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • February 27, 2019 You can’t blame states for trying not to legalize casino gambling. The gaming industry, often as oversold as it is misunderstood, is a lot more complicated than it’s often portrayed. For its critics, and there are still plenty of them, its influence on society is only slightly less than a satanic scourge. For its cheerleaders, and they too often command the megaphone, it’s often painted as a … [Read more...]
Macau Dances the Chinese Tango By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • February 27, 2019 Gaming revenues in Macau have stagnated lately. It is difficult to put a finger on the exact cause partly because the city is a mixture of government systems. Macau is unique in many ways; it was a Portuguese trading post for 300 years until it became a Portuguese colony in 1887. Gambling has been legal in one form or other since circa 1850 and has been traditionally controlled by Chinese … [Read more...]
Sports’ great gamble, Part 3: Future of ‘integrity’ By Michael Silverman, Boston Herald • February 27, 2019 (This is the third in an ongoing series examining sports gambling, and its impact on the people — and sports teams — of Massachusetts, and beyond.) When it comes to the link between “integrity” and sports betting, 2019 offers a bounty of round-numbered opportunities to explore this most touchy of subjects. This October, after all, will mark the 100th anniversary of when the “Black Sox” from … [Read more...]
Battling illegal sports betting: A century of lessons to be pondered By Michael Pollock, Spectrum Gaming Group • February 26, 2019 (Cue Walter Winchell’s sonorous voice). This is a true story about Al Capone and the repeal of Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. By pure coincidence, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Murphy versus National Collegiate Athletic Association to overturn PASPA was handed down just seven months shy of the 100th … [Read more...]
Betting on ‘Best Picture’ might liven up lagging Oscars audience By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • February 25, 2019 Hollywood’s high-rollers gathered Sunday for the 91st Academy Awards ceremony. Unlike their casino VIP counterparts in Las Vegas, the movie industry elite managed to get along fine without a host. The lack of so much as a good lounge comic wasn’t the only difference in the Oscars this year. If your feet were planted in New Jersey, for the first time in American history you could place a legal … [Read more...]
Quit Scalping Hawaii Taxpayers — Legalize Gambling By Danny de Gracia, Honolulu Civil Beat • February 25, 2019 When it comes to growing the economy and raising revenues, the 30th Legislature needs to learn to work smarter, not harder. Since no one else wants to say it, I will: it’s time for a state lottery system, casinos and legalized, taxable gambling in Hawaii. The official position of most local state and county agencies when it comes to gambling is almost perfectly captured by the Department of … [Read more...]
Restricting sports betting to upstate casinos would forfeit millions in tax revenue By Daniel Wallach and Robert Rosborough, New York Daily News • February 24, 2019 In a time when New York is seeing stunning declines in state tax revenues and faces an unexpected $2.3 billion budget shortfall, the state must not miss out on valuable opportunities to raise new revenue. That’s why the push to implement sports betting in New York without offering mobile wagering is a mistake the state can’t afford to make. New York’s current sports betting law will force New … [Read more...]
Oscars odds: Betting on the Academy Awards is now legal in New Jersey, so I tried it By Gary Thompson, The Inquirer • February 22, 2019 My anthem recently has been Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born singing that maybe it’s time to let the old ways die, yet here I am, driving over the Ben Franklin Bridge on a Sunday, just like I used to when I wanted a bottle of wine and the State Stores were closed. These days, Pennsylvania sells wine on Sunday, and the gas prices have equalized, but I’m headed to Cherry Hill because you must … [Read more...]
Korea Casino Cluster Coming To Incheon – Probably By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • February 20, 2019 A recent article by The Innovation Group’s Michael Vanaskie examines the casino cluster effect in spurring extraordinary tourism and gaming revenue growth in Macau and Manila. Naturally, other jurisdictions are trying to emulate that success, including Incheon in South Korea, where Paradise City opened its initial phase nearly two years ago and two more integrated resorts are being developed. With … [Read more...]
Between a rock and a hard place By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • February 20, 2019 What will happen to Gibraltar, post-Brexit? In 1713, by the Treaty of Utrecht, the Spanish ceded the sovereignty of Gibraltar, nicknamed “the Rock”, to the British Crown, and it has remained a British territory ever since. Why did the Spanish cede sovereignty? It was all to do with the incestuous royal families of Europe. Charles II of Spain, who had died childless, had named Philip, grandson of … [Read more...]
Let’s wake up, before gambling is treated like tobacco By Valérie Peano, Attorney-at-Law, EGLA – European Gambling Lawyers & Advisors • February 20, 2019 Legal provisions adopted in Italy concerning gambling are quite worrying. Currently, the Italian Senate is debating another increase of the fiscal levy rate for video lotteries (VLT) and amusement with prizes (AWP) machines (low stakes, low prizes). Under the current government, these gaming machines already had two tax increases: one in July 2018, with the ‘Dignity Decree’, in order to … [Read more...]
An Icahn-Fertitta combination could hold the key to the future of Caesars Entertainment By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • February 19, 2019 As the Billion Dollar Buyer, Tillman Fertitta entertains CNBC audiences on a weekly basis as he evaluates the merits of two small businesses, each of which is hoping to land a lucrative contract as a vendor to his Houston-based Landry’s hospitality group. He looks at the merits of the particular business, points out its shortcomings, and offers suggestions on how to improve the product. In end, … [Read more...]
Labor organizations using websites, social media to battle casino and political foes By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • February 18, 2019 These are interesting times for the Las Vegas casino industry and the various unions whose members are among the many thousands of workers who help make so many memories for visitors and so much money for investors. The best-known labor organization associated with the industry is easily Culinary Union Local 226, which celebrates its 84th anniversary in 2019. Its membership has risen along with … [Read more...]
Getting in the game at last By Bernard Kroviak, CDC Gaming Reports • February 17, 2019 You might recall that, at the end of the last installment, our trainer, Andy, had just told us that our colt was ready to begin his racing career. The excitement of that momentous announcement set in motion my long-awaited career in this racing business. Of course, there were a few details yet to be worked out. Every horse that races must be identifiable as the horse listed on their foaling … [Read more...]
Is Virginia about to make a bad bet on casinos? By Peter Galuszka, Washington Post • February 15, 2019 Except for horse racing and a lottery, when it comes to gambling, Virginia has for years avoided casinos with slot machines and roulette wheels, believing they are tacky, risky and too close to organized crime. For evidence, look at Atlantic City or Las Vegas. That’s been a prudent policy, but it seems about to change in a big way. There’s strong momentum now to set up casinos at some six … [Read more...]
Even for Washington, the fight over online gambling has been unusually shady By Rachel M. Cohen and Ryan Grim, The Intercept • February 15, 2019 SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., talked to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “several times” about changing the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law that banned interstate betting, he told The Intercept. A 2011 Justice Department analysis of that law effectively legalized online gambling; last month, the department reversed that opinion. “I’ve been pushing this from the day it … [Read more...]
AGA taking a measured approach toward the Wire Act reinterpretation By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • February 12, 2019 On his first day as CEO of the American Gaming Association, Bill Miller received a gift, courtesy of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Just as he was settling into the job, word landed that the U.S. Department of Justice had reconsidered its 2011 opinion of the Federal Wire Act. The decision immediately called into question seven years of gaming industry advancements, including online gambling activities … [Read more...]
Sports betting history being made in real time throughout the country By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • February 11, 2019 The wheels keep turning in the race to legalize sports betting across America. It’s easy to get caught up in the gold fever that broke out in the wake of last year’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and start keeping score on a state-by-state basis. However, the fact is the expansion process combines entrenched politics with … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania: A chance to remake the York Galleria By York Dispatch • February 11, 2019 Anyone walking through the York Galleria can see that the Spiringettsbury Township mall is in trouble. Two of the former anchor stores are completely vacant. A third has been split, with Marshall's on the second floor and Gold's Gym on the first. There are vacant stores everywhere, and signs proclaim that at least one more, Charlotte Russe, will be closing soon. The formerly bustling site … [Read more...]
Our View: New York needs to open up legal sports betting to Batavia Downs By The Daily News • February 11, 2019 The state Gaming Commission has given preliminary approval to regulations that would open casinos to legal sports betting. Commission members drew a line, however, between casinos and racinos such as Batavia Downs Gaming that unfairly deprives the racinos from benefiting from expanded betting. The distinction is as curious as it is unfair and should be erased. The preliminary regulations … [Read more...]
Department of Justice shouldn’t end online gambling to appease Trump donor Sheldon Adelson By Peter J. Ferrara, USA Today • February 9, 2019 Most decisions made by the Department of Justice are made to protect the long-term integrity of the institution. Policy changes are not made swiftly and can often take decades to implement. As a lawyer and former associate deputy attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration, I have never come across a decision as corrupt, unethical and legally bankrupt as the one the Justice … [Read more...]
Why I gamble: Sports betting is a labor of love By Brett Smiley, SportsHandle • February 9, 2019 I’ve voluntarily purchased new clothing three times since 2007. I clip coupons. I have an annual September calendar reminder to call SiriusXM, to threaten to cancel my subscription. They don’t like to lose customers, so each time they give me their latest promotional rate. I regularly sign up for and track my credit cards in a spreadsheet to take advantage of new promotional offers and maximize … [Read more...]
Atlantic City: A Word of Caution By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • February 7, 2019 Atlantic City is seemingly experiencing a resurgence. Gaming revenue has grown year over year for the last two years after ten years of declines. In 2018, total gaming revenue was up 8.7 percent and for December, a whopping 25 percent. However, a word of caution, it may not be what it appears The pressure from casinos in Pennsylvania that lead to a decade of decline still exist and will … [Read more...]
From Little Acorns By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • February 7, 2019 It’s very cold in London (though not as cold as in the midwest of the USA), so it must be time for ICE. From my perspective the show keeps getting bigger and better. Thirty-two years ago, when I had just started my career as a consultant, I went to what was then called the Amusement Trades Exhibition (ATE), held in the old Earls Court venue. In those days ATE was a show that encompassed everything … [Read more...]
The Next Wave in The Gambling Industry: What’s It Going To Be? By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • February 7, 2019 The worlds of technology and of media never stand still. The gambling industry is particularly aware of this, as both the technology underlying the online games on offer, and that protecting the infrastructure for tracking play, monitoring players, and ensuring security and anti-fraud measures, are evolving at an extremely rapid pace. Buzzwords like Big Data are flying, and acronyms for emergent … [Read more...]
What Pansy Ho’s move on former Macau casino leader SJM really means By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • February 6, 2019 Kung hei fat choi/Gong xi fa cai. As the Year of Pig dawns, Stanley Ho’s daughter Pansy Ho has again moved to seize the family empire. After leading the 2011 coup against her father that gave Ho and siblings a big piece of the patrimony, she now wants control of SJM Holdings, the casino operator that’s the legacy of her father’s 40 year reign as Mr Macau, currently run by Angela Leong, his … [Read more...]
‘Playing for Pizza?’ hedge fund places longtime gaming CEO on Papa John’s board By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • February 5, 2019 What does a struggling pizza chain have to do with a handful of casino companies under siege by activist investors? Hedge fund Starboard Value this week invested $200 million into embattled pizza chain Papa John’s, naming the New York-based company’s CEO, Jeffrey Smith, as chairman. Starboard might add another $50 million into Papa John’s by the end of March. Starboard is familiar to gaming … [Read more...]
Japan resorts ‘will be integrated like never before in gaming and hospitality’ By Marcus Prater, Executive Director, AGEM • February 5, 2019 (Remarks from AGEM Executive Director Marcus Prater at ICE London 2019) It’s a pleasure to be here today as Executive Director for the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM). We are a non-profit international trade association based in Las Vegas representing manufacturers and suppliers of electronic gaming devices, lotteries, systems, table games, online technology, sports … [Read more...]
Bettors get many Super Bowl choices at New Mexico’s first legal sports book By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • February 4, 2019 BERNALILLO, N.M. – Dressed in a Patriots sweatshirt, it was easy to tell which team Jeff favored in Super Bowl LIII. The far greater challenge was deciphering and deciding on which of dozens of proposition bets to make at the Santa Ana Casino’s new sports book. Managed by Las Vegas-based US Bookmaking, New Mexico’s first legal sports book bustled with activity on an otherwise sleepy Sunday … [Read more...]
Gambling firms agree to slash FOBT stakes in Northern Ireland By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • February 2, 2019 As has been covered ad infinitum, fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) will see a massive reduction in max stakes come April, from the current £100 to £2, in a bid to protect vulnerable gamblers. (It’s worth noting that many detractors have argued that the true problem lies online, where maximum stakes are much higher for many games of luck.) But one region which hadn’t been in line for this … [Read more...]
Macau casino revenue drop doesn’t mean sky is falling By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • February 2, 2019 Macau casino revenue fell in January, the first year on year decrease since July 2016. The 5 percent decline to US$3.1 billion doesn’t mean Macau has begun a replay of the 2014-2016 slump that cratered casino revenue by 36 percent. For 2019, expect a lower octane gaming market in line with the slower growing mainland Chinese economy in a Macau transforming into destination that can profit from … [Read more...]
Nearly forgotten, Riklis owned Riviera, helped create junk-bond financing that reinvented LV By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 30, 2019 I’ve given up wondering how Meshulam Riklis will be best remembered. Riklis, who died Jan. 25 in a Tel Aviv hospital at the remarkable age of 95, has been portrayed as a rags-to-riches business success in some ends of the media. Entertainment wags recall his at times unintentionally humorous attempts to make an entertainment superstar of second wife Pia Zadora. In Las Vegas, his obituary … [Read more...]
What should Wynn Resorts pay Nevada to settle the company’s sexual misconduct case? By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • January 29, 2019 It’s ridiculous to think Wynn Resorts could escape paying a multi-million-dollar fine stemming from a 10-count complaint filed by Nevada gaming regulators that read like excerpts from a Law and Order: SVU script. But the company is nonetheless hopeful of that outcome when it faces the Nevada Gaming Commission. Steve Wynn was shown the door a year ago, as were seven company executives who … [Read more...]
Will Sports Betting Transform How Games Are Watched, and Even Played? By Bruce Shoenfeld, New York Times • January 29, 2019 Half an hour before a preseason hockey game last fall, Ted Leonsis strolled down the concourse of Capital One Arena in Washington, stopping every now and then to pose for someone’s selfie. Leonsis owns both the Washington Capitals, the National Hockey League team, and the arena itself, a squat behemoth that fills a block of Chinatown not far from Ford’s Theater. He also owns other teams that play … [Read more...]
In Super Bowl: Patriots’ winning image creates a challenge for sports books By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 28, 2019 Everyone knows songwriter Randy Newman loves L.A. But Rams fans? Not so much. At least, not so much that they rushed out to Nevada’s sports books to bet on their favorite team against the New England Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII. Despite the team’s remarkable success throughout the season, and proximity to the biggest sports books in America, the wagering flow has been steadily … [Read more...]
Fractions, decimals, and other measurements By Bernard Kroviak, CDC Gaming Reports • January 26, 2019 The circumference of Thistledown race track is one mile. Most other tracks are about the same, although some vary. (The real exception is Belmont Park, which is the biggest in the United States at a mile and a half.) A mile in racing parlance is 8 furlongs; one furlong equals an eighth of a mile. Every track has large striped poles throughout the course that mark each furlong, as seen … [Read more...]
Brexit: A bettor’s guide By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • January 26, 2019 Brexit has become so endlessly drawn-out and depressing that it’s tough to even think about - let alone try to coherently write about - without a profound sense of existential dread. So let’s have a flutter on it. Why not? Things on our fair isle have reached such a delirious and fraught stage that, at this point, so much is up in the air that the bookies are scrambling to keep up. The odds are in … [Read more...]
It is Time to Adapt to the 21st Century for Wynn and Okada By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • January 24, 2019 Steve Wynn and Kazuo Okada are two of the most successful men in gaming. Their careers span almost fifty years; each of them in his own way shaped the industry. Wynn and Okada are the same age, born in 1942. In the early 2000s, Wynn and Okada became partners when Okada invested $380 million in the newly formed Wynn Resorts; they shared the title of co-founder. They appeared to be the best of … [Read more...]
Value creation – a delicate balance By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • January 23, 2019 Private equity (PE) has been quite active in the gambling market in the last year. This represents a change from a decade ago, when gambling became persona non grata for private equity due to profitability not coming anywhere near the expected returns. Gambling companies were awash with red ink and investors all but wrote off any chance that they might get any of their money back. Since that … [Read more...]
2019 ICE London: The Naughty and The Nice By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • January 23, 2019 Last year’s exhibition was record-breakingly large, and this year is surely tipped to exceed that, with an incredible amount in store for attendees. Media coverage will of course be extensive, and I’ll be there doing the rounds on behalf of CDC Gaming Reports and its Tottenham Report. There’s an enormous amount going on, so let’s dip into a few areas and get a preview of what you can expect at ICE … [Read more...]
Wire Act reversal, panned by the gaming industry, was celebrated by one company By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • January 22, 2019 The geneses for last week’s stunning Department of Justice’s reversal of a seven-year-old interpretation of the Federal Wire Act probably took place in the Las Vegas Sands’ corporate offices shortly after Donald Trump was elected to the White House in November 2016. If not years earlier. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the legal reasoning behind the unusual move that threw … [Read more...]
As MLK Day passes, a reminder of the gambling ghosts of Vegas past By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 21, 2019 As short-lived as it was sensational, the Moulin Rouge casino on Bonanza Road long ago gained a mythical status in Las Vegas history. It is almost without exception the first name recalled when the conversation turns to casinos from segregated Las Vegas. With its grand opening in May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made banner headlines and even the cover of Life magazine, and eventually made the U.S. … [Read more...]
Illinois’s bet on expanded gambling poses risks By Jim Dey, The News-Gazette • January 21, 2019 With Illinois in desperate financial shape and a new governor taking office who advocates costly new social spending plans, the state is desperate for new revenue. So, once again, legislators who traditionally look for easy ways out of vexing problems are looking for an easy way out. That's why a dramatic expansion of gambling is on the table again in Illinois. Among the proposals, … [Read more...]
Brian Sandoval Moves On By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • January 16, 2019 Beginning in 1996, Brian Sandoval was Nevada Assemblyman, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Attorney General of Nevada, a judge serving in the United States District Court or the District of Nevada and in 2011 he became Nevada’s 29th governor. Throughout his twenty plus years in politics he was always considered among the best and brightest, a rising star. Nationally, he was considered … [Read more...]
Encore Boston Harbor casino project: a tough job to finish By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 16, 2019 It’s safe to say Peter Campo knows a challenge when he sees one. Campo, the director of construction for Wynn Resorts’ $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor, is responsible for bringing in a five-star, 600-room casino resort with a high-end spa, elaborate retail shopping center, restaurants, bars and lounges, a showroom, convention meeting space and, of course, a sweeping casino floor. While … [Read more...]
How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost By Jason Grotto and Sandhya Kambhampati, ProPublica Illinois, and Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ • January 16, 2019 With the last streaks of daylight fading on a mild October evening, the cars pulled up in waves at Piero’s Italian Cuisine, an old-school Las Vegas hotspot known for its osso buco. Cadillacs with tinted windows. Taxis and rideshares. A black Bentley limousine and a white minivan. Men and women emerged, most casually dressed, there for the first of a series of posh, private events hosted by the … [Read more...]
Icahn buying up Caesars stock, but what is his ultimate goal? By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • January 15, 2019 Oftentimes, the final intentions of corporate raider Carl Icahn are unclear when he focuses on the stock of a troubled company. Name an industry, and Icahn has probably dabbled in it. Trans World Airlines, U.S. Steel, King Pharmaceuticals, Motorola, Blockbuster, Marvel Comics, Netflix and Apple have all caught varying degrees of Icahn’s interest going back three decades. More often than not, … [Read more...]
Impending sale of Frias cabs a sign of rapidly changing times in LV By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 14, 2019 It rarely pays to get too sentimental about a cab outfit, not even one in service in Las Vegas as long as the company founded by Charlie and Phyllis Frias has been motoring. It’s a tough business known for its cutthroat operators and calloused drivers, but it’s also played an integral role in the remarkable Las Vegas success story. Transportation has long been a key – if sometimes … [Read more...]
The Everett casino and where it stands By Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe • January 13, 2019 Don’t have time to read every Greater Boston casino story? Just catch up with this one. We’ve anticipated your questions and provided some bite-sized answers. What is the extremely abbreviated background on the current brouhaha over the Wynn Resorts casino? For nearly a year, investigators for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission have been looking into allegations of sexual misconduct against … [Read more...]
Fifteen-year-old wins Spanish State Lottery El Nino jackpot By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • January 12, 2019 For lack of a better term, this one is a public relations nightmare for the Spanish gambling authorities: a fifteen-year-old boy named Cosmin Rotariu has won €200,000 in the Spanish State lottery. Start with the fact that the legal age for participating in the lottery is eighteen. Rotariu claims that his father had given him permission to make the purchase. This may or may not excuse the … [Read more...]
The book that made me close my online gambling account By Paul Rouse, The Irish Examiner • January 10, 2019 n Christmas Eve, two emails arrived from paddypower.com. The timing was pretty awful — it would be true to say that the emails were a profound source of irritation. In fairness, in the greater scheme of things, they might be considered to be standard fare, primarily advertising the fact that there were gambles to be made on the Christmas horse race meetings and on soccer matches. There was … [Read more...]
Playing Loose and Fast with the Truth By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • January 10, 2019 Imagine if you can, a 30-something couple sitting at a table in their local bar. They are telling their friends about a trip they took recently. In the story, the couple on vacation in a faraway place called The Strip, decided to go down to the hotel swimming pool. It was a nice sunny day and they had nothing to do before dinner. On the way to the pool they stopped and played a slot machine … [Read more...]
Corporate Strategy In 2019: A Changing of the Guard? By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • January 9, 2019 There has been a lot of talk towards the end of 2018 concerning new efforts by the UK gambling industry towards more responsible gambling. These have included private “leaders’ meetings” to discuss voluntary self-imposed advertising restrictions or caps, as well as major PR campaigns such as Will Hill’s “Zero Harm.” In this piece I’d like to consider how much it is in the leadership’s interests, … [Read more...]
Looking back and forward By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • January 9, 2019 2018 was a year to remember, possibly for all of the wrong reasons. For the European gambling industry, there was not much positive during the year, with plenty of bad news to write about. The exceptions are the successful opening of Melco’s satellite casinos in Cyprus; the fall of PASPA in the US, which represents an opportunity for European betting operators and suppliers; and a reduction in … [Read more...]
Fractures appearing in NFL’s anti-gambling wall, but the structure is far from crumbling By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • January 8, 2019 One simple gesture along the Strip during the week prior to Feb. 3 will let us know if the National Football League’s long-standing hostility toward Las Vegas - and anything related to sports betting - has ended. If the marquee in front of Caesars Palace advertises the resort’s “Super Bowl Party,” then it’s safe to say we’ve entered a new era of cooperation. Otherwise, it’s probably business … [Read more...]
California tribal lawsuit should shake up state’s gaming regulators By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 7, 2019 It’s only January, but 2019 just got very interesting – dangerously so for the gambling gold mines of California. After watching what they believe has been a steady erosion of their exclusive casino gaming compact with the California government, three Indian tribes sued the state this week in federal court. The tribes have effectively called out the state’s Gambling Control Commission and … [Read more...]
Billionaire, Bust And Back: One Of Las Vegas’ Original Moguls Is Winning Big Again By Abram Brown, Forbes • January 7, 2019 Summer usually quiets Las Vegas. But on a 101-degree day in June, gamblers stream into the downtown California Hotel, the original property of publicly traded Boyd Gaming. Bill Boyd, the company’s cofounder and executive chairman, is walking the casino floor, winding up a routine he’s been honing for 40 years. He passes the blackjack tables, nodding to his veteran dealers, then ambles past the … [Read more...]
North Carolina should embrace sports gambling, or get left behind By Charles Gillespie, Charlotte Observer • January 5, 2019 Back in 2003 when I was an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, online poker and online sports betting took the campus by storm. We very much felt that we were part of a movement, the birth of a new industry. The websites were regulated, but not by anyone in America. The legality of the activity from an American perspective was certainly a shade of gray. In 2006, the Unlawful … [Read more...]
Long vs. Short: Can Wynn Casinos Recover From Steve Wynn’s #MeToo Scandal? By Steve Friess, Intelligencer, New York Magazine • January 4, 2019 Of the many powerful men brought down by the #MeToo movement, the disgrace visited upon casino mogul — and high-profile Trump booster — Steve Wynn may well have been the costliest to the greatest number of people. Since February, when the Las Vegas icon behind some of the most celebrated and profitable casino resorts stepped down as CEO amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, Wynn Resorts … [Read more...]
Las Vegas Casinos Get The November They Needed By David G. Schwartz, Forbes • January 4, 2019 November, like October, was a good month for gaming operators in Nevada. With many indicators up, it appears that the summer slowdown is as much a memory as triple-digit temperatures in the currently chilly Mojave. This will likely boost investor confidence in Las Vegas-based casino giants in the short-term, as solid results from Las Vegas, coupled with domestic expansion, make these companies … [Read more...]
Changing tribal gaming compacts promises to become a top story in 2019 By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • January 2, 2019 It’s a time of year for predictions, and this one is easy: We will hear a lot about the definition of “exclusivity” in the next dozen months as states with tribal casinos test alliances and gaming compacts. Much is at stake for all the players involved. For the tribes, sovereign nations by definition, an unprecedented economic boom could be cooling for the first time since the Indian Gaming … [Read more...]
Sports betting may seem easy. It’s not. Here’s why By Wayne Parry, Associated Press • January 2, 2019 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Wanna bet on sports? First, make sure you know what you’re doing — and the odds against you. Seven U.S. states now offer legal sports gambling, and as many as 30 more will consider jumping on board in 2019. So here are some of the basics — as well as some more esoteric aspects — of betting on sports. ___ PONY UP The biggest difference between placing a … [Read more...]
Wynn trademark infringement lawsuit against Resorts World Las Vegas seems overblown By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • January 1, 2019 For a nanosecond the other day, I thought Steve Wynn had returned to the helm of Wynn Resorts. How else can you explain the federal lawsuit the company filed just before Christmas against the developer of the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas project? Wynn, through his former Golden Nugget, Inc., and Mirage Resorts companies, had a history of filing litigation to stifle competition in Atlantic … [Read more...]
Italian Senate passes new gambling taxes, hitting industry hard By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 30, 2018 Now that last week’s proposed amendments to Italy’s budget have been confirmed and passed by the Italian Senate by a rather resounding 167-to-78 margin, Italian gambling firms must be feeling as if the government is adding insult to injury. A near-total ban on advertising within the country is due to come into law on the 1st January, and now here are a new series of tax hikes as well, including a … [Read more...]
Muscles, Eyes, and Other Body Parts By Bernard Kroviak, CDC Gaming Reports • December 30, 2018 One has to remember that young horses, like young children, have muscles, most of which are not yet developed. For horses to be ready to race, they need to first develop muscle strength and lung capacity. Doing this takes hours and hours, and miles and miles, of walking, trotting, and galloping before they can actually begin running. Knowing when his horse is ready to perform for the first time is … [Read more...]
2018: An amazing year in gaming going, going, gone By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • December 29, 2018 “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.” -- Vin Scully The great Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully was talking about the dramatic game-winning home run Kirk Gibson hit in the 1988 World Series, but I can think of no better way to describe some of the eye-popping events that occurred in the gaming industry in 2018. The fireworks synonymous with New Year’s … [Read more...]
A Wild and Crazy Year for Gaming By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • December 28, 2018 The narrative that has grabbed the most headlines and inches of copy in 2018 is sports betting. The Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in May, or as one clever headline put it - SCOTUS kicked PASPA to the curb. Following the demise of the sports betting prohibition, Delaware started taking bets. It was quickly followed by New … [Read more...]
Reports Of Macau Demise Greatly Exaggerated, Tokyo Mon Amour, More 2019 Trends By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • December 26, 2018 Every year, I forecast key trends and events for the next 12 months then grade those predictions at the end of year. Here are forecasts for 2019. Reports of Macau’s demise are greatly exaggerated: Like mediocre military strategists, Macau casino investors are determined not to lose the last war. The 2014-16 gaming revenue meltdown took analysts by surprise, and they will not let that happen … [Read more...]
Trump’s Palace Casino That Wasn’t By David G. Schwartz, Forbes • December 24, 2018 Before he was President, before he was the star of The Apprentice, Donald Trump was a merely a high-profile real estate developer and casino owner. He had a long run in Atlantic City, where he expanded his casino empire to, at its largest, four properties, but was not always successful in getting what he wanted. Exhibit one: Trump’s Palace Casino Hotel, a mooted name change for a Boardwalk … [Read more...]
UK Gambling Commission Investigates Unlicensed Casino Streaming on Twitch By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 21, 2018 The journos at video game journalism site Eurogamer should be congratulated for performing a public service. Their investigations into Twitch’s streaming of online casino gaming exposed at least two unlicensed services being streamed and promoted there. To the UK Gambling Commission’s credit, they have lost no time in beginning an investigation of their own into the matter, which is bound to be … [Read more...]
Macau’s Bridge Too Far – From Everything But Hong Kong International Airport By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • December 21, 2018 The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opened in October but the impact of the world’s longest sea crossing on Macau’s tourism and gaming sectors has been muted. A test ride across the US$20 billion, 55 kilometer (34 mile) span confirms that the bridge adds options but not necessarily value for most travelers. It may, however, help Macau emulate a business model that’s worked well for Las Vegas and … [Read more...]
Are There Signs of Recovery in Atlantic City? By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • December 20, 2018 The casinos in Atlantic City are having the best year they have had in ten years and some people are beginning to speculate the city is back on the road to prosperity. For the first ten months of 2018, the casino win is $2.387 billion, up 5.76 percent from 2017. There are good reasons for increases; Atlantic City has now has online gambling, two new casinos and sports betting. Online gaming in … [Read more...]
Sports betting may work on Beale Street. But will it work to worsen people’s lives? By Tonyaa Weathersbee, Memphis Commercial Appeal • December 20, 2018 As far as sports betting goes, Beale Street is an ideal spot. It already attracts tourists who, if they bet on sports there, they’ll likely eat at Beale Street restaurants or hang out at its clubs and leave after a few days. Also, seeing that tourism adds $3.2 billion to Shelby County’s economy already, picking off a few gamblers headed to Mississippi to lay down bets on teams could only … [Read more...]
Instant Expert Legal Analysis Of The Federal Sports Betting Bill – Part 1 By John Holden, Legal Sports Report • December 20, 2018 On a Wednesday, exactly six days before Christmas, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) elected to drop a 101-page federal sports betting bill on the world. The bill closely follows a discussion draft circulated weeks earlier. While it was known that the previous draft had input from more than just Hatch, there was confirmation Wednesday that Hatch’s writing partner was indeed … [Read more...]
Betting on the Future for Gambling Advertising By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 19, 2018 A fascinating study entitled “Controlling the Illusion of Control”, on the subject of patterns in gambling advertising, was published in late 2017 in the journal International Gambling Studies. The study recommends that a subject of concern to regulators, based on this UK research, may be the appearance of “a magnified idea of control in sports”. This is in reference to sporting outcomes, and the … [Read more...]
… And Eventually There Might be Just One By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • December 19, 2018 The UK Gambling Commission has initiated a consultation on a new national strategy to reduce gambling harms, with the current strategy officially ending in March 2019. What’s particularly interesting is that the Gambling Commission has sought this input in its own right. Currently, there are three bodies that are involved in the development and implementation of the national strategy: The … [Read more...]
The guessing game has begun as industry insiders ponder Isaacs’ next move By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • December 18, 2018 On the same day gaming executive Gavin Isaacs changed his LinkedIn profile job status to ‘TBA,’ Scientific Games filed a one sentence statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing his resignation as vice chairman of the gambling equipment provider’s board. That’s one way to grab the industry’s attention, although that’s never really been a problem for Isaacs. Once again, … [Read more...]
The fine print in Maryland’s gambling expansion bites us again By Baltimore Sun • December 18, 2018 In November, Marylanders voted overwhelmingly to erase some of the fine print they had missed when they voted 10 years before to legalize slot machine gambling. It seems people had gotten the impression that this new money would go toward enhancing Maryland’s public schools — understandable given that the biggest chunk of the money was earmarked for a newly created Education Trust Fund. It took … [Read more...]
Oklahoma: New Gov. Stitt should honor Enid City’s wishes on Indian casino denial By Enid News & Eagle Editorial Board • December 18, 2018 The anti-casino message was strong and swift. With a 5-2 vote Tuesday night, the Enid City Commission rejected an offer to support plans by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma to build a casino in east-central Enid. The commission also rejected an offer of in-lieu-of-tax payments related to making a few acres of land in the middle of the city a tribal trust, making the … [Read more...]
The 5 Biggest Casino Gaming Stories of 2018 By David G. Schwartz, Forbes • December 17, 2018 With 2018 almost over, it’s time to consider just what the biggest news-makers were for the casino industry in that year. 2018 did not lack for either headlines or significant changes in the gaming industry, which continues to adapt to changing social and economic realities. Steve Wynn exits Wynn Resorts. He’s widely hailed as the man who created modern Las Vegas. Certainly without the … [Read more...]
Lotte Tour Bets Korea Casino Resort Towers Can Stack Up By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • December 13, 2018 At the center of South Korea's Jeju Island rises the nation's tallest mountain, Halla, an icon attracting millions of visitors annually. In the center of Jeju City, Jeju Dream Tower is rising as the island's tallest building. At 38 stories, it can be a new icon in Asia's increasingly crowded gambling resort space. Making this $1.4 billion bet pay off requires that developer Lotte Tour draw the … [Read more...]
Barclays releases mobile app featuring ability to block gambling transactions By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 13, 2018 Barclays Bank have become the first major high street bank in the UK to offer a new form of mobile banking. The latest version of the bank’s mobile app offers customers the option to block a number of different types of transactions on their current accounts, including gambling and betting shop. The app was released on Tuesday of this week and will enable users to block payments to gambling … [Read more...]
A Lottery Payroll Deduction; Speed Dialing Tax By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • December 13, 2018 According to Wikipedia, speed dial is a function available on many telephone systems; it allows a person to place a call more quickly and with much less effort. It is a great idea, a person no longer has to laboriously push all those buttons or touch numbers on a screen. In an act of absolute genius a lawmaker in Michigan has found a way to put paying taxes on speed dial. The tax is not an … [Read more...]
Why gambling used to scare baseball and why it doesn’t anymore By Grant Brisbee, SB Nation • December 13, 2018 The mayor of Las Vegas attended the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in 2004 with a showgirl on each arm and an Elvis impersonator behind him. This is not an exaggeration. Oscar Goodman was a former mob lawyer who represented “Tony the Ant,” the inspiration for Joe Pesci’s character in Casino, but in his second life, from 1999 to 2011, he was a wildly popular mayor of Las Vegas. His mission … [Read more...]
Can Elaine Wynn hold on to the casino her ex-husband lost? By Rachelle G. Cohen, Boston Globe • December 12, 2018 It’s a tale right out of “First Wives Club” – except better . . . way better. He can’t keep his hands off the hired help (“The manicurist, oh for god’s sake, what are you thinking!”) But times change and the help doesn’t have to put up with that kind of behavior any longer, and woe to the billionaire who hasn’t figured that out. So she ends up calling the shots for the business he was forced … [Read more...]
Will the Phoenix Suns move to Seattle or Las Vegas if an arena deal fails? By Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic • December 12, 2018 Splash one arena deal. Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams and Councilwomen Laura Pastor and Debra Stark have asked for a postponement of this afternoon's City Council vote on whether to spend $150 million upgrading the Suns arena. This, because the deal will go down in defeat if it's put to a vote. Whether they get a continuance or not could mark the beginning of a showdown between the city and … [Read more...]
On the road with AGS: Gaming equipment maker highlights growing opportunities By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • December 11, 2018 Two top executives from casino equipment provider AGS met recently with investment managers in San Francisco and Denver. Union Gaming Group analyst John DeCree went with them. The Las Vegas-based manufacturer wasn’t seeking money. The non-deal road show allowed AGS – which has been on fire in the eyes of investors since its initial public offering in January – to highlight its growing business … [Read more...]
Ruffin keeps moving, this time into Florida, but will Trump slow him down? By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • December 10, 2018 Phil Ruffin was an enormously successful businessman before he entered the competitive Las Vegas gaming scene with the acquisition of the Frontier Hotel & Casino and subsequent purchase of the Treasure Island. He was a successful Strip casino operator before he entered into a development partnership with future President Donald Trump to create the shimmering Trump International tower in Las … [Read more...]
Why Las Vegas Is Still America’s Most Sinful City By David G. Schwartz, Forbes • December 10, 2018 It came as no surprise that a recent WalletHub study named Las Vegas the most sinful city in the United States. After all, “Sin City” has to be more than just marketing fluff, right? Las Vegas definitely is sinful, at least according to the parameters of the study, but not because it’s any different from the rest of the country—just a little more honest and accommodating than virtually everywhere … [Read more...]
Chips are down in Macau for America’s casino kings By Nisha Gopalan, Bloomberg • December 9, 2018 If any worsening of the trade war leads China to call for a boycott of U.S. companies, America’s casino kings will be sweating. Three American companies — Las Vegas Sands Corp., founded by Republican Party donor Sheldon Adelson; Wynn Resorts Ltd.; and, to a lesser extent, MGM Resorts International — rely on their positions in the casino hub of Macau to thrive. With their two-decade-old licenses … [Read more...]
UK Bookies Review Option of Setting Voluntary Advertising Restrictions By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 7, 2018 When the Remote Gambling Association, the major voice for Europe’s online gambling industry, wants to sit down with its UK members and talk over steps to improve responsible gambling and the industry’s public image, we know that stuff just got real. The meeting, which took place on 20th November, included several key members of the UK’s gambling industry and was specifically run as a leaders’ … [Read more...]
Atlantic City mayors are so corrupt they’re bad for casino industry’s image By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • December 5, 2018 Atlantic City has been making an economic comeback, but it appears Mayor Frank Gilliam may not be around to celebrate it. Like so many New Jersey mayors before him, he’s otherwise occupied by a political corruption investigation. And to think there was a time some people believed casinos would be bad for Atlantic City’s reputation. FBI and IRS agents raided Gilliam’s home Monday as part … [Read more...]
Lessons to be Learned By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • December 5, 2018 The US Supreme Court’s 6 - 3 decision in May of this year, ruling that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional, has opened the door for sports betting on a state by state basis. Gambling companies are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a massive new gambling market opening up. Estimates for the whole US market vary from US$1 billion at the low … [Read more...]
Thinking of the Children: Where to from Here? By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 5, 2018 The UK Gambling Commission recently released their annual edition of their publication “Young People & Gambling”. The report has a number of key findings which might give us pause for thought. Perhaps most important, while 1.7% of children aged 11-16 were found to already be problem gamblers, and 2.2% to be at risk of becoming so, an incredible 32.5% were found to be gamblers, at least technically … [Read more...]
Quietly, Resorts World Las Vegas on track to be the Strip’s first new mega-resort in nearly a decade By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • December 4, 2018 On a brisk December morning, the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas development was abuzz with activity. Along the Las Vegas Strip, onlookers could spot four cranes lifting pieces of construction material into place for the S-curved towers. From the roof of Circus-Circus Las Vegas’ parking garage, the podium for the casino and other public amenities can be seen taking shape. Portions of the … [Read more...]
Ghosts of Glitter Gulch: Bygone Fremont Street casino offers lesson for modern era By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • December 3, 2018 These days it’s just another ghost of Glitter Gulch, but there was a time in the 1970s when the Gambler’s Hall of Fame Casino hustled slot players on Fremont Street. It would never match the action at Binion’s Horseshoe Club or the El Cortez, and in a few years a young Steve Wynn would turn the Golden Nugget into the place to be downtown, but it would be hard to match the Gambler’s Hall of Fame … [Read more...]
Seven Leadership Mistakes Casino Slot Managers Warn Against By David G. Schwartz, Forbes • December 3, 2018 Last week, I shared six leadership secrets for good management excerpted from Tales from the Slot Floor, a collection of edited interviews with casino slot managers, To recap, this book is based on a series of interviews with veteran slot management professionals. This week, I’m going to look at the other side of the occasion by sharing what those managers had to say about the mistakes they’ve … [Read more...]
Legal sports wagering has transfixed the nation’s gaming industry By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • December 2, 2018 Forget new casino openings. Legal sports wagering is the gaming industry’s fastest growth vehicle. Last week, before New York City became the gambling universe’s 50-yard-line for the ICE Sports Betting USA conference, representatives of H2 Gambling Capital visited separately with gaming analysts Barry Jonas of SunTrust Bank and Cameron McKnight of Credit Suisse. The message from the … [Read more...]
Pachinko mogul Okada clashes with Wynn, Universal spin ahead in Philippines, Japan, America By Muhammad Cohen, Forbes • December 2, 2018 After spending three and a half hours listening to Kazuo Okada, the deposed founder of Japan’s Universal Entertainment and dispossessed co-founder of Wynn Resorts, and spending twice as many years following the saga of Okada and Universal versus Steve Wynn and Wynn Resorts, two things are clear: Okada is right, and Wynn is right. A central feature of the dispute, Okada Manila opened two years … [Read more...]
Report on young people and gaming released by UK commission By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • December 1, 2018 Young People & Gambling 2018, a research study into the gambling habits of teenagers in Great Britain, turned up some interesting observations. An astonishing total of 32.5 percent, almost a one-third of all children aged 11 through 16 in Great Britain, were classified as gamblers. Just 1.7 percent of the group are estimated to be problem gamblers, a further 2.2 percent are classified as … [Read more...]
Second Philadelphia casino a bad bet for a city struggling with poverty By The Philadelphia Inquirer • November 30, 2018 The long-delayed casino near the sports stadium complex in South Philadelphia received another extension from the often-acquiescent Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. This casino has gone through changes in names, locations, and owners since the license was awarded in 2006 to Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia, which failed to get financing. The latest developer – who has close ties to President … [Read more...]
American gamble: Tiger and Phil find a tough crowd for their head-to-head pay TV match By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • November 28, 2018 Golf is known for its well-mannered galleries, where volunteer ushers raise “Quiet” and “Hush” paddles and masses follow directions like well-trained retrievers. But it looks like champion golf hustlers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson found a much tougher crowd for their recent pay TV match at Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas. Woods and Mickelson, multimillionaire superstars of the sport, … [Read more...]
Answers needed on fate of Everett casino license By Boston Globe Editorial • November 28, 2018 The house always wins. They know that in Las Vegas. But in Massachusetts, well, not so much. And right now the Massachusetts Gaming Commission — which faces a $2.6 billion decision on the Wynn Resorts Casino rising in Everett — is playing the game like a bunch of country rubes. The commission, which has been letting its staff and investigators basically run the show for months, is … [Read more...]
Mass Shopping, Big Sales and the Thanksgiving Weekend By Ken Adams, CDC Gaming Reports • November 28, 2018 Thanksgiving has become the busiest travel and shopping holiday of the year. It is a great time for retail sales and travel destinations, but it is not without its potential liabilities. In the long-term, those who benefit today may suffer and in the short-term other businesses are suffering now. Regardless of the implications, Thanksgiving has become a culture changing phenomenon. An … [Read more...]
Kerkorian insiders describe late billionaire as understated but a shrewd businessman By Howard Stutz, Executive Editor, CDC Gaming Reports • November 27, 2018 Kirk Kerkorian was the most media-shy gaming executive I have covered in some 30-plus years following the casino industry. He was also, easily, the most influential. From the early 1960s until his death at age 98 in June 2015, the billionaire developer played a paramount role in shaping the Las Vegas Strip into a world class destination. He built, bought and sold some of the city’s most … [Read more...]
Tribal politics aside, Arizona a natural for legalized sports betting By John L. Smith, CDC Gaming Reports • November 26, 2018 FLAGSTAFF -- The home crowd loves its North Arizona University Lumberjacks, win or lose. The affection for the home team runs hot in small college towns and big-league cities from here to Miami. Citizens of every state like to imagine themselves as the ultimate sports fans. And in the wake of the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), states are beginning to cash … [Read more...]
Six Leadership Secrets From Casino Slot Managers By David G. Schwartz, Forbes • November 26, 2018 Earlier this year, I published Tales from the Slot Floor, a collection of edited interviews with casino slot managers, part of a larger project that captured how the discipline of casino management has changed and continues to evolve in the face of ongoing technological and demographic shifts. Based on a series of interviews with veteran slot management professionals, the book presents insights … [Read more...]
Best bet to combat gambling? Teach children bookies’ odds don’t add up By Greg Wood, The Guardian • November 25, 2018 Two stories over the past few days can only have reinforced the view of some – perhaps many – sports fans that the UK’s gambling industry is out of control. First came the news Bet365, the country’s biggest online bookmaker, boosted its profits by a third in 2017 to £682m, with “in-play” betting accounting for 77% of sports revenue over the year, up from 72% in 2016. A day later, the Gambling … [Read more...]
A Guy’s First Race Horse By Bernard Kroviak, CDC Gaming Reports • November 24, 2018 The Breeders’ Cup, thoroughbred horse racing's Championship day, was run earlier this month at Churchill Downs. A total of 221 horses were entered in this year’s Cup races. Many of these mounts were home-bred, meaning that they were bred and raced by their current owner; others were bought at sales on the open market or at auction. The two-year-olds who actually won a Breeders’ Cup race this … [Read more...]
Sports book or casino – which one is the best bet for you? By Dave Nash, the SportsDaily • November 22, 2018 Whether they are exploring the strip in Vegas or touring the virtual world on a smartphone, when it comes to the games people play, they generally have two questions fairly close to the front of their mind. What are the chances of winning and what are the rewards from doing so. Of course there are other considerations too. A game is so-called for a reason and needs to be one the player will … [Read more...]
Too many children are hooked on gambling. Why aren’t they protected? By Marc Etches, The Guardian • November 22, 2018 Gambling is everywhere. It is on our TVs during football games, on our smartphones and computers, in video games and on our high streets. For adults, this can be a serious issue, particularly if you suffer from addiction, or are at risk of developing a problem – which is the case for more than 2 million people in Britain. As we know and must be vocal about, gambling addiction can lead people to … [Read more...]
Nobody Harmed By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • November 21, 2018 Recently I attended an event entitled “Nobody Harmed by Gambling”, organised by the bookmakers William Hill. The intent of the meeting was to start a conversation about how to reduce, to a bare minimum, the harm caused by abnormal gambling behaviour. Attendees were other gambling operators, academics, addiction specialists, gambling addicts, and treatment providers. The company’s CEO, Philip … [Read more...]
Novomatic Group In Austrian Gambling Addict Payout Court Ruling: A Case Study By Luke Haward, CDC Gaming Reports • November 21, 2018 A ruling has been issued in a regional court in Austria which presents a host of fascinating questions for the gambling industry, whether or not the decision is later overruled by a higher court within Austria, or even, ultimately, by the European Court of Justice. I have no doubt that if the parties involved can afford the legal bills and the glare of publicity, this one could go all the way to … [Read more...]
An update on events in Greece By Andrew Tottenham, Managing Director, Tottenham & Co • November 21, 2018 Loutraki is not the only casino that has not been paying its staff on time. Apparently, the Porto Rio Casino in Patras, Greece has been delinquent in paying its staff due to low revenues. The staff have become so frustrated by the owner’s inability to pay them that they took matters into their own hands. Approximately a dozen staff, accompanied by senior members of the union, PAME, entered the … [Read more...]