‘Suitability’ of Caesars CEO Questioned in Massachusetts With Federal Probe Ongoing
Updated October 24, 2013: Gambling regulators in Massachusetts questioning the suitability of Caesars CEO of Company Acquisition, Mitch Garber, did not contribute to that company’s decision to withdraw a gaming license application in the state.
Mr. Garber offered this clarification to Gambling911.com following a report featured on the site yesterday and in various other media outlets suggesting otherwise.
Bodog Embezzlement Case Heats Up: Charges to be Filed Shortly
As reported last week, a number of former high-ranking employees of Bodog Brand’s Asian arm have been implicated in an embezzlement scheme, according to company officials and confirmed by a Bodog representative. Gambling911.com can reveal that charges are about to be filed against at least one of the individuals, Robert Gustafsson.
Depositing on WSOP.com Hasn’t Been Easy Say Players
The second real money online poker site to begin accepting players from the US within the US hasn’t had the easiest time getting money in (or off the site) according to complaints that have cropped up on the TwoPlusTwo.com message boards.
The Art of Slot Machines
With approximately 197,144 slot machines in Las Vegas alone, it’s no wonder that artists have started to recognise these games as a digital platform for their work. One such artist is marine muralist Robert Wyland.
Tropicana Casino Approved for NJ Online Gambling License
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) - New Jersey casino regulators continued their march toward Internet gambling Monday, awarding the state's fifth online gambling permit to the Tropicana Casino and Resort.
The state is preparing for the launch of online gambling in New Jersey, which will begin Nov. 26 after a five-day invitation-only test period to make sure all the systems work properly.
The awarding of the permit came as detailed regulations for Internet gambling took effect Monday.
Indianapolis Airport Considering Wireless Gambling Technology
(Associated Press) - Phil Sicuso and Joe Champion say Indianapolis International Airport is well suited for wireless gambling technology that could bring in revenue to support more nonstop flights.
The pair work at Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP and floated the idea in an article for their firm's newsletter, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.
Week 8 College Football Upsets Great for the Bookies
Bookies celebrated a series of Week 8 College Football upsets that helped boost profits as the betting public tended to back the more high profile favorites.
Ole Miss pulled off one of the week’s biggest upsets, beating LSU outright as a +10 underdog. The Tigers now have two losses on the season. The Rebels record coming into Week 9 is 4-3 following their three point home victory.
Las Vegas Sands Earnings Beat 3rd Quarter Earnings
(Reuters) - Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. , owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, on Thursday posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, boosted by positive trends at its Macau and Singapore operations.
The company, which operates the Venetian in Las Vegas, also said it increased its common dividend by 42.9 percent to $2 per share yearly, or 50 cents per quarter, for the 2014 calendar year.
Trump Casinos in Atlantic City Latest to be Granted Online Gambling Permits
(Associated Press) - The two Trump casinos in Atlantic City received their Internet gambling permits Thursday, as New Jersey regulators continued preparing for the launch of online gambling next month.
Trump Plaza and the Trump Taj Mahal got their Internet gambling permits and join the Borgata and the Golden Nugget among casinos approved to begin Internet gambling.
Online gambling will begin Nov. 26 in New Jersey after a five-day, invitation-only trial period.
New Jersey is the third state in the nation to offer online gambling, along with Nevada and Delaware.
888 Holdings Anticipates Dramatic Revenue Rise in 2014 With US Web Gambling
(Reuters) - London- listed 888 Holdings is expecting to start to see the benefits from next year as a number of U.S. states ease a ban on Internet gambling.
888, which runs online gambling and poker sites, is already operating in Nevada, with markets in Delaware and New Jersey expected to go live in the coming weeks.
"In 2014, we should start to see some meaningful revenues come through," Chief Executive Brian Mattingley said, talking about prospects in the American market.
CAMS Names Former Nevada Gaming Control Head Mark Lipparelli Advisor
Los Angeles – CAMS, LLC, the leader in providing online operators with payment connectivity and Know Your Customer (KYC) verification services, today announced that Mark Lipparelli has been engaged by the company as an advisor. The company will look to him for strategic guidance as they navigate the newly-regulated internet gambling industry.
Golden Nugget Obtains Second NJ Online Gambling Permit
The Golden Nugget is the second Atlantic City casino operator to be granted an Online gambling permit.
New Jersey anticipates launching its Web gambling industry on November 26 with real money play permitted by those physically located within the state’s borders.
Lisa Spengler, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, said there is no competitive advantage to being issued a permit early as the launch date is the same for all casinos.
Last week the Borgata was the first casino property to receive a permit.
Betfair Launches LetsPlayNJ.com for Web Gambling but Can’t Play Yet in Garden State
While New Jersey prepares to begin allowing online gambling by the end of next month, European powerhouse Betfair has mostly been left out in the cold.
Caesars Stock Price Slides 12 Percent: No Right to Online Gambling IPO
Caesars Entertainment Corp. has sold 10.3 million shares of its common stock to a Swiss banking firm for $200 million, resulting in a sharp 12 percent decline in its share price Tuesday (October 15). This represents the biggest decline of the year so far.
The stock began trading without rights to participate in an IPO of the company’s online gambling unit. Anyone purchasing the stock as of the 15th would not enjoy rights to the new unit. Those already owning stocks in Caesars will be able to purchase Caesars Acquisition Co. stock.
Anticipated Positive Results With This Week’s Sands Earnings Report
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is expected to report its Q3 2013 earnings this coming Thursday October 17 and results should be positive according to Zacks Investment Research’ Steve Reitmeister.
Casino Woes Continue in Atlantic City: Revenues Way Down
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — (Associated Press) - Thousands of people came to Atlantic City to see Miss America last month, but not enough of them ventured into a casino to boost the gambling halls’ monthly revenue.
Atlantic City’s casinos saw their revenue fall by nearly 13 percent in September compared with the same month last year.
The city’s 12 casinos won $240.2 million from gamblers, a decline of 12.9 percent from September 2012.
Return of Miss America Pageant to Atlantic City Doesn’t Boost Revenue: Costs $400k
Atlantic City, NJ – (Associated Press) - The return of the Miss America pageant to Atlantic City brought attention to the seaside gambling mecca and a boon to police and public works employees.
The Press of Atlantic City reports the pageant cost the city about $400,000 in overtime. The city’s business administrator tells the newspaper that some of the costs will be reimbursed, possibly by the state. But it isn’t known how much, or when.
Woman Stiffed Out of $1 Mil Casino Prize: Casino Joins Her Suit to Recover Winnings
A woman has filed suit claiming she was stiffed out of winnings from an Oregon Tribal casino promotion.
Beverly Mackey won the $1 million dollar grand prize in Tribal casino Chinook Winds’ Swipe, Play & Win promotion game. The former home health care provider, who recently had heart surgery, has been denied the winnings.
Vault of Satoshi Offering Trades Between Fiat Currency and Bitcoin
A new Canadian exchange promises cheaper rates at 0.5 percent or below and an advanced API.
The Toronto-based Vault of Satoshi will offer trades between fiat currency and either bitcoin or litecoin, two anonymous digital currencies.
PokerStars Live Macau Announces MPC20
Macau Poker Cup celebrates 20th installment with special HK $8 million guarantee for the Red Dragon Main Event
MACAU, CHINA – October 11, 2013 – ‘PokerStars LIVE Macau’ today announced its plans for the 20th installment of the Macau Poker Cup (MPC), which takes place from January 10-21, 2014.
In celebration of MPC20, the legendary Red Dragon Main Event has been given a massive HK $8 million (US $1 million) guarantee.
Borgata Claims First Internet Gambling Permit
(Associated Press) - On an otherwise cloudy day in Atlantic City, a bright spot of news: New Jersey's first Internet gambling permit has been issued to the Borgata in Atlantic City.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement says the casino was the first to complete the application and must wait until Nov. 21 to actually make use of the permit.
On that date a 5-day trial period begins. If that goes well, state residents and visitors will be able to access Internet gambling on Nov. 26.
Gamblers Betting on Twitter IPO Valuation
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Though Twitter's first day on the stock market is probably still months away, a handful of international gamblers aren't waiting for the official debut and are already laying bets on how much the social media site will be worth.
Initial public offering experts are floating a market capitalization for Twitter of around $10 billion, but bettors on the Irish gambling site Paddy Power give the shortest odds to it closing with a market cap 50 percent to 100 percent above that.
William Hill Issues Profit Warning
(Reuters) - British bookmaker William Hill said a poor retail performance in its third quarter meant operating profit had fallen 20 million pounds ($32.5 million) below expectations, warning that shortfall may not be recovered by the year end.
Quiet trading in July helped push retail net revenue in the 13 week period to Oct 1 down 4 percent on an underlying basis, the firm said on Thursday, with gross margin wins falling 0.8 percentage points as football results went the way of customers.
Chris Moneymaker: Full Tilt Poker Likely to be Sold
PokerStars team pro Chris Moneymaker, the man credited for starting the online poker revolution, offered up a daring prediction regarding Full Tilt Poker’s future.
BetOnline Releases More Info on Shocking 18-Team Parlay Win: Records Shattered
Panama City, Panama – Anyone who watched the Cowboys vs. Broncos game Sunday afternoon was surely on the edge of their seat. The Broncos won a back-and-forth slugfest, in which the teams combined for 99 points. As exciting as this game was for any viewer, nobody’s heart was pounding more than Brandon P. from the upper Midwest.
Last Minute Touchdown for Ohio State Cost Vegas Sportsbooks $100 Million
A last minute touchdown may not have changed the outcome of Saturday night’s Ohio State vs. Northwestern game, but for Vegas and online sportsbooks, it was a definite game changer.
Bookies in Vegas alone lost $100 million to overjoyed gamblers. More than 90 percent of the bets were coming in on OSU.
Somach: Online Poker Site CEO has No Fear of Being Arrested
Thomas Somach’s San Francisco Examiner piece on an Internet poker company operating right from San Francisco is now out.
William Hill Issues Profit Warning
(Reuters) - British bookmaker William Hill said a poor retail performance in its third quarter meant operating profit had fallen 20 million pounds ($32.5 million) below expectations, warning that shortfall may not be recovered by the year end.
Quiet trading in July helped push retail net revenue in the 13 week period to Oct 1 down 4 percent on an underlying basis, the firm said on Thursday, with gross margin wins falling 0.8 percentage points as football results went the way of customers.
23500 Petitions Received for Full Tilt Poker Remission Process
Claims administration firm, Garden City Group (GCG), has completed the remission process for payments to Full Tilt Poker players.
It was reported yesterday (October 1, 2013) that some 1.4 million emails have been received from those still owed money from Full Tilt Poker. 23,500 petitions were also processed.
Full Tilt Poker abruptly exited the US market on April 15, 2011 following a series of indictments. Last year, the US Government settled with the company and began the process of determining payout distributions.
Vegas Visitor Count Up Slightly in August
(Associated Press) - Tourism authorities say the number of visitors to Las Vegas went up slightly in August compared with last year.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Monday that about 3.4 million visitors came to town in August, up 0.9 percent from the same month last year.
The number of conventions and meetings held in Las Vegas in August was down 13 percent year-over-year.
Room occupancy ticked up slightly from last August to just more than 84 percent, and average hotel room rates ticked up more than 3 percent to $105 per night.
