Business & Financial
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.
PerHead Offers Live Dealer Casino
Per head businesses are no longer just about managing reports and providing online software for bookmakers and agents. These businesses must stay competitive and one way to do this is to offer a whole suite of extras such as smartphone compatible platforms, live betting, full track horse racing, and even an online casino.
Melco-Crown Entertainment to Invest USD 5 Billion in Japan Casino
Melco-Crown Entertainment, a joint venture between Macau casino tycoon Lawrence Ho and Australian gambling billionaire, James Packer, has announced plans to invest US$5 billion into a new casino resort in Japan.
Speaking to Bloomberg News, Ho state: "If Japan opens up and allows integrated resorts in Tokyo, Osaka, the market could easily be in excess of $10 billion to $15 billion or more."
US-based casino operators Wynn Resorts and MGM are also seeking to expand its casino empire in Japan.
Ladbrokes Chief Head on Chopping Block: Shares Plunge 10 Per Cent
Ladbrokes shares fell nearly 10 per cent Thursday amidst news the UK’s second largest bookmaker’s operating profit would come nowhere near that of last year’s numbers.
Forecasts now call for between £10million to £14million this year compared with market forecasts of £27.5million.
WagerWeb.com Affiliate Program Review: New Software Huge Improvement
Gambling911.com recently had a chance to test out the WagerWeb.com affiliate program software and absolutely love it. This is a step up from the software they were previously using, which itself was much better than the industry standard.
US Online Gamblers Spent US$2.6 Billion in 2012
WASHINGTON—(AFP) - Americans spent US$2.6 billion on gambling websites in 2012, according to a study released Tuesday by the casino industry as it renewed a push for Congress to regulate online betting.
The American Gaming Association, which released the study, said it highlights the need for federal legislation to end the state of “ambiguity” on Internet wagering.
PokerStars Founder Isai Scheinberg Profiled in Canadian Business
CanadianBusiness.com has a riveting story on the man who started the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars.com.
Here we get a rare glimpse of Isai Scheinberg, who opened PokerStars from Toronto, Canada the same day two planes his the World Trade Center in Downtown Manhattan, September 11, 2001. At that time, Paradise Poker pretty much dominated the online poker scene.
Man Wins $1.3 Million in a Single Weekend at Bitcoin Online Casino
One lucky individual managed to win $1.3 million this past weekend at Just-Dice.com, a European-based online casino offering a bitcoin dice game. The amount translated into bitcoins was 11,000.
Snitch Banker in Full Tilt Poker Case Told By Bosses She Would be Arrested
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — A banker who took on an online gambling operation was the star of an anti-money-laundering conference in Las Vegas on Monday.
Compliance officer Cathy Scharf told an auditorium full of aghast colleagues about her experiences at a Utah bank that illegally processed a quarter billion dollars for the offshore gambling sites PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
She said her bosses told her the bank would fail without the illegal income, and they threatened her with arrest if she told on them.
888 Inks Deal With Wynn to Offer Online Gambling
Wynn Resorts has entered into a deal with 888 Holdings to offer online gambling in the United States it was revealed on Monday.
Wynn’s website will operate on the 888 network, All American Poker Network (AAPN).
888 is already partnered with Caesars Interactive, which last week launched the real money version of its WSOP.com website.
888 is now the world’s 3rd largest online poker company after overtaking PartyPoker this month.
Oversaturated Online Poker Market: Nevada Needs Compacts With Other States
Howard Stutz of the Las Vegas Review Journal notes that, with two real money online poker sites now launched in Nevada, the market is already saturated.
True, very true. Caesars WSOP.com opened its doors to real money play this past week, following in the footsteps of Station Casinos backed Ultimate Poker.
Established Gambling Destinations Like Vegas Faltering According to Moody’s
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Established gambling towns like Las Vegas and Atlantic City are hurting as more states start welcoming bettors’ dollars, Moody’s Investors Service warned last week.
The credit rating agency issued a report describing a shift in casino tax revenues away from New Jersey, Indiana and Nevada to new markets in places like Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio.
Test Drive Perhead.com’s Betting Software
Perhead.com now offers demos for agents looking to place their clients with one of the first established per head shops offshore.
Bitcoin ATMs are Coming to America
Bitcoin ATMs are quite possibly arriving in America by year’s end. At least two firms have plans to ship out Bitcoin ATMs to American cities in the coming months, according to an article appearing in Time Magazine last week.
WSOP.com Opens for Business, Real Money Online Poker in US
Caesars Interactive Entertainment officially opened its online poker site, WSOP.com, for real money play at 12:19 pm EDT Thursday (September 19, 2013).
The MAC-compatible Web card room will compete with only one other real money site, Ultimate Poker, for business within the United States.
More specifically, the two sites will be vying for a piece of the Nevada player population. Neither can accept real money play beyond the Silver State’s borders.
World Poker Tour Championship to be Held at Borgata, Sponsored by Bwin.Party
(Associated Press) - Ever since New Jersey legalized Internet gambling in February, poker was expected to be a big part of it.
