Category Archives: Regulation

More grief for Uncle Carl; Bluhm backs down

Posted on June 18, 2015 by David McKee

Carl Icahn has won his gambit to take over Trump Taj Mahal but that doesn’t mean he and Unite-Here are all lovey-dovey. Although Icahn earlier called Trump Entertainment Resorts the most distressed company he’s ever seen, he’s giving CEO Bob … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Cordish Co., Harrah's, history, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, New York, Penn National, Regulation, Taxes, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Unite-Here | 2 Comments

Rock in Rio flops; Tighter slots in Maryland?

Posted on June 17, 2015 by David McKee

According to Vital Vegas, the first Strip outing of Rock in Rio might be its last, as the music festival may have lost as much as $28 million. Vital Vegas puts attendance at a dreadful 130,000 (out of a possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Cordish Co., Current, Entertainment, Florida, Harrah's, International, Japan, Macau, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Pets, Philippines, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Singapore, South Korea, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | Comments Off on Rock in Rio flops; Tighter slots in Maryland?

Heavy online interest in Pennsylvania; New twist in Jersey expansion

Posted on June 10, 2015 by David McKee

Caesars Interactive sent Michael Cohen to Harrisburg, to educate Pennsylvania lawmakers in online gambling and demonstrate the safety features whereby underage players can be thwarted. Cohen’s presentation pleased lawmakers on both sides of the aisle but drew a squawk of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson | Comments Off on Heavy online interest in Pennsylvania; New twist in Jersey expansion

Straub’s latest truce; Twin River readies for competition

Posted on June 10, 2015 by David McKee

Bitter foes Glenn Straub and ACR Energy Partners have agreed to make nice and keep the lights on (literally) at Revel, at least for the short term. The brinkmanship between these two parties had reached such extremes that ACR cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Atlantic City, Environment, Glenn Straub, Harrah's, Illinois, Isle of Capri, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Penn National, Regulation, Revel, Rhode Island, Tilman Fertitta | Comments Off on Straub’s latest truce; Twin River readies for competition

Case Bets: Club Fortune, NFL, PokerStars

Posted on June 10, 2015 by David McKee

“Loose sluts!”, cries the grandmotherly-looking woman at 00:13 in this Club Fortune Casino commercial (so bad it never gets old). Those days may soon be over once Nevada Gold‘s purchase of Club Fortune closes. Having obtained the property for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Geoff Freeman, Internet gambling, PokerStars, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Sports | Comments Off on Case Bets: Club Fortune, NFL, PokerStars

Straub puts Revel back in play; Hard Rock heads for Meadowlands

Posted on June 5, 2015 by David McKee

Glenn Straub‘s helter-skelter regime at Revel will continue at least a while more. He’s talking about reopening the HQ nightclub in July and evicting ACR Energy Partners from Revel’s power plant, getting one monkey off his back. He did and … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock Hotel, Hard Rock International, Indiana, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Revel, Tourism, Tribal, Warner Gaming | Comments Off on Straub puts Revel back in play; Hard Rock heads for Meadowlands

Sifting through the Caesars wreckage

Posted on June 5, 2015 by David McKee

“If this litigation continues, we will take a big step backward because parties won’t at all be incentivized to come together and negotiate.” So says Randall S. Eisenberg, the de facto chief restructuring officer for Caesars Entertainment, which is trying … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Harrah's, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Kansas gets down to brass tacks; Lindsey Graham, man of mystery

Posted on June 2, 2015 by David McKee

After years of waiting, the fate of Kansas‘ seemingly unwanted fourth casino license, long in abeyance came down to three-and-a-half hours of presentations by a trio of rival bidders. The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facilities Review Board will make its choice by … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet gambling, Kansas, New York, Palms, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, Tribal, World Series of Poker | Comments Off on Kansas gets down to brass tacks; Lindsey Graham, man of mystery

May in Macao: Hey, it could be worse; Wynn in Boston: Why not?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by David McKee

That’s Wall Street‘s spin on a 37% decline in May gambling revenues. Writes Carlo Santarelli of Deutsche Bank, “We view the tightening with forecasts … as a modest positive for the group and an indication of a forming bottom.” In other … Continue reading →

Posted in Japan, Massachusetts, Penn National, Regulation, Sam Nazarian, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off on May in Macao: Hey, it could be worse; Wynn in Boston: Why not?

Christie’s change of mind; Caesars creditors thwarted

Posted on May 29, 2015 by David McKee

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is already throwing in the towel on his five-year plan for Atlantic City. If lawmakers want to put a statewide expansion of casino gambling on this fall’s ballot, Christie would “have absolutely no problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Election, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, Horseracing, Massachusetts, New York, Racinos, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Taxes | Comments Off on Christie’s change of mind; Caesars creditors thwarted

Good April for Vegas; Frankie the Fish and Sister Sandra

Posted on May 29, 2015 by David McKee

Baccarat play on the Las Vegas Strip improved by double-digit numbers for the second month in a row, up 14% in April, contributing to an 8% upward surge on the Strip. Baccarat revenues rose 5%, while all other table games … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Boyd Gaming, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Macau, Marketing, Mississippi, North Las Vegas, Philippines, Politics, Regulation, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, Vietnam | Comments Off on Good April for Vegas; Frankie the Fish and Sister Sandra

Caesars pays some, denies others; Adelson’s blunderbuss bill

Posted on May 27, 2015 by David McKee

Who knew that Gary Loveman was a creditor of Caesars Entertainment? His compensation package has been identified as among those adversely affected by Caesars Entertainment Operating Co.’s bankruptcy. The Chapter 11 proceeding has impacted five deferred-compensation plans, two of which will … Continue reading →

Posted in Cantor Gaming, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, International, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Technology | Comments Off on Caesars pays some, denies others; Adelson’s blunderbuss bill

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 27, 2015 by David McKee

“I will never say there are too many tables.” — Galaxy Entertainment Vice Chairman Francis Lui, asked whether the 150-table government allocation for Galaxy Macau Phase Two was sufficient. The casino has the capacity for 500 tables.

Posted in Macau, Regulation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Phua case collapses; Bwin wooed ardently

Posted on May 27, 2015 by David McKee

Well, that’s it. With the exclusion of evidence gathered from all three Caesars Palace VIP villas used by Paul Phua, the federal government’s case against the poker pro collapses ignominiously. U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon had already tossed all the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bally Technologies, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, Penn National, Problem gambling, Racinos, Regulation, Scientific Games, Shuffle Master, Sports, Uncategorized, WMS Industries | Comments Off on Phua case collapses; Bwin wooed ardently

New York’s big score; Tribe wins in California

Posted on May 22, 2015 by David McKee

Various law enforcement agencies are richer to the tune of $9.6 million after nailing an offshore betting ring that extended all the way to Panama. The case started humbly enough, with some Albany County jail officers found to be involved … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Florida, International, Internet gambling, New York, Oklahoma, Penn National, Regulation, Technology, Tribal | Comments Off on New York’s big score; Tribe wins in California

Sheldon steps in it; Tomato King to the rescue

Posted on May 21, 2015 by David McKee

Las Vegas Sands‘ CEO Sheldon Adelson’s pet piece of legislation, “Restoring America’s Wire Act” turns out to have a raft of unintended consequences, several of which would kneecap the casino industry. For one, it would ban mobile gambling, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Technology, Tomato King Procacci | Comments Off on Sheldon steps in it; Tomato King to the rescue

Massachusetts: And then there were two

Posted on May 18, 2015 by David McKee

Last Thursday, casino boosters from Somerset were expected to show up a Massachusetts Gaming Commission hearing and ask for yet another delay to get their act together. Instead, they surprised the MGC and the rest of us by simply pulling … Continue reading →

Posted in Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, New York, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sports, Technology | Comments Off on Massachusetts: And then there were two

Caesars rethinks pensions; Bluhm wins in Massachusetts

Posted on May 13, 2015 by David McKee

Caesars Entertainment has been feeling the heat for cutting off pension payments to 340 current and former executives. By lumping them in with other unsecured creditors, it gave itself a rationale for the severed payouts, leaving the pensioners to face … Continue reading →

Posted in Foxwoods, Harrah's, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | 1 Comment

Et tu, Harry?; It’s a new era in Manila

Posted on May 12, 2015 by David McKee

Now that Sen. Harry Reid (D) has one foot out the door on Capitol Hill, he’s turning on the casino companies — particularly Caesars Entertainment — that helped him stay in power five years ago. Just when Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Delaware, Genting, Harrah's, Harry Reid, Internet gambling, Kazuo Okada, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Philippines, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore | Comments Off on Et tu, Harry?; It’s a new era in Manila

More trouble for Caesars; Slot routes corrode casino revenues

Posted on May 12, 2015 by David McKee

Caesars Entertainment will soon have a new unsecured creditor — Uncle Sam. The company is trying to negotiate a settlement with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The tab for making things right with The Man could run to $20 million and … Continue reading →

Posted in Dan Gilbert, Environment, Harrah's, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Slot routes, The Strip, West Virginia | 1 Comment