“I want to properly nurture the tourism industry in Osaka as one of its pillars,” says Gov. Ichiro Matsui of the prefecture. To that end, Yumeshima island has been set aside for a prospective casino resort. And Las Vegas and Macao operators 
have been taking the bait, and then some. “Tokyo has not raised its hand, Yokohama has not raised its hand – Osaka has raised its hand,” explained MGM Resorts International Executive Vice President of Global Development Ed Bowers. His company presented a Blue Man Group performance for a select group of 100 contest winners. (One was a PriceWaterhouseCoopers employee who earned a tongue-lashing for his luck.)
Less subtle has been the approach of Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Perhaps too eager, it has not only donated $450,000 to disaster-relief efforts (the latest in a series of Continue reading
imposed 10% import levies on playing cards from the United States, though China is yet to make its intentions known. More on that in a minute. “For Canada and the EU, winning this trade war means returning to the way things were before [Donald] Trump interfered with the up-to-then smoothly operating world markets. Since Trump has stated no goals, there is no way for Canada or the EU to do whatever it is he may want … These retaliatory tariffs are meant to 
election-year ballot. As many as six tracks could be affected. One of the, Atokad Downs in South Sioux City (‘Dakota’ spelled backwards, geddit?) is owned by the Ho-Chunk. It hosts a grand total of one race a year, thereby keeping its license alive. Arguing that Nebraskans wager $500 million in neighboring states, Ho-Chunk Inc. CEO Lance Morgan says, “We believe the revenue should stay in Nebraska.” A 2016 ballot question sputtered out for lack of signatures. Morgan says it was too complicated for the Average Joe to digest. “This shows we don’t give up. We’ve got to 
declines and those that had outright disappointing outlooks saw declines in excess of 10%.” Regional gaming companies were rated the best buy, in order of preference Penn National Gaming, Boyd Gaming, Station Casinos and Eldorado Resorts. Greff opined that stocks’ “volatility [was] exacerbated by short-term investor positioning and disappointing near-term commentary on LV Strip room pricing.” By contrast, regional operators had “a combination of low expectations, continued good fundamentals, strong free cash flow, and [cash flow] growth” going for them.
opted out of online poker). The other approved casinos are Harrah’s Philadelphia and Parx Casino, the former having a well-tested ‘Net brand of its own. Interestingly, no casino has as yet stepped forward to pony up the $10 million required to offer sports betting. The fact that regulators won’t meet again until Sept. 12 
(Subscription required.) As for what Las Vegas looks like in same, well, Lego 
proliferation of gaming advertising during Italy‘s World Cup games. As a result, you can’t advertise gambling anywhere in Italy anymore. It’s like the anti-DFS backlash in the U.S. only far worse. And it didn’t just make waves in Italy. In England, gambling concerns ran nearly 90 minutes of advertising during World Cup matches, 17% of the total. (Number of ad spots: 172)
people thought it was cursed, and no one thought I’d ever get it open.” — Ocean Resort owner Bruce Deifik, spinning July’s numbers. To be fair, it was the first time Revel/Ocean Resort posted positive cash flow but Deifik needs $24 million a month to reach his stated goal of $292 million in Year One.
comparison (i.e., minus Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort) has the city down 9.5%. The haul was just over $272 million, with slots up 9% and table games 14% higher overall. For the older casinos, it was 10.5% less at the one-armed bandits but 14.5% more at the tables. At Borgata, which was 7% down despite holding its own at the tables, slot revenue fell 10% on 5.5% less coin-in.
made by a Resorts World Catskills executive for the 
to observe it in the wild, you would see it carrying this carcass a small distance before it buries it. So, it’s pretty amazing to see that.” — U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist Daniel Finner on the American Burying Beetle, an endangered species that is 
York, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D) intends to introduce a law legalizing sports betting at all casinos — it’s currently permitted at the four newest — but the Lege doesn’t reconvene until January. Michigan‘s Brent Iden (R) has the jump on Pretlow, being able to submit a bill this fall, although its prospects are uncertain. And, out in California, Rep. Adam Gray (D) has already submitted such a bill, although it 
City market had the worst of it, off nearly 4%. Slot revenues ($128.5 million) were down 2% and table games ($22 million) fell 4%. Don’t tell that to Ameristar Kansas City, which was up 8%, to $17.5 million. Harrah’s Kansas City had a terrible month, plunging 12% to $15 million. Argosy Riverside slid 5.5% to $13.5 million while Isle of Capri Kansas City was 6.5% underwater, grossing $6 million.
helping to lead the way. (Remember, you can still smoke in Indiana casinos but not in Illinois.) Revenues for tribal Four Winds Casino are unknown but they continue to gnaw at Blue Chip, off 3% last month and so “tracking down 5.8% y/y.” JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff writes, “Looking ahead, we model 3Q18 [gross gaming revenue] at the property to decrease by 10.0% y/y.” That’s not what Boyd Gaming wants to read this morning.
project. A flunky said Landing International’s lease payments were “unconscionable” and that they put the government at a disadvantage. This makes the second casino shot down by Duterte, who nixed a $500 million Melco Resorts & Entertainment project in April. Landing Int’l vowed to fight on, issuing a statement that read, in part, “Unless the lease contract is canceled or nullified on solid legal grounds by the courts, Landing has reason to believe that it is a valid leaseholder and can legally proceed with its project.” Considering that