New Jersey has allowed betting on the XFL, the sixth state to do so. But does anybody care? The league hopes that sports betting will spark fan interest in the games. MGM Resorts International already got burned 
by the Alliance of American Football, which collapsed midway through its inaugural season. (Says gaming reporter Wayne Parry, “Betting on those games was likened by several sports books to the level of some mid-to-lower tier college games.”) Hey, we told Jim Murren that putting money into the AAL was like betting on a three-legged horse. Will any casino companies want skin in the game of the XFL, which played one season in 2001 to passionate disinterest from football fans?
* Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment is moving forward with its Grecian megaresort, newly titled Inspire Athens (pictured, cost as yet undisclosed). 
However, Hard Rock International is not taking its rejection lying down. Citing what have described as “rather bizarre” criteria for its rejection, Hard Rock describes the government’s preference for the Mohegans as “absolutely laughable.” (Would this be tribe-on-tribe violence?) Provided it files an official appeal, as appears certain, Hard Rock will have a month in which to persuade arbitrators to throw out the MGE award. Aside from budgeting its Hellenikon project at $1.1 billion, Hard Rock has been chary with details, so it’s hard to say if it matches the “wow” factor of MGE’s. We’ll see.
* Casinos and Internet gambling have been approved by the parliament in Ukraine. However, before we all rush to board a flight to Kiev it should be noted that this is not a fait accompli. The enabling legislation got 260 votes out of possible 450, and includes sports betting and lotteries among 
its goodies. Small hotels would have to pay $1.7 million for a gaming licenses, larger ones $2.6 million, while online licenses will cost $280K apiece. The bill, however, must be passed twice more in the unicameral parliament, then go to President Volodymyr Zelensky (well-known to U.S. news viewers) for his signature. Ten Internet casinos and 20 terrestrial ones green-lit by the law, which would cap the nationwide total of slot machines at 40,000. Ukranian economic growth is on an upswing and casino boosters are looking at this new legislation to push it even higher, predicting $200 million in annual gaming revenue—small potatoes by our standards but you’ve got to start somewhere.
* Former Revel owner Glenn Straub has been arrested on multiple 
counts of felony fraud for filing false liens against his ex-girlfriend. Galimony much? Think what a PR bullet New Jersey regulators dodged when they didn’t cave to Straub’s demand that he be exempted from casino licensing because … well, because he’s special. Don’t stop being you, Glenn. In other law-enforcement news, former Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs waitress Rochelle Poszeluznyj has been sentenced to six months of house arrest for conspiracy to launder money, enabling them to scam $420,000 from slot machines. Poszeluznyj funneled player-card information to a former casino executive and a gambler. The judge in the case said her role was “substantially less” than that of her confederates, by way of explaining the light sentence. And finally, James Packer will testify before Australian regulators, as Crown Resorts faces an investigation into whether it is suitable to continue holding a gaming license. Lawrence Ho will also give testimony in the inquiry. At stake is an under-construction casino in Sydney. Surely Ho and Packer didn’t think their fortunes would still be this closely yoked together since Melco Crown Entertainment was dissolved.
