At some point, the estate of Kirk Kerkorian will no longer have ownership in MGM Resorts International. But disposing of more than 91.2 million shares in the casino giant won’t happen overnight.
Inside Gaming
Richard N. Velotta’s Inside Gaming column appears Sunday and Wednesday in Business.
rvelotta@reviewjournal.com … @RickVelotta on Twitter. 702-477-3893
Tables resembling giant smart phones have grown so popular inside The Mirage, Bellagio and MGM Grand that content providers are clamoring to put their free-to-play gambling products on the devices.
At some point — if we’re reading the signs correctly — regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment will marry itself to real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Wall Street hopes this isn’t a shotgun wedding.
The building currently housing the UNLV Harrah College of Hotel Administration is outdated. But because of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s signature, Hospitality Hall will soon rise at the center of the UNLV campus.
Kirk Kerkorian, who died Monday at 98, was never comfortable in the spotlight. Despite his status as one of America’s most successful billionaires, Kerkorian was reserved, unpretentious and media-shy.
Australia-based Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. wasn’t left behind by the tsunami that engulfed the slot machine industry over the past 20 months — you just might not have noticed.
CNBC host and financial gossip monger Jim Cramer set the gaming investment community abuzz last week. Cramer told his “Mad Money” audience there was “speculation” that Wynn Resorts Ltd. “might merge” with MGM Resorts International. But the notion of a MGM-Wynn merger is ludicrous.
On Monday, American stock speculators will be able to buy shares of Internet gaming giant Amaya Inc. on the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, American online poker players still can’t place wagers through the company’s most popular product.
In 2010 Wynn considered moving his corporate headquarters from Las Vegas to the Chinese Special Administrative Region before abandoning the idea. Today, Macau is in a free-fall and it’s taking Wynn Resorts along for the ride.
It’s clear the millennial generation aren’t fond of slot machines. They prefer Angry Birds over Blazing 7s. New gaming regulations headed for Nevada that will soon let gamblers do both.
Peter Erickson worries a suggested move by the Internal Revenue Service to lower the reporting level for gambling winnings will change his casino habits.
On game days for the Real Madrid soccer team, the area surrounding Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is an outdoor festival. Located near the city’s financial district, fans of the club gather with intense passion.
During the past decade, Penn National Gaming was named as a potential buyer of nearly every Strip resort that was for sale or rumored to be on the market.
Spain houses more than 200,000 slot machines countrywide. The payouts are not life changing for the customers and the gaming revenue doesn’t move the needle for operators.
Portugal and Macau are forever connected despite a separation of more than 6,800 miles. Much of the relationship hinged on controversial Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho. Thanks to Portugal, Ho owned a monopoly on Macau’s casino market for nearly 40 years.