Internet gambling supporters rejoiced when the Justice Department changed its opinion on the Federal Wire Act and opened the doors for online wagering expansion across the United States.
Inside Gaming
Richard N. Velotta’s Inside Gaming column appears Sunday and Wednesday in Business.
rvelotta@reviewjournal.com … @RickVelotta on Twitter. 702-477-3893
By numbers alone, the merger of Golden Gaming and Lakes Entertainment doesn’t equal any one of the combined $18.5 billion in gaming equipment manufacturing buyouts that have happened in the past 18 months.
Over the last 18 months, Scientific Games Corp. spent $7.6 billion to acquire the gaming industry’s No. 2 and No. 3 slot machine manufacturers. That makes Scientific Games Corp. the new International Game Technology — minus the baggage.
Out of the fire and into the furnace? After implementing a partial casino smoking ban in October, Macau is now contemplating a total prohibition on smoking in all areas of the region’s gaming market.
Falling gasoline prices and rising consumer confidence potentially add up to good news for regional casino operators. Whether or not this translates into more dollars in casino drop boxes is still up for debate.
Imagine for a moment that Las Vegas-style sports wagering was legal in other states.
Gaming industry predictions are not exact science.
Bill Boyd said a 1983 decision to take over management of the troubled Stardust at the request of the Gaming Control Board was an easy choice.
The American Gaming Association is expanding both in membership and influence. Last week, the AGA announced it added nine new members, including Seminole Hard Rock Gaming — the group’s first American Indian-owned casino company — and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Back when Nevada and Atlantic City were the only places in the United States to find casinos, the law firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins ruled the legal roost.
It’s abundantly clear Caesars Growth Partners is key to the planned bankruptcy restructuring of overly-leveraged affiliate Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., which intends to shed almost $10 billion of the parent company’s industry-leading $22.8 billion debt through reorganization.
On paper, it appeared MGM Resorts International lost the construction defect lawsuit over CityCenter’s mistake-riddled Harmon Hotel.
The most recent publicity stunt in the ongoing skirmish between Culinary Local 226 and Station Casinos had a holiday street party feel combined with an arts and crafts project. But when it was over, the union came off looking like an inept comedy team.
In Macau, there are spectacular images of the city’s downtown Peninsula skyline from the Ruins of St. Paul. Above the church site is Mount Fortress, built by Jesuits to protect the Portuguese colony. The crumbled buildings and cannons serve as a metaphor for the current state of the Chinese gaming enclave.
When he appears at the Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday, Sam Nazarian — the visionary behind SLS Las Vegas — should accept the Dec. 3 recommendation by the Gaming Control Board for a one-year limited gaming license.