April 30, 2018 |
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Palms employees are on the verge of being unionized. The Culinary Union has been authorized to represent about 900 workers at the off-Strip property following a two-day union representation election completed Saturday.
April 30, 2018 |
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Central America is getting a new land casino nine years down the road when the Casino City Caribe opens its doors in Moin.
April 30, 2018 |
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Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd said on Monday it is working on an international offering of notes to institutional investors in Asia, Europe and the United States. The Hong Kong-listed firm said it plans to issue the notes in order to raise funds “to enhance the quality and appeal” of NagaWorld (pictured), its casino resort in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.
The net proceeds from the proposed notes issue would be used to “promote gaming business growth, particularly in our VIP gaming segment, and refurbish the hotel rooms in Naga 1,” the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
NagaCorp has an exclusive licence to operate casinos in Cambodia’s capital and surroundings. It started operations with the NagaWorld property, now referred to as Naga 1, which opened in December 2006. That property now links to Naga 2, an expansion that opened in November last year.
Naga 1 and Naga 2 combined are now described as the NagaWorld Complex, and are connected via an underground shopping mall known as NagaCity Walk.
In February NagaCorp reported 2017 net profit up 38.6 percent from the previous year. Revenue for the period increased by 79.8 percent.
The company said at the time that the “positive results were mainly attributable to robust business volume growth across all segments, especially from the VIP segment”.
Earlier this month, NagaCorp said its gross gaming revenue for the first quarter this year was nearly threefold that of the prior-year quarter, adding that it may need more mass-market tables in future.
In Monday’s filing, NagaCorp said the terms of the notes, including the aggregate principal amount, the tenor, the offer price and the interest rate, would be determined through a book building exercise. Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Ltd and Morgan Stanley and Co International Plc were appointed joint global coordinators, bookrunners and lead managers of the proposed notes issue.
The casino firm said it would begin a series of roadshow presentations from Wednesday (May 2) to international investors. But it added: “The completion of the proposed notes issue is subject to market conditions and investors’ interest and therefore may or may not proceed.”
NagaCorp is also in the early stages of building another casino resort in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone near the Pacific port of Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East. It was reported last week the company had begun pile cap work for the scheme, which was “broadly on schedule” for operation by 2019.
April 30, 2018 |
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Austria-based gaming equipment maker Novomatic AG on Friday reported revenue of approximately EUR2.53 billion (US$3.07 billion) for 2017, up 11.1 percent year-on-year compared to EUR2.27 billion achieved in 2016. Novomatic said the 2017 tally was the highest annual revenue the company had recorded in its 37-year history. Annual net profit however declined in 2017, dragged by one-off items, it added.
The revenue growth was “due to a significant increase in the slot arcades operated by Novomatic worldwide,” the firm said in its annual report. The group is active in several gaming segments around the world, including casino, lottery, sports betting, online and mobile.
The company said the number of self-operated locations – including casinos, sports betting outlets and bingo facilities – rose from about 1,900 to just over 2,100 as of end-2017. The firm also reported an increase of nearly 5,000 units in devices it operates worldwide, to about 65,000 in 2017.
Novomatic said revenue from its gaming operations segment grew by 19.7 percent year-on-year, to nearly EUR1.58 billion, representing about 63 percent of the firm’s aggregate revenue in 2017.
Sales in the gaming technology segment, in which Novomatic acts as a manufacturer and technology supplier for the gaming industry, reached EUR937 million last year, down 1.1 percent compared to EUR947 million in 2016.
Group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were flat at EUR586.8 million. The company said its EBITDA margin was 23.2 percent in 2017, down from 25.8 percent the previous year.
Profit attributable to shareholders for full-year 2017 was down 61 percent from the previous year, to EUR58.3 million, the firm said. It stated that a number of one-off items had a negative impact on its annual profit.
“In 2017, Novomatic carried out an intensive economic evaluation. As a result, one-off effects were added to the balance sheet as reflected in increased depreciations. This is largely due to the implementation of new regulations, such as in Germany, but also due to depreciations that were necessary for several international group subsidiaries, as well as foreign currency losses,” said the company.
It added: “Provisions were increased in order to compensate for potential future losses from individual associated companies.”
Novomatic completed the acquisition in January of a 52-percent stake in Australian slot machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd.
Harald Neumann, chief executive of Novomatic, said the company in 2018 would be focusing on efficiency, after several years of expansion.
“After rapid growth over the last few years, in particular through the acquisition of companies, the time has come to optimise internal processes and structures on an international level,” Mr Neumann said in a statement included in Friday’s press release. “It’s the best way to prepare for the future,” he added.
Novomatic said it had 25,536 employees around the world at the end of 2017, and that a total of 223 companies were consolidated on its balance sheet during the reporting period.
April 29, 2018 |
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Australia-listed gaming operator Silver Heritage Group Ltd said on Monday it recorded a loss in terms of adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first quarter of 2018. The company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of US$1.9 million for the period, it said in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange.
In Monday’s trading update – based on unaudited figures – the casino operator said it recorded total revenue of US$4.7 million in the first three months of the year, with a “growing” contribution from Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa (pictured), a new Nepal property near the country’s border with the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Tiger Palace, which only received its gaming licence in late December, held a casino “grand opening” in mid-March. A soft opening of the hotel facilities, offering 100 rooms, was held on September 20.
“Resort revenues and casino revenues [at Tiger Palace] have both been growing steadily over the first quarter 2018 and that growth continues in April,” Silver Heritage said in Monday’s filing. Tiger Palace reported an adjusted property EBITDA loss of US$1.8 million for the three months to March 31.
The firm said total table drop at Tiger Palace in the first quarter amounted to US$3.2 million, with a hold percentage of 23.9 percent. The property recorded gross gaming revenue (GGR) of US$911,000 during the reporting period.
“To date the casino has registered over 7,500 (unique) members and has experienced total footfall of more than 22,000 casino patrons since opening its doors on December 28, 2017,” said the casino firm.
According to Monday’s update, Tiger Palace recorded GGR of more than US$450,000 in the first 28 days of April, compared to slightly above US$400,000 in March.
The boutique casino operator also runs the Millionaire’s Club and Casino in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, and the Phoenix International Club, near Hanoi, in Vietnam.
Silver Heritage said it had a table hold percentage of 23.2 percent at the Phoenix International Club in the January to March period, compared to. 24.8 percent for full-year 2017. At Millionaire’s Club and Casino, the company experienced a table hold percentage of 10.4 percent in the first quarter this year, compared to 16.4 percent in the whole of 2017.
April 29, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn filed a lawsuit Thursday in Clark Country District Court against Jorgen Nielsen, one of two people to go on the record for the Jan. 26 Wall Street Journal article that alleged the casino mogul sexually harassed female employees for decades.
April 29, 2018 |
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April 29, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn filed a lawsuit Thursday in Clark Country District Court against Jorgen Nielsen, one of two people to go on the record for the Jan. 26 Wall Street Journal article that alleged the casino mogul sexually harassed female employees for decades.
April 28, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn has moved out of the elaborate Wynn Las Vegas villa duplex he occupied for more than a decade as the company he founded seeks to show Massachusetts regulators that it has completely cut ties with him.
April 28, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn may not have been the first Wynn Resorts Ltd. executive to quickly cut ties with the casino operator for the sake of a lucrative Boston gaming license.
April 28, 2018 |
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April 28, 2018 |
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The Delaware State Senate has passed through a bill that would grant the First State's land casinos a bit of financial relief by lowering taxes.
April 27, 2018 |
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Macau should see a year-on-year increase in the number of visitors coming to the city during the coming Labour Day holiday period, with hotels posting high occupancy rates, says the head of the local tourism bureau. According to checks by GGRAsia, some of the hotels in the city’s casino properties are fully booked from April 29 to May 1.
Mainland Chinese citizens are likely to be able to enjoy at minimum three consecutive days of recreation during the Labour Day holiday, i.e., during the period Sunday, April 29, to Tuesday, May 1, inclusive, which is prescribed as an official festive period by China’s State Council.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the city’s tourism bureau, mentioned to local media on Thursday an estimate of a “3 percent to 5 percent” year-on-year increase in the number of visitors coming to Macau during the Labour Day period.
Macau recorded a total of 375,000 visitor arrivals during the Labour Day holiday period in 2017, show official data from the local police.
Ms Senna Fernandes added that she expected the average hotel occupancy rate to stand at around 85 percent during the holiday period.
Contacted by GGRAsia, Kenny Cheung Kin Chung, vice president of the Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association, made a similar forecast. But Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, was more bullish.
“The hotel occupancy rate can even reach 90 percent or above during the Labour Day holiday…especially as room availability at five-star [casino] resorts sold out fast,” Mr Wu told GGRAsia.
As of Thursday afternoon, a total of 16 major hotels in casino properties around Macau were fully booked for at least two of the three nights covered by the Labour Day break, according to data collated by GGRAsia from those hotels’ respective official booking websites.
These included: Grand Lisboa and L’Arc Hotel Macau, two properties with casinos run under the licence of SJM Holdings Ltd; MGM Macau, run by MGM China Holdings Ltd; Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace, run by Wynn Macau Ltd; Nüwa (formerly Crown Towers) and Grand Hyatt Macau, both located inside City of Dreams, a resort operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd; Galaxy Hotel, Banyan Tree Macau, Hotel Okura Macau, the Ritz-Carlton, Macau, and JW Marriott Hotel Macau, respectively part of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s Galaxy Macau property on Cotai; Galaxy Entertainment’s StarWorld Hotel on Macau peninsula; and Sands Macao on the peninsula, as well as Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel Cotai Central and Four Seasons on the Cotai strip, part of the casino resorts run by Sands China Ltd.
The Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association’s Mr Cheung said average hotel room rates for the coming Labour Day break were up compared with the same period last year. “An annual increase – but below 10 percent – is possible,” he added.
Mr Cheung told GGRAsia the Labour Day period was usually a “peak travel time for Chinese visitors from Pearl River Delta”.
Macau’s average hotel occupancy rate for the Labour Day break in 2017 reached 94.5 percent, with an average room of MOP1,700 (US$209), according to data compiled the city’s tourism bureau..
“We’ve been seeing mild increases in room rates so far this year, and many hotel operators have come up with better value-for-money accommodation packages for guests,” Mr Cheung said, “I don’t think now in Macau you will see drastic increases in hotel room rates as it happened some years ago.”
The average three- to five-star hotel room rate in Macau stood at MOP1,365.2 in the first quarter of 2018, a 6.9 percent year-on-year increase, according to figures by Macau Hotel Association. The average room rate for five-star hotels – many of which are located in casino resorts – rose 3,6 percent year-on-year to MOP1,688.2.
April 27, 2018 |
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April 27, 2018 |
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Today Sweden's regulator Lotteriinspektionen revealed the country's 2017 betting numbers, revealing that online numbers were up 11.4% from the year prior.
April 27, 2018 |
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April 26, 2018 |
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April 26, 2018 |
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Shares of MGM Resorts International plunged as much as 10 percent Thursday morning after the company cut its earning guidance for 2018 due to weakness at two Strip properties.
April 26, 2018 |
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Hoi An South Development Ltd has appointed Steve Wolstenholme (pictured in a file photo) as group chief operating officer (COO) for its Hoiana project, a US$4-billion casino resort located 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) south of Da Nang in central Vietnam.
“We are delighted to welcome such an experienced executive to our team, and with his strong background in pre-opening large scale projects Steve will play a critical role in our success,” Richard Lam, chief executive of Hoi An South Development, said in a prepared statement included in a press release issued on Thursday.
“Steve is a proven leader with an extensive knowledge of gaming and hospitality across many markets,” Mr Lam added.
Mr Wolstenholme is a veteran international gaming executive. He served as COO, president and managing director for Okada Manila, in the Philippines, and as COO for Galaxy Macau, a property operated by Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, according to Thursday’s press release.
The first stage of the Hoiana project – comprising three hotels, a casino, food and beverage outlets and a golf course – is due to open in 2019.
The project is a venture between entities linked to Macau junket investor Suncity Group, Vietnam-based asset management firm VinaCapital Group, and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. According to brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, Hoiana could potentially generate “Macau flagship levels” of VIP gaming volume.
April 26, 2018 |
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Internet sportsbetting group Kambi Group plc has published their 2018 first quarter financial results, revealing that the company had a good three months.
April 25, 2018 |
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Resort executives must continually research return on investment for non-gaming amenities, which have become more important to their operations over time, Bob Boughner, former president and CEO of Atlantic City’s Borgata and a partner with Global Market Advisors, said Tuesday.
April 25, 2018 |
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Macau’s casino regulator has approved the introduction of a new betting option for the casino game of baccarat as it is offered in the local market. The announcement was published in the city’s Official Gazette earlier this week.
The new side bet – known as ‘Lucky Six’ – is already found in casinos in Asia, including in Singapore, according to industry commentators. Las Vegas Sands Corp, the parent company of Sands China Ltd, offers the product in its United States operations.
‘Lucky Six’ pays out on any winning ‘banker’ hand with a face value of six. It pays 20 to 1 if the winning ‘banker’ hand with a face value of six is composed of three cards, and 12 to 1 for a two-card winning hand, according to the rules published by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, also known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ.
“The reason for revising the baccarat rules is to add a new betting option for the game type, so that there will be more variety in the ways of betting for the patrons,” a spokesperson from the casino regulator told GGRAsia.
The regulator is the entity ordinarily responsible for approving the introduction to the market of new betting options and games at the request of casino operators. In the reply to GGRAsia, the spokesperson did not clarify whether the rule amendment had arisen from a request originating within the local industry.
Casino operators are free to decide whether to offer the Lucky 6 betting option on top of their existing baccarat offering, the spokesperson stated.
Baccarat is the most popular game in Macau. It accounted for 88.4 percent – or nearly MOP234.96 billion (US$29.07 billion) – of the city’s casino gross gaming revenue last year. That included high-stakes baccarat, which produced GGR of MOP150.67 billion in 2017.
Other baccarat betting options available in Macau include ‘Dragon Seven’, ‘Par Bet’ and three variants of progressive jackpots.
April 25, 2018 |
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Matt Maddox came out swinging in his first earnings conference call as Wynn Resorts Chief Executive Officer, boasting of record Las Vegas quarterly revenues and applicants lining up for work.
April 25, 2018 |
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April 24, 2018 |
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IGT celebrated the recent launch of its online game Wishwood Slots by hosting Wishwood-themed customer events in Malta and Gibraltar.
April 24, 2018 |
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Sports data firm Perform has announced that they've taken out a 15 year lease on a property in the city of Leeds and will base their new UK headquarters there.
April 24, 2018 |
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Belle Corp, the landlord of the City of Dreams Manila casino resort (pictured) in the Philippines, has made a proposal for its expansion and has submitted the idea to the venue’s operator, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.
So reported the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper on Tuesday, citing comments from Belle Corp’s president Manuel Gana after a firm’s stockholder meeting on Monday.
In April last year, Belle Corp had also mentioned possible “expansion” of City of Dreams Manila. The local unit of Melco Resorts told the Philippine Stock Exchange at the time that it had “no prior knowledge” of Belle Corp’s idea.
GGRAsia approached Melco Resorts about the latest statement from Belle Corp, but had not received a reply by the time this story went online.
According to the Philippine Inquirer report, a one-hectare (2.5-acre) plot next to City of Dreams Manila and held by Belle Corp would be used mainly to create new non-gaming facilities, including hotel accommodation.
Mr Gana said that the existing resort only had one ballroom and one swimming pool.
“The ball is in Melco’s [Melco Resorts’] court. They have a lot of things on their plate,” Mr Gana was quoted as saying.
He said that were the casino firm to decline involvement in expansion, Belle Corp would be “free to do something else.”
Mr Gana was quoted saying: “We can build our own hotel and capitalise on City of Dreams clientele but we prefer Melco [Resorts] to get involved so it can be consolidated into City of Dreams.”
April 24, 2018 |
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Elaine Wynn, the largest shareholder of Wynn Resorts Ltd., is seeking to kick a friend of her ex-husband Steve Wynn off the company’s board of directors.
April 23, 2018 |
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Casino game designer Habanero has announced that the company has struck a deal with operator RWB Solutions International, giving the company another partner in the Asian gaming market.
April 23, 2018 |
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Net income at Belle Corp rose 9.6 percent in the first quarter, to nearly PHP857.5 million (US$16.4 million) from nearly PHP782. 5 million in the prior-year period, the firm said in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
The company is entitled – via its 78.7 percent-owned subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp – to a share of “gaming revenues or earnings” at City of Dreams Manila (pictured), a Manila casino resort operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, Belle Corp noted in its announcement. .
Group wide, the contribution of its gaming revenue share fell by 8 percent year-on-year in the three months to March 31, to just over PHP664.3 million, compared to nearly PHP721.9 million in the prior-year quarter.
But Belle Corp stated that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from its income share in the gaming operations of City of Dreams Manila increased by 8 percent year-on-year to PHP474 million for the first quarter, from PHP439 million for the same period in 2017.
Belle Corp also said it increased by 27 percent-year-on-year to PHP571 million its first-quarter operating income from its real estate businesses, compared to PHP451 million for the 2017 period.
It said a “significant portion” of its real estate-related EBITDA – i.e., PHP502 million – was derived from Belle Corp’s lease of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila, to a unit of Melco Resorts. The balance of Belle Corp’s real estate earnings came from property sales and property management activities in other parts of the country.
Belle Corp confirmed on March 23 a regular cash dividend for 2017 of PHP0.12 per share for holders of its common stock, representing a total payout of PHP1.27 billion. The firm said that was a 26-percent improvement from the 2016 regular dividend of PHP0.095 confirmed in March last year.
April 23, 2018 |
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Betting firm The Stars Group has announced that they've signed a deal to purchase Sky Betting and Gaming from CVC Capital Partners for a total of $4.7 billion.
April 23, 2018 |
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The American Gaming Association (AGA), a co-organiser of Macau-based casino industry trade show and conference Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia, has convened a think tank on the issue of responsible gambling.
The Responsible Gaming Collaborative will “identify the programmes and policies that best address responsible gaming and the prevention of problem gambling and hold government accountable for supporting proven, effective solutions,” said a press release from the association.
Contributors to the think tank will include the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, and the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The topic of responsible gambling is high up the agenda for Japanese lawmakers as they address the issue of implementing a casino industry in that country. It has been widely reported that responsible gambling will be the topic of a distinct piece of Japanese legislation aside from the Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill, which pro-casino lawmakers hope can be passed this calendar year.
Several U.S.-based casino groups that are AGA members have respectively expressed interest in bidding for one of the three casino licences likely to be available in the first phase of liberalisation.
“It’s time to comprehensively review existing responsible gaming policies and regulations,” said Geoff Freeman, president and chief executive of the AGA, as quoted in the press release about the new think tank.
“We must drive a new discussion around proven, effective programmes and ensure that governments are appropriately allocating resources,” he was further quoted as saying.
The announcement said that in “coming months” the think tank would: “conduct a comprehensive review of current responsible gaming policies and regulations; identify programmes that work and those that fail to meet their objective; study regulations to determine which ones are based on solid evidence; determine whether government resources are being properly targeted toward effective programmes and prevention; develop a set of recommendations and industry best practices; and work with regulators and other stakeholders to understand the best approaches”.
The AGA’s Mr Freeman was quoted saying: “Our goal is to work with regulators, policymakers, experts, advocates and other stakeholders to find the best solutions and direct resources to them.”
G2E Asia 2018 is taking place from May 15 to 17 at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel.
April 22, 2018 |
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Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd has begun pile cap work for its casino resort in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone near Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. That is according to a Friday press release by the Primorsky Krai Development Corp.
Primorsky Krai Development is a company owned by the local government, and that is overseeing the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone, a casino development area located 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Russia’s Pacific port of Vladivostok.
“The work will take about three months; in parallel the investor will begin erecting a skeleton for the hotel building,” the release stated.
The document said the first phase of the project will include a 279-room hotel, casino and a conference hall. It added that the second phase of the casino resort was to be completed by 2022.
NagCorp chairman Tim McNally said last month that the group’s Primorye casino resort remained “broadly on schedule” for operation by 2019.
The only company that has so far built a casino in Primorye is Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd. It opened phase one of its Tigre de Cristal resort in autumn 2015.
That firm is currently working on plans for a phase two of Tigre de Cristal. Primorsky Krai Development said in its Friday release the phase two plan was scheduled for presentation to the local authorities “in July-August 2018”.
A third investor, Diamond Fortune Holdings Prim LLC, reportedly began last year ground preparation for its first casino resort in Primorye. The firm – backed by Russian investors – plans to open the first stage of the project, named Selena World Resort and Casino, in 2019, according to the latest release by Primorsky Krai Development.
April 21, 2018 |
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Just because Steve Wynn has stepped down from his leadership positions at Wynn Resorts Ltd., has sold all the shares he owned in the company and settled legal differences with his ex-wife, Elaine, don’t think for a minute that gaming regulators are through with him.
April 21, 2018 |
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Mt. Charleston Lodge, a favorite destination for tourists and locals at the top of Kyle Canyon, has been sold. Ellis Island Casino and Brewery
April 20, 2018 |
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Fantasy sports group Global Daily Fantasy Sports has announced that it has obtained a supplier license in Malta, which will let the group license their software to betting operators.
April 20, 2018 |
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Macau’s Judiciary Police said on Friday that a male Macau resident had been detained for alleged involvement in giving false information designed to attract public subscribers to a cryptocurrency supposedly designed for use in transactions related to casino gambling. The cryptocurrency subscription referred to is reportedly a project from a company called Lantai Digital Application Technology Co Ltd, which confirmed – belatedly in the form of an apology on its website – having had a launch event for the subscription in the city on Tuesday.
Judiciary Police spokesperson Lei Hon Nei said at a Friday media briefing: “The Judiciary Police learnt from media reports on April 18 that the company that did the launch [of cryptocurrency subscription] claimed that their digital tokens can be changed into gaming chips and used worldwide, as well as be used in online gaming. The company also claimed that they had cooperation relationship with Macau junkets.”
Ms Lei added: “But we have not found any Macau junkets that have worked with this company regarding the developing of its cryptocurrency. We believe that there are people using false information to attract the public to subscribe to the so-called cryptocurrency that they claim is a cooperation project with Macau junkets.”
According to the police spokesperson, the Macau resident was detained on suspicion of involvement in a scam and of organised crime. The man – described at the briefing as a driver tasked with taking gamblers to local casinos – was sent in person to the Public Prosecutions Office for further questioning. At least 10 other people – suspected of the same offences – are still to be traced. Most of them are believed to be residents of mainland China, Ms Lei noted.
Several Macau junket operators have issued clarifications earlier in this week denying having either business relations or partnership with Lantai Digital Application Technology. The junket firms also said they would reserve the right to take legal action against any unauthorised use by it of their trade names and corporate logos for the purposes of marketing or promotion.
The Judiciary Police’s Ms Lei stated: “According to our investigation, this [cryptocurrency subscription] launch event was organised and hosted by more than 10 people. Their roles included the setting of the venue, and the purchasing of congratulatory flower baskets.” She noted that the 10 still-untraced individuals were involved in that process.
“At the launch venue, the names of some of local Macau junkets as well as some other mainland Chinese companies were written on the flower baskets. But these flower baskets were actually not sent by these junkets and companies,” the police spokeswoman added.
Ms Lei said the Judiciary Police advised anyone that had subscribed for the company’s digital tokens to contact the police, although she confirmed no one had so far filed a complaint.
Counter claims
Lantai Digital Application Technology – which describes itself as a Cayman Islands-registered firm specialised in information technology – issued a statement on its website on Thursday night saying that its effort for the launch event of its cryptocurrency subscription had been aided by a Macau junket firm called Venus Group.
Venus Group had been among the local junket firms that issued clarification statements earlier this week saying that they have seen unauthorised use of their company’s trade name at the Tuesday event. Venus Group also had said that it had not authorised any institutions or individuals to “settle dealings” on its behalf in cryptocurrency.
“The so-called clarification statement issued recently by Venus Group contains a malicious intent to direct the whole case [the launch of the digital token] onto Lantai…Lantai preserves the right to take action against Venus Group,” Lantai Digital Application Technology wrote in its Thursday statement. GGRAsia approached Venus Group on the cryptocurrency issuer’s claims, but had not received a reply by the time this story went online.
During the Friday press briefing, the Judiciary Police also said they would make further investigation into the claims made by Lantai Digital Application Technology relating to Venus Group.
Casino investor Landing International Development Ltd’s name had also been used in the promotion materials presented at the Tuesday launch. Landing International issued a filing to the Hong Kong bourse on Friday stating that it had no involvement or interests in any affairs of the Lantai-related entities.
“The group has not commenced nor engaged in any discussions with any Lantai entity in relation to any potential cooperative or business opportunities..,” Landing International stated in the Friday filing. The firm also said it is currently taking legal advice regarding the matter.
April 20, 2018 |
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Patrick G. Brodsky, a longtime FBI agent in Las Vegas, is retiring from the agency and will take on an executive role with Wynn Resorts.
April 20, 2018 |
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April 19, 2018 |
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Terrible Herbst will open what it calls the world’s largest Chevron in May. The commercial travel center will include 96 fuel pumps and the third White Castle restaurant in Southern Nevada.
April 19, 2018 |
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The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City is announcing the opening of their property, which will launch to the public on June 28th.
April 19, 2018 |
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Live dealer casino game specialist Evolution Gaming has announced their first quarter 2018 financial results, revealing 30% growth in gaming revenues.
April 19, 2018 |
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Several Macau junket operators have issued clarifications denying having either business relations or partnership with a company that on Tuesday announced at a Macau event the launch of an investor subscription for cryptocurrency. Lantai Digital Application Technology Co Ltd had, according to reports in local Chinese-language media, stated at its Tuesday event that its digital tokens could be used for transactions in Macau casinos.
The Macau VIP gambling promoters that issued rebutting statements on either Tuesday or Wednesday included Suncity Group, Tak Chun Group, Meg-Star Group, Guangdong Group and David Group. Several said they would reserve the right to take legal action against any unauthorised use by Lantai Digital Application Technology of their trade names and corporate logos for the purposes of marketing or promotion.
On Tuesday Lantai Digital Application Technology reportedly said it had cooperation with “with several renowned Macau gaming groups”, and was planning to launch the use of its cryptocurrency in casinos in Macau, the United States and Singapore.
Following clarification statements issued by several of Macau’s junket firms, Lantai Digital Application Technology issued an apology letter on Wednesday on its official website, stating that it “had never reached cooperation agreements in any form with Macau’s gaming firms [sic]”, and that its “subscription of crytocurrency; its launch activity, trading and application” had no relation with the city’s gaming firms.
But Lantai Digital Application Technology noted in its apology statement that the trading of its cryptocurrency would continue. “We would like to express our deep apology to the affected gaming firms, and are willing to bear any losses incurred thereof,” Lantai Digital Application Technology wrote in the Wednesday statement.
A spokesperson for the Judiciary Police, Lei Hon Nei, said on Wednesday in a briefing – responding to media enquiries – that the police would investigate the matter, to see if any Macau laws had been broken, or if there had been any solicitation to engage in illegality. The Judiciary Police has so far received no complaints against the cryptocurrency issuer, Ms Lei stated.
GGRAsia approached Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, regarding the matter. It referred us to statements previously made by the Monetary Authority of Macao warning that cryptocurrency was neither regulated in Macau, nor “a financial instrument subject to its supervision”.
“Regarding the recent media reports about the subscription of virtual currency conducted by a company in Macau, the Monetary Authority of Macao warns residents in general about the need to be careful about any frauds that may exist or with the possibility of being exploited for the practice of any criminal activity, since virtual currency is a ‘virtual commodity’, that is, it is neither a legal currency nor a financial instrument,” the Monetary Authority of Macao said in a statement on Wednesday night.
April 18, 2018 |
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April 18, 2018 |
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April 18, 2018 |
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Frank Haas’s presentation on tourism security and safety was part of the two-day Las Vegas 25th anniversary International Tourism Security Conference, which ends Wednesday.
April 18, 2018 |
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Asian casino developer and operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd says it has purchased 20 electricity-powered buses to serve its Macau properties, starting from May.
The company said in a Wednesday press release that the initial plan for the new bus fleet was to operate routes to and from its venues to the Gongbei Border Gate, the main crossing point between Macau and Zhuhai; and the Macau ferry terminal. Melco Resorts operates three large-scale casino properties in Macau: City of Dreams Macau, Studio City and Altira Macau.
According to the release, the electric bus fleet includes “18 tour coaches and two public bus style vehicles”. The company did not disclose in the release the purchase price of the electric buses.
“With the purchase and forthcoming operation of this zero-emission fleet, we hope to make the most effective use of resources and actively mitigate the impact of our operations on the environment,” said Akiko Takahashi, Melco Resorts’ executive vice president, chief human resources and corporate social responsibility officer, in a statement included in Wednesday’s release.
Macau’s six casino operators said in October last year they would introduce what they term “new energy” or electric shuttle bus services for customers. A trial of the new shuttle buses was to be held on the “Cotai Connection” route which links only properties located around the Cotai Strip, said at the time a joint press statement.
Casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd said last month it had become the first of the city’s gaming concessionaires to launch regularly-scheduled electrically-powered shuttle buses to transport patrons.
In mid-March, the head of Macau’s Transport Bureau, Lam Hin San, said he hoped that by the year 2023 the city’s six casino operators would be exclusively using what he termed clean-energy vehicles in their shuttle bus services for customers.
April 17, 2018 |
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The $60 million Silverton Village project is slated to include a five-story, 150-room Hyatt Place hotel, as well as a Starbucks, Blaze Pizza, Firehouse Subs and Panera Bread.
April 17, 2018 |
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April 17, 2018 |
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Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd has reportedly shelved plans to develop a casino resort on the holiday island of Boracay in the Philippines, local media outlets reported on Tuesday quoting a government official.
“Galaxy [Entertainment] has said they are now looking for another site. That is very much welcome,” said Frederick Alegre, assistant secretary of the country’s Department of Tourism, on Tuesday during a press conference in Boracay, as quoted by social news network Rappler.
The Macau casino operator said on March 21 that a wholly-owned unit had been granted a provisional gaming licence by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the casino regulator in that country.
Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment announced in December a US$500-million investment for the holiday island of Boracay, in partnership with Philippines-based Leisure and Resorts World Corp.
The project was however put in doubt as presidential spokesman Harry Roque said earlier this month “there will be no new casino in Boracay”.
GGRAsia approached Galaxy Entertainment and Pagcor for a comment but had received no reply before this story went online.
Mr Alegre’s remarks were reported a week before a previously-flagged government shutdown of Boracay would begin on April 26. The shutdown, referred to as an environmental clean up initiative, is effective for a six-month period.
According to the tourism official, Galaxy Entertainment will have to re-apply for a gaming licence from Pagcor. “They just have to go through the process of accreditation and securing again a new Pagcor provisional authority. The whole process will be repeated,” Mr Alegre was quoted as saying by the Rappler.
In a statement on April 11, Pagcor said the provisional licence had been issued to Galaxy Entertainment’s unit because “Boracay falls under the Greenfield zone category, which refers to an area within rural provinces, cities or municipalities with high potential for tourism development with no existing casino”.
“The provisional gaming licence … was issued after it met all initial documentary requirements, including a ‘Certificate of No Objection’ and a minimum investment commitment of not less than US$300 million,” said the gaming regulator.
But it added: “The provisional licence is only the start of a very long and tedious process of compliance that every integrated-resort operator must go through before they can be issued by Pagcor a ‘Notice to Commence Casino Operations’ and eventually, a regular casino gaming licence.”
April 17, 2018 |
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MGM Resorts International could generate higher returns on investment if it acquired Wynn Resorts’ unfinished Boston Harbor project, a gaming industry analyst told investors Monday.
April 16, 2018 |
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A year after MGM Resorts International unveiled plans for a Dubai project, Caesars Entertainment Corp. is following its rival to the Middle Eastern emirate.
April 16, 2018 |
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The state of New Jersey is eyeing a boost to their online poker industry as they're launching poker liquidity compacts with the states of Delaware and Nevada effective May 1st.
April 16, 2018 |
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Macau casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) from VIP baccarat rose 21.0 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. The rate of VIP growth was slightly faster than the 19.9 percent recorded for GGR in the mass segment – inclusive of slot machine revenue – showed data issued on Monday by the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known as DICJ.
Gaming bureau data showed that first-quarter aggregate VIP GGR was nearly MOP42.96 billion (US$5.31 billion), compared to MOP35.49 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
In the breakdown of first-quarter 2018, VIP baccarat revenue as a proportion of all casino GGR in the period stood at 56.1 percent. In the preceding, fourth quarter it had been 56.2 percent.
First quarter mass-market GGR including slots was MOP33.55 billion, compared to MOP27.99 billion a year earlier.
Mass-market baccarat alone grew by 23.5 percent year-on-year, to MOP25.00 billion, compared to MOP20.24 billion in the first quarter 2017. Mass-market baccarat had a 32.7 percent market share of Macau GGR in the first three months this year.
A number of investment analysts have previously flagged to investors the benefit of growth in the typically higher-margin mass-market business.
The Macau market’s accumulated first-quarter year-on-year growth was 20.5 percent, to a tally of MOP76.51 billion, as revealed in data issued on April 1.
According to the official data released on Monday, GGR from slot machines was nearly MOP3.82 billion in the first quarter, up 17.9 percent on the MOP3.24 billion in the first quarter of 2017. Slot machines’ share of Macau first-quarter revenue was just under 5 percent.
First-quarter revenue from live multi game products – those featuring table-style games with live dealers but electronic betting and electronic bet settlement – was MOP624 million, an increase of 7.6 percent on the MOP580 million recorded in the prior-year period.
The number of live-dealer gaming tables in the Macau market stood at 6,586 in the first quarter this year, up 2.6 percent from the 6,419 registered at the end of the preceding, fourth quarter.
The number of slot machines in the Macau market stood at 17,205 in the first quarter, up 10.1 percent from the 15,622 recorded as of December 31.
Grant Govertsen, analyst at brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, said in a Monday note that the official data on the market split between mass and VIP was “good news” on two fronts.
“VIP growth remains strong yet not sky-high, and therefore is more sustainable from a business perspective while also being more politically acceptable, and the profit engine that is the mass market segment is more robust than many had given it credit for when the year began and remains robust as summer approaches,” wrote Mr Govertsen.
April 16, 2018 |
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The United States Department of State says Macau should further strengthen the city’s gaming industry by reducing the number of smaller junket operators in the market and enhancing anti-money laundering controls.
“The [Macau] government should continue to strengthen interagency coordination to prevent money laundering in the gaming industry,” said the 2018 edition of the U.S. Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
The report stated the Macau government should “encourage smaller junket operators, who have weaker anti-money laundering controls, to exit the market while encouraging the professional junket operators to continue to develop their compliance programmes”.
The Macau government plans to introduce greater oversight of junket operators, via fresh legislation and updated regulation.
Paulo Martins Chan, director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, indicated in December that the Macau government would amend the regulations on casino junket operators. He also said at the time that the legislation process would “definitely” start in 2018.
In an emailed reply to GGRAsia earlier this month, the gaming regulator revealed some of the topics being discussed in meetings with junket industry representatives in this respect. They included an increase in “market entry requirement for the junket promotion business”; an increase in “the amount of shareholding held by Macau residents” in such companies; and ways of tackling “unlawful deposits related to a junket promoter or under the name of a junket promoter”.
Data published in January by Macau’s gaming regulator showed there were 109 licensed junkets in the market, a 13.5-percent fall from the 126 operating in January 2017. The year-on-year shrinkage in the sector marked the fifth consecutive year this has happened. In January 2013, Macau had a total of 235 licensed junkets, according to official data.
Brokerage JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd had said in a note in May last year that what it termed some “mid-sized” junkets seemed to have been gaining market share in the Macau market. But it added “sustainability is something to be mindful of … as smaller junkets tend to carry higher credit/collection risks given their relatively loose credit policy,” compared to the bigger gaming promoters.
April 15, 2018 |
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Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, said on Sunday that he does not expect a recent central government announcement regarding neighbouring Hainan (pictured) to have a negative impact on Macau. He added that he was confident that Macau’s gaming industry would remain strong.
Beijing is aiming to make the free trade zone on the Chinese holiday island of Hainan “more mature” by 2035, according to a central government paper released online on Saturday.
The plan for Hainan did not mention gambling or casinos, but it did mention the possibility of horse racing and an expansion of regulated lotteries. Hainan currently offers the licensed welfare lottery and sports lottery found elsewhere on mainland territory.
There has been some speculation in some media outlets that Beijing might experiment with casino liberalisation for mainland Chinese territory via Hainan.
A venue described as a “casino bar” was reported by Reuters in early 2013 to be operating at a hotel complex in Sanya, Hainan, as an “experiment”. At the venue, customers were able to play recognised casino games such as baccarat. But the buy in was via ticket, and winnings were paid in points, not cash, which could only be redeemed for goods and services. Reuters subsequently reported that the Hainan authorities ordered the casino bar to close two days after its story had appeared.
Macau official Mr Leong stated on Sunday: “We always pay attention to policies [enacted] in different regions regarding the development of the gaming industry; assessing how the situation evolves.” His remarks were to local reporters, as quoted by public broadcaster TDM.
He added: “By doing this, we will be aware if these changes will impact in any way [Macau’s] gaming industry and its economy.”
The official said additionally that the Macau market would remain strong, as it continues to diversify its offering. “The development of our own gaming industry and of our non-gaming offering is actually favourable for the comprehensive tourist attractiveness of Macau”.
Mr Leong was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting at the Macau Young Entrepreneurs Incubation Centre.
Grant Govertsen, analyst at brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, said in a Sunday note: “The [Hainan] policy in no way approves anything remotely close to casinos, nor does it even suggest this is a future possibility.”
He added: “What was announced was a free port concept within a special economic zone. Buried inside an exhaustive list of policies, it suggests the development of horse racing; but importantly omits any references to wagering. It also recommends that the idea of an international-style lottery be studied… which suggests that even a lottery isn’t a done deal.”
April 14, 2018 |
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It’s a little puzzling why the meetings and convention industry chooses blue as its theme color. Clearly, it should be green. As in the color of money.
April 14, 2018 |
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Friday the 13th has proven fortunate for someone in the Las Vegas Valley. At 2:30 a.m., a valley resident won $621,606.55 playing a Buffalo slot machine at The Orleans, the casino-resort said in a statement on Twitter.
April 14, 2018 |
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More “questions than answers” have been raised by the board reshuffle at Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd on the official retirement of its chairman Stanley Ho Hung Sun, and an opportunity had also been missed to inject fresh blood into the operational team.
That is the assessment respectively of several Hong Kong-based brokerages in notes issued on Friday, following the announcement to the city’s bourse that Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, a daughter of Dr Ho – the latter now 96 and in poor health since 2009 – was to take over in June as chairman of SJM Holdings.
In the filing, Angela Leong On Kei, fourth consort of Mr Ho, was nominated as a co-chairman of the company along with fellow board member Timothy Fok Tsun Ting, while the chief executive, Ambrose So Shu Fai, is to become vice chairman.
“Stanley Ho is retiring, but leaving more questions than answers behind,” said a memo from analyst DS Kim at JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd.
“We would have hoped to see a clearer succession plan (a single chairperson would have been a good start), which in turn would enable the company to fine-tune the management team and structure before the opening of Grand Lisboa Palace next year (likely in the second half, 2019),” wrote Mr Kim, referring to the casino company’s HKD36-billion (US$4.6 billion) under-construction Cotai resort.
He added: “This complicated structure, in our view, leaves room for a potential power tussle within the board, given the lack of clear control (at least it seems so to us).”
In March 2011, it was widely reported that Mr Ho and family members had settled a highly-publicised two-month dispute over control of his interests.
Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd said in a Friday note: “Instead of using Stanley Ho’s retirement as an impetus to make governance and management changes, the company has opted to further entrench the status quo.”
Analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang added: “A hydra-like three-headed co-chairman group and the elevation of entrenched management is not an indication that any shake up at the company is forthcoming (as some bulls of the stock have hoped).”
The brokerage added, referring to SJM Holdings’ Macau market rival Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd: “Galaxy’s hiring of Ted Chan (former chief operating officer of Melco [Resorts]) removes a key potential executive hire that had been the subject of market talk.”
Sanford Bernstein further stated: “If Chan had been hired and empowered by SJM, he could have been a key driver in transforming the company. Instead his talents will now benefit Galaxy.”
In commentary on Monday, Deutsche Bank AG and Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd said they were scaling down the likely positive contribution to SJM Holding’s 2019 earnings from Grand Lisboa Palace.
Sanford Bernstein said in a February note that it expected Grand Lisboa Palace to open in “late 2019 or even early 2020”.
In its Thursday commentary, the institution noted, citing information mentioned by Bloomberg: “The company effectively admitted that Grand Lisboa Palace will not open until very late 2019 as it is seeking consent from lenders on waivers and amendments to its credit facility.”
Sanford Bernstein added: “Amendments being sought on the credit facility (including a delayed construction completion date, delayed opening date, and loosening of credit covenants (to six times leverage in 2019, five times in 2020 and four times beyond) now confirm the project will be delayed as we had earlier argued.”
April 13, 2018 |
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April 13, 2018 |
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This week three people accused of running an illegal gambling operation out of their businesses were charged with 430 criminal charges by the Denver District Attorney's Office.
April 13, 2018 |
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Former Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Associated Press and others for what his attorneys described as “false accusations of rape.”
April 13, 2018 |
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Scientific Games Corporation is set to bring a its line-up of industry- leading innovation, ground-breaking technology and a significant new digital offering to the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention next week.
April 12, 2018 |
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Daisy Ho Chiu Fung is to take over as chairman and as an executive director of SJM Holdings Ltd, the Macau casino business founded by her father Stanley Ho Hung Sun (pictured), and which provided the gaming licence to her sister Pansy Ho Chiu King that enabled MGM Resorts International affiliate MGM China Holdings Ltd to enter the local market.
A Thursday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said Mr Ho would retire as SJM Holdings’ chairman and as an executive director at the firm’s annual general meeting on June 12, and be given the title ‘chairman emeritus”.
“The board expresses its sincere gratitude to Dr Ho for his invaluable contributions in building a solid foundation for the company’s continuing growth in the future,” said the filing.
Ms Ho joined the SJM Holdings board in June last year. Ms Ho served previously as a director at MGM Grand Paradise Ltd, the gaming licence holder for MGM China. She stepped down from that role at the end of 2010, according to media reports.
In SJM Holdings’ boardroom shake up, Angela Leong On Kei, fourth consort of Mr Ho, and mother of his youngest children, will be made a co-chairman of SJM Holdings, as well as remaining as an executive director and a board member, at the conclusion of the coming general meeting. Current board member Timothy Fok Tsun Ting will also be made a co-chairman.
Ambrose So Shu Fai, will remain as chief executive and executive director. He will also be designated vice chairman with effect from the June general meeting.
In addition, Ina Chan Un Chan, mother of three of Mr Ho’s children, will be nominated at that meeting as an executive director of the firm.
Elements of the various families produced by Mr Ho during his long entrepreneurial career have not always had amicable relations regarding the Ho business empire.
In March 2011, it was widely reported that Mr Ho and family members had settled a highly-publicised two-month dispute over control of his interests. The row had included a statement issued in Mr Ho’s name suggesting that his second consort – mother of Ms Daisy Ho – had colluded with his third one to take over the holding company that controlled the bulk of his assets. They refuted the suggestions.
Mr Ho has been in retirement since reportedly suffering a fall at home in Hong Kong in 2009.
April 12, 2018 |
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A series of land casinos in Spain have seen increased raids by the country's national police, who're carrying out investigations related to underage betting compliance failures.
