Industry News Archive Page 10

For the entire third quarter of the year, revenues were up 2.6 percent but could have been higher if not for a three day suspension of gaming due to a government budget impasse in early July.

All of the candidates running for governor of the state of Texas, the second largest American state, support the expansion of gambling there, adding Las Vegas-style slot machine, their repective campaigns tell Onlinecasinocrawler.com.

A number of international Internet gaming companies are aggressively eyeing expansions in the U.S., including Brisbane, Australia-based Poker.com, which said the recent U.S. legislation concerning online gaming would "have little or no effect" on its U.S. operations.

An independent regulatory organization for the online casino industry, eCommerce and Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA), Ltd., is saying that regulated Internet casinos are as safe as ever, but that unscrupulous operators may emerge as a result of the U.S. Congress’ attack on legitimate cyber-casinos.

The CEOs of two of the U.K.’s most important Internet gambling firms are suggesting that the industry faces “consolidation” in the aftermath of the U.S. crackdown on online gaming.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has finally released its reported revenues for August of this year and gaming revenues were up a colossal 14.3 percent during the month to $556.3 million on the Las Vegas Strip.

On the heels of its offer to be bought for $15.1 billion, Harrah’s Entertainment (NYSE:HET) is showing the first signs of having a chink in it’s heretofore thought to be impenetrable armor.

The Blair administration in the U.K. is moving forward with plans to make Britain the “world leader” in online gambling, and a safe haven for firms persecuted in the U.S., according to internal government documents.

A new poll by the leading outfit of Rasmussen Reports indicates that 52 percent of those polled say Internet gambling should be regulated, but not banned.

According to Purple Lounge’s Chairman Chris Gorman, what has happened in America has “little or no effect” on his online casino. “The States accounted for a minimal amount of our business, in fact around 0.1 percent,” Gorman said.

The long embattled relationship between the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the New York state government is finding a new realm of contention over the installation of gaming machines in New York City’s Aqueduct racetrack.

Decrying "background deals" that "reek" of corruption, gaming enthusiasts are this week angered that the U.S. Congress ignored American public opinion polls and passed a bill that purports to ban online gambling.

After spending most of the last decade gobbling up most of its competition, the hunter now looks like the hunted. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. is considering a $15.1 billion buyout offer from private equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group.

Reaching back to its 1960s heyday, Playboy Enterprises has teamed with the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to bring back a bit of nostalgia for the 21st Century casino goer.

Right-wing Republicans, seeking to appease their religious conservative base, in the South and in the Midwest, weeks before the Nov. 7 general election, on early Sunday morning stealthily passed a bill that purports to ban all forms of online gaming,

Thirteen days before its scheduled opening, Hard Rock Biloxi was completely and utterly destroyed by the powerful Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

Entrepreneur James Packer this week said he is poised to sell his private investment in the Aspinall's casinos in England and Wales for $91.8 million to Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd, a public company that he also owns.

Resorts International is looking to create more loyal customers with the introduction of a new player’s club program that will unite all its properties in the United States with a single card so players can get better rewards, faster.

Billionaire Internet gambling entrepreneur Calvin Ayre has pledged to stay out the U.S., physically. He doesn’t want to be a target for the feds, who covet more arrests of Internet gaming CEOs.

The Bayou is welcoming its first all new hotel development since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Big Easy last year. Harrah’s New Orleans Hotel opened this week with much fanfare and symbolizing the city is back on its feet.

Borgata gave away its biggest poker jackpot yet when North Carolina’s Mark Newhouse captured the title and a first-place prize of $1,519,020. At 21 years old Newhouse is the second youngest player to ever win a WPT Championship and beat Chris McCormack who was rewarded for his second place finish with $802,985 for his second place finish.

A new poll, released this week, shows that a majority of West Virginians support legalization of casino-style gambling in their state, according to the West Virginia Racing Association (WVRA).

A new survey, released this week, indicates that the popularity of online gambling is increasing spectacularly in Canada, OnlineCasinoCrawler.com has learned.

A ruckus over a major casino jackpot has been resolved, and Freddy Howard is $260,000 richer. The dispute began on August 29 when Howard was at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in southern Florida and swiped his Player's Card in a "Swipe & Win" progressive jackpot promotional kiosk.

The European Commission said this week that it is investigating members of the European Union (EU) -- from France to Sweden -- for apparently interfering with the free market in the sports gambling sector, sources tell Onlinecasinocrawler.com.

Legislators in Indiana – a Midwestern state in the U.S. – are entertaining the idea of legalizing video gambling at clubs and halls for retired military veterans and other senior citizens, experts are telling Onlinecasinocrawler.com

Harrah’s has opened a new harness horseracing track in Pennsylvania in anticipation of its getting full approval for operating slot machines early next year.

The dealers at Wynn Las Vegas are in a tumult over a recent rule change on how the property distributes its tips and has led to more than 100 of them filing complaints with Nevada’s Labor Commission.

Casino revenue in Nevada increased by an astounding 8.4 percent during July from the same time period last year, the state Gaming Control Board said this week.

Stanley Leisure Plc is the largest casino operator in the UK with 45 casinos and this purchase by Genting gets the company into an emerging gaming market.

The world’s most renowned casino mogul is at it again. Steve Wynn opened his newest luxury resort in Macau, a former Portuguese colony which was returned to Chinese stewardship in 1999.

Aztar Corporation executives are looking to settle a series of lawsuits filed against the gaming corporation in response to a cancelled merger deal with Pinnacle Entertainment and its wholly owned subsidiary, PNK Development 1.

This ongoing research is being funded by SkyCity, a major casino operator, with projects in Australia and elsewhere, and other industry leaders are participating in it too.

New York City-based UltimateBet.net is this week debuting what it hopes will become the next trend in online gambling – Elimination Blackjack. This game is for skilled players – very skilled players.

The London-based player protection and standards authority for the online gambling industry, eCommerce and Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance (eCogra) this week began its much heralded global online gambler survey, the largest research initiative ever undertaken into the behaviors and beliefs of online gamblers