Casino City Times
Mohegan Sun earns "Best Casino Hotel" from USA Today
The Connecticut casino earned top honors in the USA Today's 10Best.com Readers' Choice Awards, being voted “Best Casino Hotel.”
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The developer of the C2 casino, an interim facility in the southern Cypriot city of Limassol, says more than 175,000 people have visited the establishment since it opened on June 28, the Cyprus Mail newspaper reports.
C2 – a temporary outlet ahead of the main development, albeit the first licensed casino in Cyprus – was created by Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development Ltd, the parent company of Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.
The planned permanent resort – currently under construction – had a ground breaking ceremony on June 8 and is slated to carry the name City of Dreams Mediterranean when it opens, an event likely to be in 2021.
The online edition of the Cyprus Mail mentioned that the C2 Rewards Club loyalty programme had enrolled more than 13,000 members since the establishment opened.
The report quoted City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos property president Craig Ballantyne as saying C2 had exceeded expectations in its first three months in business. Melco International leads Casino Resorts Cyprus Ltd, the consortium that runs C2.
Mr Ballantyne said C2 had become a “must-see destination for locals and tourists alike”.
“The three months of operation of C2 were successful and the results exceeded our expectations,” he added.
C2 has 600 square metres (6,458 sq feet) of floor space, of which 1,300 square metres is taken up by the gaming area. The gaming portion has 33 gaming tables and 258 slot machines, a VIP gaming area, a restaurant and two bars, the firm has previously stated.
The property is being developed by Melco International and a consortium of partners that controls 25 percent, including Cyprus Phasouri (Zakaki) Ltd, a Cyprus-based conglomerate. The City of Dreams Mediterranean will be the biggest casino resort in Europe.
Melco International said last week that it expected to open three satellite gaming facilities in Cyprus this year as permitted under its licence. They will be in Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos. A fourth, at Ayia Napa, is due to launch next year.
The 90-minute federal sports betting hearing was packed with testimony on both sides, but for NJ sports betting, it's carry on as usual for now.
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Golf's Ryder Cup only happens once every two years, so Kambi's NJ sports betting sites such as DraftKings Sportsbook are pouring on the betting options.
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For now, there are 8 retail sportsbooks and 5 online sports betting apps in New Jersey. But NJ sports betting is just getting started.
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A total of 17 out of 27 Macau’s major casino hotels that GGRAsia surveyed had been fully or nearly fully booked for the period of October 1 to October 6, a holiday period known as October Golden Week and which marks China’s National Day. More than half the 17 hotels reporting strong bookings are located in casino resorts on the Cotai Strip.
As of Wednesday, 10 out of those 17 were fully booked for October 1 to October 6. They were: Grand Lisboa on Macau peninsula, promoted by SJM Holdings Ltd; MGM Macau, also on the peninsula and promoted by MGM China Holdings Ltd; Wynn Macau downtown and Wynn Palace on Cotai, both promoted by Wynn Macau Ltd; Nüwa at City of Dreams Macau on Cotai, and Altira Macau in Taipa, both properties of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd; the Ritz-Carlton, Macau at the Galaxy Macau casino resort on Cotai, and StarWorld Hotel in downtown peninsula, both promoted by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd; as well as Sands Macao on the peninsula, and Conrad Hotel, Cotai Central, both promoted by Sands China Ltd.
The remaining seven of the 17, reported being booked up for at least four nights during the National Day holiday, according to information collated by GGRAsia from the hotels’ respective official booking sites. They were: MGM Cotai; the Countdown hotel at City of Dreams Macau; the Galaxy Hotel, the Banyan Tree Macau, Hotel Okura Macau and JW Marriott Macau, all at Galaxy Macau; as well as the Four Seasons Macao, promoted by Sands China.
China’s State Council declared October 1 to October 7 as this year’s National Day holiday period. But September 29 and 30 immediately beforehand, are weekend days this year, meaning there is some spillover in terms of holiday bookings.
Wynn Macau, StarWorld Hotel and Conrad Macao, Cotai Central, all report having their rooms sold out during the period September 29 to October 7 inclusive, according to information gathered by GGRAsia as of Wednesday.
In a September 11 note, investment bank Morgan Stanley wrote that for this year’s National Day break, the city’s mass-focused properties had projected they would have higher room occupancy than the equivalent period last year. But “premium brand” hotels had – as of that time – reported either selling rooms at lower average daily rates (ADRs) or projecting lower occupancy than experienced in the same holiday period last year. The bank conducted the survey on September 7 and it covered a period from the night of September 30 to the night of October 6 inclusive.
Premium prices soften
Morgan Stanley equity analyst Praveen Choudhary and research associate Jeremy An had stated: “…premium brands, such as Ritz-Carlton and Banyan Tree, are seeing lower occupancy and average daily rate compared to last year”.
The bank’s note added: “Many hotels have seen average daily rate decline year-on-year, except Four Seasons, which saw a big price increase after renovation. The average daily rate decline may be due to renminbi depreciation as well as competition from additional rooms from MGM [Cotai] (1,400 rooms) and Morpheus (780 rooms).”
The analysts were referring to the value of China’s currency relative either to the U.S.-dollar pegged Hong Kong dollar or the indirectly-pegged local currency the pataca; the payment currencies accepted by most major Macau hotels.
As of July 31, Macau had a total of 39,400 guest rooms, 8 percent more than the prior-year period, latest available official data show. Several new casino hotels launched during the first half of this year: MGM Cotai, which opened on February 13; and Morpheus at City of Dreams Macau, which made its debut on June 15.
MGM Cotai’s hotel reported being full for October 2 to October 5 inclusive, according to its official booking site. Rooms at Morpheus were still available for the National Day break, with the minimum room rate of the hotel being above MOP9,000 (US$1,118) per night for October 2 to October 5 inclusive, a peak period of the holiday.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, head of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), told local media on Wednesday that the organisation was expecting a “6 percent” year-on-year increase to the city’s visitor arrivals for Golden Week.
Last year, Macau received 920,631 visitors during the holiday period from October 1 to October 8, according to MGTO data. The 2017 National Day break lasted for eight days according to the State Council, as it included the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on October 4 last year, a Wednesday. The average occupancy rate for the city’s five-star hotels stood at 95 percent for the 2017 holiday period.
Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada (pictured) has asked the Philippine Stock Exchange to conduct what his side terms a “thorough” investigation into Philippine-listed Asiabest Group International Inc, for what he calls misleading disclosures about its proposed takeover by Hong Kong company Tiger Resort Asia Ltd.
Representatives for Mr Okada issued a written statement on Thursday, which reiterated an earlier request for the bourse to investigate the deal.
Mr Okada also released a letter from his lawyers to the stock exchange, dated September 21, telling it that supposedly comprehensive corporate disclosures by Asiabest should be considered “suspect and outright evasive” because they failed to mention Mr Okada’s pending intra-corporate suit against Tiger Resort Asia, a part of his effort to regain his interest in that company.
Philippine lawyers for Mr Okada said that were Asiabest to mention his complaint in its disclosures it would have an effect on the trading or market value of Asiabest securities. The attorneys added that pending cases should be included in stock exchange disclosures to warn the public about the possibility that the proposed agreement between Asiabest and Tiger Resort Asia could be nullified.
“Considering that the very validity of the transaction between Tiger Asia and Asiabest Group may be questioned, if not annulled, the pending case should have been disclosed especially in Asiabest Group’s ‘Comprehensive corporate disclosure on backdoor listing,’ and ‘Change in control issuer disclosure,’ both dated 20 September 2018,” Mr Okada’s lawyers wrote.
In his latest legal action, Mr Okada says he owns 34.41 percent of Tiger Resort Asia and a subsidiary, Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc, which runs the Okada Manila casino resort.
Mr Okada asserts he was not consulted about the agreement for Tiger Resort Asia to buy two-thirds of Asiabest. The deal would see 200 million shares sold to Tiger Resort Asia, worth PHP646.6 million (US$11.9 million), in a transaction due to go through on November 12.
If permitted by the regulators, the deal would allow Tiger Resort Asia, which is controlled by Universal Entertainment Corp of Japan, to float in the Philippines equity in the operator of the Okada Manila resort.
In June last year, Mr Okada was removed from the board of Universal Entertainment and removed as chairman of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment. He was subsequently removed from Okada Holdings Ltd, a private company in Hong Kong and is taking legal action in Hong Kong to regain control of that organisation which in turn controls more than two-thirds of the stock of Universal Entertainment.
In a new letter, Nevada Rep. Dina Titus and New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur urge Congress to be cautious when considering a federal sports betting plan.
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With NFL Week 4 closing in, and NJ sports betting on a hot streak, here's a look at the games to watch, the bets to tackle, and sportsbook apps to try.
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Growth forecasts for gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau this month have been revised downwards in the wake of Typhoon Mangkhut.
Two brokerages have issued forecasts that see such expansion reduced by just a handful of percentage points compared to initial estimates for September, but in year-on-year terms, this month is still likely to see growth of up to 10 percent.
Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd says in a note issued on Monday that it expects a GGR between MOP21.9 billion (US$2.72 billion) and MOP22.3 billion, or between 3 percent and 4 percent more than a year ago. The previous forecast by the stockbroker, made in the light of the effects of Typhoon Mangkhut, was for performance ranging between zero growth and 3 percent expansion.
In another research note issued on Monday, the Instinet research arm of Japanese brokerage Nomura forecast Macau GGR this month would be about 10 percent more than a year ago. Instinet said had Typhoon Mangkhut not intervened, it would have forecast GGR this month of about MOP24 billion or MOP25 billion, roughly 15 percent more than a year ago.
The Sanford Bernstein note, written by Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Kelsey Zhu, stated the physical damage from the storm had been “immaterial” to casinos, despite the weather causing a local-government ordered shutdown of gaming operations, an industry first in the modern era of the sector.
“GGR this month had been impacted by Typhoon Mangkhut, which hit Macau during the weekend of September 15 and 16, with the closure of all casinos and disruptions to transportation in and out Macau,” the report said.
“Macau casinos had been shut down by Typhoon Mangkhut for 33 hours. The damage from the typhoon to casino properties was immaterial, but GGR was impacted as a result of the weather, casino closures and transport disruption.”
Macau’s main casino properties were all back to business as of the morning of Monday, September 17, according to GGRAsia’s own checks at the time
Sanford Bernstein said its latest forecast was based on the assumption that average daily GGR would be between MOP760 million and MOP810 million for the last seven days of this month.
Its channel checks and estimates indicated that average daily GGR so far this month was about MOP725 million.
Sanford Bernstein said Macau’s longer-term trend for GGR expansion was strong. “GGR growth over the last 18 months was boosted by a strong VIP growth trend, we continue to view the industry as a secular growth story driven relatively stronger mass growth over the longer run,” the note said.
“This dynamic has become more apparent in the second quarter, as Macau has experienced deceleration in VIP growth relative to mass as higher-end customers were more impacted by concerns around the macro China environment.”
The latter comment was a reference to China’s underlying economy. A number of analysts have noted there is typically a strong positive correlation between China’s economic performance and the fortunes of Macau GGR.
Nomura’s Instinet note estimated that average daily GGR so far this month was about MOP740 million. Instinet said its latest checks suggested volume trends recovered reasonably after the typhoon, boosted by end-of-the month demand spurred by the mid-autumn festival and recently-announced VIP room openings at MGM Cotai.
At the end of the day, FanDuel Sportsbook may have given the fledgling NJ sports betting market a chance to learn and improve the system.
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After much bad publicity, FanDuel Sportsbook announced last week they'd pay out the prop bets made on glitch odds during an NFL game.
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The Macau-produced casino industry trade exhibition and conference known as MGS Entertainment Show, has adopted a new name in Chinese for this year’s edition. In that language it is being referred to by a name that translates as the “2018 Macau Leisure Technology Show”.
The annual MGS event, first held in 2013, was originally known as the “Macao Gaming Show,” and was initially presented as a localised alternative to Global Gaming Expo Asia, a trade event usually held annually in May by Reed Exhibitions and the American Gaming Association, a casino industry trade body.
The renaming exercise for this year’s MGS marks its transition to a “more technology focused” trade show, said Jay Chun, chairman of its primary promoter the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA).
Mr Chun, who is also the chairman of Hong Kong-listed gaming equipment and casino services firm Paradise Entertainment Ltd, made the remarks to media during a Monday press conference. It was called to preview MGS Entertainment Show 2018 – as it will be known in English – which is due to be held from November 13 to 15 at the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo.
The trade show is being jointly organised this year with China’s state-owned enterprises Nam Kwong Culture and Creativity Industry Co Ltd, and China National Machinery Industry International Co Ltd.
“Macau’s policy has been about diversifying,” said Mr Chun, referring to the local economy, which has been dependent on casino business. China’s central government has been encouraging change in that regard.
“We’re not only providing [a display] of gaming equipment to casinos, but also the show will feature non-gaming products, which have been increasingly sought after from many integrated resorts,” Mr Chun said during the press briefing. He added that e-Sports was an example of these non-gaming offerings.
“For the existing exhibitors, they welcome our change… their feedback has been positive and supportive,” Mr Chun remarked regarding responses he said the organisers had collected on the rebranding in Chinese of the trade show.
The non-gaming aspect of the event will include the three-day conference “Sina Global Digital and Entertainment Future Summit 2018”, an event that is to be held under partnership with China’s tech firm Sina Corp. The topics of the summit cover e-Sports, blockchain technology, so-called augmented reality – also known as AR – and virtual reality – known as VR – as well as intellectual properties of games.
The new partnership with the state-owned firms is for three years, according to Mr Chun. He added that both companies are specialists in organising exhibitions and conferences.
The 2018 event has so far had confirmations from more than 120 exhibitors according to information provided by MGEMA.
As in previous years there will be conference sessions. The major topics of MGS Summit 2018 include a review of the Macau gaming concessions, the business opportunities for so-called integrated resorts in Japan, and gaming equipment makers’ views on the Asian markets.
Paulo Martins Chan, the director of Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, is scheduled to speak on a panel at the conference. The topic will be Macau’s public concessions for gaming and the session will be moderated by local legislator and scholar Davis Fong Ka Chio.
“For that session, we are also inviting some Macau lawmakers and consultants. It will be about their opinions and review [on Macau gaming industry] in the past 20 years, the related law and what needs to be modified,” Mr Chun said.
Visitor arrivals to Macau numbered 3.40 million in August, up by 18.7 percent year-on-year, data from the city’s Statistics and Census Service showed on Monday. The expansion rate in the August visitor tally was bigger than that in July, when the city saw a 4.0 percent year-on-year increase.
In August the number of visitors from mainland China expanded by 25.3 percent year-on-year to approximately 2.53 million. The tally of visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme – mainland China’s exit permit system for outbound tourists travelling independently rather than in tour groups – was up 31.0 percent year-on-year in August, to approximately 1.31 million.
Also in August, most of Macau’s feeder markets saw year-on-year increases in visitor numbers. The exceptions were the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Switzerland.
Macau’s visitor arrivals in the eight months to August 31 increased by 8.9 percent from the prior-year period to 23.25 million. Mainland Chinese accounted for 70.5 percent of the aggregate number of visitors in the first eight months this year – or 16.40 million visitors, up by 14.2 percent year-on-year.
Investment analysts have said that headline visitor numbers are not directly correlated to overall gaming demand, as gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the Macau market has been typically skewed to high-end play.
Official data show that Macau’s monthly casino GGR rose by 17.1 percent year-on-year in August, to nearly MOP26.56 billion (US$3.29 billion). The figure was also the highest monthly tally so far this year. The number of overnight and same-day visitors to Macau in August rose by 16.3 percent and 21.6 percent year-on-year respectively, to nearly 1.80 million and 1.60 million. The average length of stay of visitors in that month was 1.2 days, down by 0.1 days compared with the same month last year.
The Macau government expects to receive about 600 applications from casinos to have smoking lounges approved under a new set of technical standards, said the head of the city’s Health Bureau, Lei Chin Ion.
Mr Lei added that just 16 of Macau’s 39 casinos in operation had so far submitted applications to have smoking lounges approved in line with the new rules.
The 16 gaming venues that had filed paperwork on the matter had made an aggregate of 233 requests for approval of smoking lounges, Mr Lei told reporters over the weekend.
Among the 233 requests, 10 smoking lounges in two gaming venues have been approved by the city’s authorities.
The first smoking lounge application approval was announced in April. It was submitted by casino hotel Ponte 16, a joint venture between casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd and Success Universe Group Ltd.
Studio City, operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, was the second of two Macau casino resorts to have been granted approval for new-style smoking lounges in the local market, the Health Bureau said in August.
All Macau gaming venues wanting to continue to offer on-site smoking to patrons must apply to the local authorities to operate the new, higher-standard lounges, said to have better air extraction equipment than is mandated under the current regulatory regime. From January 1, 2019, only authorised, enhanced, lounges will be permitted in the local market.
Macau’s gaming operators have to submit by September 28 any applications for new smoking lounges, in order for such requests to have a chance of being approved before the city’s new regime on smoking is enforced in casinos on January 1, Mr Lei said.
He justified the September 28 deadline on the basis of how long it would take to inspect and approve the smoking lounges with enhanced technical standards, as such approval involved a total of three government departments: the Health Bureau, the Fire Services Bureau and the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau.
Mr Lei added that the Health Bureau could not ensure applications for new smoking lounges filed after the September 28 deadline would be approved by January 1, 2019.
Macau’s Legislative Assembly passed on July 14, 2017 a revised bill on smoking that bans tableside tobacco use in VIP rooms – the only places in the Macau that were still allowing smoking at the gaming table. Although the new rules came into force on January 1, 2018, tableside smoking at VIP rooms will in effect be permitted until January 1, 2019, as casinos have been given a year’s grace period to set up smoking lounges for VIP players.
Under the revised law, all smoking lounges in casinos – including the existing ones set up on mass floors since the ban on free-for-all casino smoking – will also have to conform to enhanced technical standards.
Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings, told CNN that the rise of DraftKings Sportsbook is thanks to football season and a mature NJ sports betting product.
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Police in the city of Cixi, in the mainland Chinese province of Zhejiang, have recently broken up a gambling ring that took bets through a website set up overseas, Chinese-language media from the mainland reported on Thursday.
The reports said the suspects were alleged to have earned illegal profits of CNY50 million (US$7.3 million) through accepting players’ bets on “online baccarat” games.
Since September 1, the police have caught 21 suspects believed to be involved in the alleged Internet gambling ring. This was the second such crackdown in Cixi this year, after the police detained 50 people in late March suspected of being involved in the same case of illegal gambling.
The latest media reports said the illegal online betting case was still being investigated. But the reports did not clarify whether the gambling website was related to casino proxy gambling. The latter refers to where a gambler not physically present in a casino designates a trusted individual as his or her proxy, which is allowed in some regulated gambling markets.
A Thursday report published by Chinese-language Legal Daily cited the police as stating that two alleged ringleaders were suspected to have a connection with a “baccarat gambling website” in the Philippines.
Last month, police in the province of Jiangsu disrupted an international gambling ring that took bets through a website set up in the Philippines. At the time, state-run news agency Xinhua said 50 suspects were arrested either in Shanghai, in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, or in the southern provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, and that another six suspects were arrested elsewhere on the mainland after returning from the Philippines and surrendering to officials.
Look no further for a quick comparison of the latest online sportsbooks in the NJ sports betting market: BetStars, FanDuel, and 888 Sport.
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Hong Kong-listed casino developer Melco International Development Ltd says three of its so-called “satellite casinos” in Cyprus are scheduled to commence operations in respectively Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos later this year. Another satellite casino in Ayia Napa – a coastal town that is part of the Famagusta district – is scheduled to open for business “in the spring of 2019”, the firm said in its interim report filed on Wednesday.
In late July, Melco International announced that a Cyprus-based consortium headed by the firm was to open soon a satellite casino in the terminal building of Larnaka International Airport, near the port city of Larnaka on the south coast of Cyprus.
The gaming venue at Larnaka airport will operate approximately 50 gaming machines, according to the July announcement.
The Melco International-led consortium – called Integrated Casino Resorts Cyprus Ltd (ICR Cyprus) – received in June 2017 a 30-year casino licence from the Republic of Cyprus government. The initial single licence also allows the holder to build four satellite casinos.
ICR Cyprus launched on June 28 a temporary casino called C2 in the southern city of Limassol, in Cyprus, to cater to players until the City of Dreams Mediterranean casino resort (pictured in a rendering) is complete. The temporary casino is to remain open until 2021, when construction of City of Dreams Mediterranean – also located in Limassol – is forecast to be finished.
In its interim report, Melco International said the gaming venue at its temporary casino has 1,300 square metres (13,993 sq feet), featuring 33 gaming tables and 258 slot machines. The company said additionally that the venue welcomed “over 34,000 individual guests” during the first three weeks of operation, and that “more than 6,000 visitors” had registered as members of the C2 Rewards Club loyalty programme.
The casino hotel Landmark Macau has been officially renamed as “New Orient Landmark Hotel” (pictured) on Tuesday. The rebranding followed the sale of the casino hotel – completed in April – by casino services firm Macau Legend Development Ltd.
Ground checks by GGRAsia on Wednesday saw no signs of changes to the existing “Pharaoh’s Palace Casino” inside the hotel property, which is still managed by Macau Legend, under the licence of Macau casino concessionaire SJM Holdings Ltd.
The sale of the hotel for a consideration of HKD4.60-billion (US$586.1 million) helped Macau Legend book a profit of HKD2.85 billion for the first half of this year.
GGRAsia was not able to reach Macau property investor Chong Sio Kin – the new majority owner of the hotel property – for comments on the rebranding exercise by the time this story went online. Mr Chong said in November in an interview with GGRAsia that he aimed to “enhance the gaming services” at the venue.
Mr Chong is the chairman of a Macau property development firm, New Orient Group.
The New Orient Landmark is located on Macau peninsula, and is an approximately 15-minute walk from Macau Fisherman’s Wharf. The property, which is classified by the Macau government as a 5-star hotel, offers 439 rooms.
Philippine-listed Asiabest Group International Inc says the firm’s proposed takeover by Hong Kong-registered Tiger Resort Asia Ltd is based on the “presumption of regularity” of documents presented by the latter company.
The comments were made in a Wednesday filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange. They followed a letter by legal representatives of Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada requesting the exchange to disclose the details of the proposed takeover.
Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc – the operator of the Okada Manila casino resort (pictured) – is a subsidiary of Tiger Resort Asia.
Mr Okada’s representatives noted that there was currently an ongoing legal case involving the control of the Okada Manila operator, and that Mr Okada had not been consulted about the agreement for Tiger Resort Asia to buy two-thirds of Asiabest.
Mr Okada alleges he owns 34.41 percent of Tiger Resort Asia.
If approved by the regulators, the takeover of Asiabest Group could allow Tiger Resort Asia, which is controlled by Universal Entertainment Corp of Japan, to float the operator of Okada Manila. The execution date for that deal is scheduled for November 12.
Following a request for clarification regarding Mr Okada’s letter, made by the Philippine Stock Exchange to Asiabest Group, the latter firm stated it had “no knowledge, or means to verify the existence, truth, and veracity of the allegations” made by Mr Okada’s legal representatives.
“Asiabest Group can inform [the] Philippine Stock Exchange, however, that the [the firm’s] shareholders were presented with documents showing that the transaction was duly authorised by Tiger Resort Asia… and that the shareholders relied on the presumption of regularity of such documents,” it said in its Wednesday filing.
Asiabest Group added that Universal Entertainment had “also confirmed the regularity of the transaction by disclosing [it] to Jasdaq Securities Exchange.”
The fight for control of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment is part of a wider legal battle between Mr Okada and Universal Entertainment, a firm he founded. Mr Okada was removed from the board of Universal Entertainment last year, after being accused by the firm’s current management of “three acts of fraudulence” outlined in what the company said was an independently-commissioned investigation.
The gaming regulator in the Philippines has announced all licensed casino employees are now on that country’s national register of restricted gamblers, making it easier to prevent casino employees from gambling.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) made the announcement in a circular dated September 6 and said the change would be effective from September 10.
The Pagcor memorandum reminds all casino operators that the rules prohibit their employees from gambling in any gaming establishment in the country. An employee of a Philippine casino must hold a licence to work in the gaming industry.
The memorandum says the names of licensed employees, as well as other information about them, will be kept in a database that lists people banned from gambling in gaming establishments, the National Database of Restricted Persons. The database is accessible online, so casino operators can identify and refuse admittance to any gaming industry employees wishing to gamble.
Pagcor runs its own casinos as well as regulating gaming. It often releases circulars to remind operators of their obligations, such as threatening closure of premises if people under the age of 21 are found to be gambling there.
DraftKings Sportsbook, the first online NJ sports betting platform to go live in New Jersey, hit one million bets but how did it do it?
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The Macau government has yet to consider whether to make it compulsory for local casinos to suspend operations when Typhoon Signal No.8 or above is hoisted by the local weather bureau. So said on Monday the city’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak (pictured), during a briefing on the work carried out by the local authorities in preparation for, and response to, the impact of Typhoon Mangkhut.
The precautionary closure of all casinos from late Saturday until Monday morning due to the passage of Typhoon Mangkhut followed an agreement between the Macau government and the city’s six casino operators. The blanket suspension of casino operations was unprecedented in Macau.
The World Meteorological Organisation has described Mangkhut as the strongest tropical cyclone anywhere in the world so far this year.
Mr Wong said the citywide suspension of gaming operations and the closure of mainland-Macao boundary crossings significantly lowered the traffic load during the most intense period of the powerful storm, ensuring the safety of the general public, of visitors to Macau and of casino employees.
He added that the government was yet to consider whether to make it a rule for casinos to suspend operations when Typhoon Signal No.8 or above is hoisted. Mr Wong noted that currently there were no regulations on this matter.
The blanket suspension of operations in the city’s casinos during Typhoon Mangkhut was “a good example” showing casino operators and the government share the common goal of ensuring the safety of gaming workers, Mr Wong added.
The Macau government proposed in June that the city’s top official could order the ad-hoc closure of casinos in case of an emergency or disaster. The measure would allow a serving Macau chief executive to order the suspension or cancellation of casino operations if a venue was either in a part of the city deemed unsafe; or if members of the public might otherwise be put at risk were operations to continue.
The proposal was part of an overhaul of Macau’s civil protection system, following last year’s Typhoon Hato. It was included in a document put to public consultation.
Typhoon Hato struck the city on August 23, 2017 with wind speeds of 200 kilometres per hour (124 mph), leading to 10 deaths in the city and widespread damage to infrastructure that disrupted the city’s tourism industry for more than a week afterwards.
Some casino worker groups have been calling for some years for the city’s casino employees to be exempted from work when Typhoon Signal No.8 or above is hoisted. Many public service workers are excused workplace attendance in those circumstances.
Some of Macau’s most outspoken labour groups have praised the blanket suspension of operations in the city’s casinos during Typhoon Mangkhut.
Macau’s gaming law requires casinos to be opened daily. But it allows operators to suspend operations in “exceptional” situations, upon government approval. Such approval can be waived in the face of a disaster, serious accident or situations that pose a risk to public safety; in those cases, operators should inform the government of the suspension as soon as possible.
In a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer, the AGA states that illegal sportsbooks were the result of PASPA and no new federal sports betting law is needed.
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Director David Rebuck's testimony to the NJ Legislature was an eye opener, suggesting that NJ was gradually becoming the key sports betting state in the US.
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Macau’s main casino properties were all back to business as of Monday morning, following the end of a government-ordered blanket closure of the city’s gaming sector due to a “super typhoon” called Typhoon Mangkhut.
Casinos had been allowed by the Macau government to resume operations on Monday, from 8am onwards, after Typhoon Mangkhut – the world’s most powerful storm so far this year – struck the city over the weekend.
Casino operations had been paused at 11pm on Saturday, according to a government release that day.
On Monday morning, GGRAsia visited the city’s main casino properties, and all had already resumed operations. Visited casinos included: Galaxy Macau in Cotai and StarWorld Hotel in downtown peninsula, both run by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd; Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central and Parisian Macao in Cotai, and Sands Macao on the peninsula – all run by Sands China Ltd; Cotai properties City of Dreams Macau and Studio City, promoted by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd; MGM Macau in the peninsula and MGM Cotai, run by MGM China Holdings Ltd; Wynn Macau in the peninsula and Wynn Cotai, operated by Wynn Macau Ltd; and Grand Lisboa and Hotel Lisboa in the peninsula, promoted by SJM Holdings Ltd.
In an emailed reply to GGRAsia, a spokesperson from Wynn Macau Ltd confirmed that the firm’s two casinos had both resumed operations at 8am on Monday.
Both MGM Macau and MGM Cotai had also resumed “normal operations” on Monday, a MGM China representative told GGRAsia.
All Melco Resorts properties – including City of Dreams, Studio City and Altira – had also “resumed normal operations” on Monday, a company spokesperson said.
Buddy Lam, senior vice president of public relations for Galaxy Entertainment, told GGRAsia the firm “started resuming gaming operations gradually at our properties from 8am today [Monday], and under close coordination with the relevant authorities.” He added: “It went very smoothly.”
GGRAsia also contacted SJM Holdings and Sands China regarding resumption of their respective casino operations following the landfall of Typhoon Mangkhut, but we had received no reply by the time this story went online. We also asked each casino operator about damages caused by the storm on their respective casino properties; only MGM China, Melco Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment provided feedback on the matter.
“We are making assessment on some damages but none of which will affect our operations,” the MGM China representative stated.
“Our teams were fully prepared to deal with the effects of Typhoon Mangkhut…Our properties recorded minimal external damages, and repairs are expected to be completed within the next few days for minimal disruption,” the Melco Resorts spokesperson told GGRAsia in an emailed statement.
As for Galaxy Entertainment’s properties, “no significant damage and most importantly, no serious injuries have been reported,” stated senior vice president Mr Lam in an email to GGRAsia.
Ground checks by GGRAsia detected some minor damages in some of the city’s casino resorts, including a few broken windows in the Encore tower of Wynn Macau in the peninsula, and in Studio City in Cotai. There were also some fallen trees around Galaxy Macau in Cotai (pictured).
GGRAsia approached the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, for comment on whether all gaming venues in Macau had already resumed operations following the end of the government-ordered blanket closure. We did not receive any reply by the time this story went online.
Paradise Segasammy Co Ltd, the operator of the Paradise City casino resort in the South Korean city of Incheon, expects the second phase of the scheme to attract 4.8 million visitors to the development within a year, Yonhap reported.
The South Korean news agency added that the firm’s sales target for the new facilities next year is KRW500 billion (about US$445 million).
The first phase of Paradise City (pictured), comprising the casino, a hotel and a convention centre, opened in April last year.
In its first year the casino-resort attracted 1.2 million visitors.
No South Koreans are admitted to the casino.
The second phase, which opens this week, comprises a second hotel, a spa, a club and a shopping arcade.
The South Korean news agency quoted Paradise Segasammy chief executive Park Pyung-yong as saying: “We will emphasise the entertainment aspect through our second-phase opening, becoming a key tourism landmark of South Korea.”
The comments were made in a press conference at the resort on Thursday.
Yonhap reported Paradise Segasammy was making efforts to attract visitors from countries other than China, in view of signs that fewer Chinese than before are visiting South Korea.
Government data quoted by Yonhap indicate that the number of visitors to foreigners-only casinos in South Korea fell for the third year in a row last year because of a Sino-Korean political dispute. The 16 casinos reserved exclusively for foreigners, attracted 2.22 million visitors last year, 6.2 percent fewer than the year before.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea rose to 410,337 in July, 45.9 percent more than a year earlier. But the amount of growth was due to the low base figure last year, and the total in July this year was well below the tally of 917,519 in July 2016.
Yonhap quoted Paradise Co Ltd executive Park Jong-hoon as saying: “We don’t think the number of Chinese visitors will increase quickly in the near future. Yet we expect the upcoming opening will vitalise our marketing and attract more VIPs.”
South Korean resort operator Paradise Co and Japanese maker of slot machines Sega Sammy Holdings Inc started the KRW1.5 trillion casino resort project in 2011 and formed their Paradise Segasammy joint venture the following year.
Macau’s casinos were allowed to resume operations today (Monday) at 8am, the government said, after Typhoon Mangkhut – a category 10 storm – struck the city over the weekend. Casino operations were paused at 11pm on Saturday, according to a government release that day.
It was understood to be the first time in the modern era of public gaming concessions that the city’s casinos had been told by the local authorities to close for a time. The government said the city-wide suspension of gaming operations was for the safety of casino employees, visitors, and the city’s residents.
Typhoon Mangkhut was one of the fiercest recorded storms ever to hit Macau. It passed over the city with wind speeds of about 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph), causing serious flooding in the city and widespread damage to infrastructure. Floodwater levels reached up to 1.9 metres (6.2 feet) above road level on Sunday in some of the city’s districts. The typhoon category was lowered to Signal No. 3 today at 4am.
Last year during the category 10 Typhoon Hato, the Macau casino industry’s pause was by default – on a venue-by-venue basis – across the local industry, depending on the level of damage each venue experienced, and its respective access to off-grid sources of power and water.
During Typhoon Mangkhut, the city’s border crossings to and from mainland China were closed at 1am on Sunday. Ferry services to and from Macau had been suspended at 10pm on Saturday.
The government’s decision to pull the plug on the city’s casino operations would likely impact this month’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR), according to investment analysts covering the Macau gaming industry.
Brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd said in a note on Sunday evening that the exceptional closure of all Macau casinos – which “happened on an all-important weekend day” – probably shaved at least 500 basis points off the annual growth rate of September’s casino GGR.
Union Gaming said it was lowering its September GGR growth forecast to somewhere in the range of 7.7 percent to 9.3 percent, from 14.7 percent previously.
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc shaved 11 percentage points off its September GGR growth estimate in a Sunday note, bringing it down to 3 percent year-on-year from 14 percent.
Saturday’s seemingly unprecedented blanket closure of Macau casinos due to a “super typhoon” called Typhoon Mangkhut, as well as associated disruption to public transport, probably shaved at least 500 basis points off the annual growth rate of September’s gross gaming revenue (GGR).
So said a note issued on Sunday evening by analyst Grant Govertsen, of brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd.
“Given that the blanket casino closure happened on an all-important weekend day, which typically generates significantly higher GGR than a weekday, we expect that somewhere between MOP1.1 billion [US$136.2 million] and MOP1.5 billion in GGR will be lost,” wrote Macau-based Mr Govertsen.
Referring to the fact that the whole of what should have been Sunday casino operations was lost to Typhoon Mangkhut, the analyst stated: “We estimate this could impair September’s GGR growth rate by 500 to 700 basis points.”
When this story went online, the timing for resumption of gaming operations had not been announced.
Union Gaming said that following the major typhoon it was lowering its September GGR growth forecast to somewhere in the range of 7.7 percent to 9.3 percent, from 14.7 percent previously.
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc shaved a whopping 11 percentage points off its September GGR growth estimate in a Sunday note, bringing it down to 3 percent year-on-year from 14 percent.
“Given the loss of Saturday night/Sunday and what are likely to be disruptions over the course of the next several days, depending on damage and ease of travel in the coming days… Accordingly, our September GGR forecast has been reduced to +3 percent from +14 percent,” wrote analysts Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy.
Deutsche Bank also gave some colour on what it understood were the the circumstances of Saturday night’s blanket closure of Macau casinos.
Messrs Santarelli and Valoy stated: “We understand that the concessionaires were notified by the DICJ [Macau's gaming regulator] only shortly before the 11pm closure. We believe the limited notification window is important, as it likely means those who came by ferry were unable to leave by boat, while the window to leave before the 1am border gate closings was also limited. Accordingly, we believe the hotels remained largely full Saturday night through Sunday, though gaming areas were not functional.”
Union Gaming’s Mr Govertsen noted that taking the third quarter as a whole, Typhoon Mangkhut was “likely to have up to a 200 bps impact on the growth rate, and we now estimate 12 percent growth instead of 14 percent”.
The analyst further stated, referring to another huge storm called Typhoon Hato in August 2017: “For the second time in just over one year, Macau has taken a virtually direct hit from a super/severe typhoon. Fortunately, it appears that the city has come out the other side in much better shape after Mangkhut relative to last year’s Hato.”
The Macau government said in a Sunday evening press release that 20,000 households were without power at that stage, due to flooded power transformer stations in some low-lying areas.
Macau’s Chief Executive, Fernando Chui Sai On, urged officials at a meeting on Sunday afternoon of the city’s Civil Protection Operations Centre to ensure the local electricity utility restored power supply as quickly as possible.
In August, the government said work had been stepped up to strengthen the stability of the power supply during adverse weather, including attempts to flood proof certain parts of the electricity grid infrastructure.
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The Macau authorities announced late on Saturday the blanket suspension of operations in the city’s casinos ahead of Typhoon Mangkhut, a storm expected to reach category 10. Casino operations were paused from 11pm on Saturday, according to a release.
It is understood to be the first time in the modern era of public gaming concessions that the city’s casinos were told by the local authorities to suspend their operations.
A government release stated that Macau’s Civil Protection Operations Centre would advise later when the city’s casino operators might resume their respective gaming businesses.
The government said the city-wide suspension of gaming operations aimed to protect the safety of casino employees, visitors, and the city’s residents.
Grant Govertsen, an analyst at brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, said in an emailed response to GGRAsia in the early hours of Sunday regarding the citywide casino closures in response to the adverse weather during the annual typhoon season: “Clearly the government is taking a significantly more cautious approach than before.”
He added, referring latterly to the decision’s likely impact on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR): “While we were surprised to see the ordered closures happen late on September 15, we certainly understand the government is in a tough position and will err to the side of caution. That said, we would expect some negative GGR impact as a result of not only the temporaty closures, but also the cessation of transportation into and out of Macau.”
The World Meteorological Organisation has described Mangkhut as the strongest tropical cyclone anywhere in the world so far this year.
Last year during the category 10 Typhoon Hato, the Macau casino industry’s pause was by default – on a venue-by-venue basis – across the local industry, depending on the level of damage each venue experienced, and its respective access to off-grid sources of power and water.
Saturday’s pause in city-wide casino operations was ordered by Macau’s Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, ahead of Signal No. 8 likely to be hoisted at 2am on Sunday. The city’s border crossings to and from mainland China were to be closed at 1am on Sunday. Ferry services to and from Macau were suspended at 10pm on Saturday.
Saturday’s city-wide suspension of gaming followed debate within the government about the need to have a mechanism for decision-making related to exceptional weather.
Another press release issued earlier on Saturday by the local government indicated there were currently no specific provisions within the legal framework for the city’s casinos allowing for blanket closure of casinos.
A meeting on Wednesday involving several government departments – including the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau – indicated that the government would consider the safety of people inside casino resorts before deciding on a citywide suspension of casino business in the event of “typhoon or adverse weather”.
The government said that Macau casino resorts provided from Saturday – without charge – an aggregate of 2,770 parking spaces for private vehicles, in order to fulfil public demand for safe parking during the typhoon period.
Several of the 10 deaths that occurred during Typhoon Hato in August last year happened in underground car park areas.
(Updated Sept 16, 10am)
One month after rolling out its latest state-of-the-art online slot, Rise of Olympus, Play’n GO has honored us with another fantastic addition to the catalog, only this time it’s all about magic!
The company’s most recent slot release, Street Magic, is an incredible performance of a mysterious trickster, known to its audience as “The Magician.” Not only is he a skillful illusionist, who helps all players to conjure up a win, the game’s protagonist is also a funny companion.
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People Are Fascinated By MagicIt is a widely known fact that people (even some primates) are extremelly fascinated by magic, whether it’s because of the fun or its mystic elements... According to Play’n GO CEO, Johan Tornqvist, people are intrigued by irrational beliefs, often thinking that supernatural is real. Torqvist shared his opinion in a short inteview:
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For now, there are 8 retail sportsbooks and 5 online sports betting apps in New Jersey. But NJ sports betting is just getting started.
The post Your Guide To NJ Sports Betting As Football Season Kicks Into Gear appeared first on .
Microgaming is expending its network of independent game studios for content development by signing a partnership with Slingshot Studios. The software aggregators specialize in crafting top-performing slot games filled with innovative features and interactive gameplay. Thanks to the team’s passion to deliver vibrant titles to the market, producing high-quality products for avid slots fans will be brought to a whole new level.
Going Live in OctoberThe first official release will burst into action at partner casinos on October 10th, 2018. Cash of Kingdoms is a full-scale action adventure slot with progressive gaming features such as Invading WildsTM.
As a reminder, the fantasy-themed slot was already showcased on the third day of ICE Totally Gaming. Those who visited the show can probably still recall the medieval stage setting, with a skilled foot archer who stunned the audience with her daring performance.
Exclusive Provider to MicrogamingAccording to John Coleman, CEO at Microgaming, the company’s extensive catalog will have multiple benefits from Slingshot’s expertise and unique approach to development. Their original content contains a multitude of extraordinary features, adjusted for targeting specific markets and customers. Moreover, the studio’s drive to produce challenging content is what makes them a perfect candidate for exclusive suppliers, added Coleman.
Creative director at Slingshot Studios, Richard Vermaak, has also expressed his opinion on the agreement by saying:
“At Slingshot Studios, our energy and imagination push us forward. We love building games that people love to play, and we can’t wait to share them with Microgaming for their operators’ players to enjoy. Cash of Kingdoms is the first taste of what’s to come.”
Microgaming will be unveiling further exclusive studio partnerships in the coming months.