Online Casino Edition – Casino News News about online casinos and gambling

March 3, 2013

Nevada Governor Wants To Clear Path For Online Poker Plans

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 3:36 am

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that we can expect online poker legislation to come down, either on the state level, or on the federal level. There are many different situations that companies and regulatory bodies are planning for. Although, many regulatory bodies feel that state legislation is going to come down first, there is also some movement in several areas of the federal government that show that perhaps we can expect federal legislation to come down at some point. In preparation for this, the governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval, has asked state legislators to act within the next 30 days on an assembly bill that would allow the state to join other states and offer online gambling programs. Of course, with Nevada being the center for gambling in the United States, it almost comes as an expectation that they will be able to pass the legislation, which would generate huge tax dollars for the state when passed.

The bill would permit the governor to enter into agreements with other states. This would allow online poker and would repeal an existing law that would bar interstate gaming until the federal laws passed. It would be certainly interesting to see whether not state laws would be able to acton their own for a period of time. The bill would permit the governor to enter into agreements that would act in the best interest of the state. It is clear that Gov. Brian Sandoval would like these laws to be passed now, rather than later, in order to avoid this federal legislation that is expected to come down at some point over the course of the next two years. It is also clear that he would like Nevada to be the leading state in online gambling, just as they were in physical gambling in previous years.

In the message that was delivered to the legislator, Gov. Brian Sandoval stated, “Nevada has always been the gold standard of both gaming regulation and agreements, and I intend to see to it that our state will lead the world into this new frontier.”

The state has already released a total of 20 licenses to a variety of different casinos and companies that would allow them to conduct online poker within the state of Nevada. However, none of the computer systems that these systems are going to be running on have been approved by the state of this time. It will be interesting to see if these laws are approved moving forward, and whether or not the Nevada Gaming Control Board is going to run into federal legislation that could limit their ability to appropriately legislate these issues.

It is clear that Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval would like for the state legislature to act swiftly on online gambling, and begin to allow more companies to receive licenses, give him the ability to make deals with other states, and allow the software that the systems are going to be running on to be approved. It will be certainly interesting to see how this plays out moving forward.

March 1, 2013

Gaming Control Makes Online Poker Testing Recommendations

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 3:33 am

With it being clear that online gambling is going to be coming to in number of different states and sometime in the near future including Las Vegas, New Jersey, and possible Federal regulations coming down, number of different agencies are looking to start to put regulations in place in order to oversee the operations and the shift to online gambling. The state Gaming Control Board of Nevada conducted its monthly meeting in Carson City, and a number of plans were laid out. During the meeting, three companies requested extensions to complete laboratory testing of interactive gaming licenses that were approved last year. This measure passed 3=0, and all three companies received the extensions that they requested. Representatives of the three companies said that they were in various stages of testing and some said that there were many new variables that they were going to have to consider before reaching a final decision, including whether or not federal lawmakers would consider legislation that would govern online poker and online gambling in general. With states looking to pass their own laws, and federal legislation possibly on the horizon, companies are making sure that they have all of their ducks in a row in regards online gambling and are prepared for any outcome that may come in the near future.

Also during the meeting,TravelCenters of America, a company that operates twos truck stops in southern Nevada and three in northern Nevada, requested the licensing of a publicly traded corporation. This would give them a number of different options for expansion of their gaming facilities, which would allow the company to grow at it swifter pace. It is also seeking licensing to receive a percentage of gaming revenue at the northern Las Vegas Nevada properties. This phone also past 3 to 0. Currently, there are no expansion plans for the company in southern Nevada, but they may be looking to at some point in the very near future.

With the online gambling legislation coming at some point in the near future both for states, as well as for federal legislation, it will be interesting to see how these companies continue to react. Most of them seem to be acting in self preservation, which means that they are going to be looking at how they are going to be able to make the appropriate decisions that can safeguard their companies when this legislation comes down. Already, number of companies have launched online gambling solutions that are completely free at this time, in order to put together a user base for their future solutions. It will be interesting to see if these companies are able to appropriately deal with the legislation as it comes down, and make the most of the online gambling services that will be allowed at some point in the near future.

However, it is not only companies that are scrambling to get ready for this legislation. Even the regulatory bodies are unsure of how everything is going to play out in as a result are preparing for multiple different circumstances. Although it is not thought that heavy federal regulation will come down, and instead we will see slight oversight on the federal level, and allowing states to govern themselves on this issue, it will be interesting to see how to sides reach amicable terms that will benefit both the nation federally and the states individually.

February 27, 2013

Slot Machine Company WMS Reports Fall In Earnings This Year

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 3:21 am

Although Las Vegas, and the gambling industry in general have seen a huge boom over the course of the last year, the same is not true for all companies within the industry. In fact, a few select companies have also reported a fall in their overall earnings, which comes as a bit of a surprise given the fact that so many companies have done so well in recent years. Recently, a Chicago slot machine maker, known as WMS reported that they had a dip in revenue and stockholder earnings. The good news, is that certain divisions of the company have started to make money, which is going to be a huge concern moving forward.

The company is responsible for launching a number of games including the Jackpot Party Social Casino, one of the most popular gambling games on Facebook. The revenue that the game is able to bring in exceeds more than $100,000 a day, and players continue to pay in order to increase the overall playing time that they have. The company reported this revenue to investors, and is looking to restructure certain areas of their company in order to capitalize on the smart investments that they have made in recent years. The company also said it will be releasing a mobile version of the game as an application for both android and iPhone’s, which can really help to boost the company’s revenue as well.

“The early success of Jackpot Party Social Casino contributed to $12 million in year-over-year revenue growth from interactive products and services,” Brian R. Gamache, chairman and chief executive officer, said.

The company reported a number of different things including revenues that were a total of $175.5 million for the quarter ending in December. During the same quarter of 2011, the company reported earnings of $162.2 million. This is a significant different the company, who was hoping to really improve upon their offerings. Stockholders are earnings ended the quarter at a total of eight cents per share, which was down a total of $.29 per share from the previous year. This is a huge concern for the company who is looking to grow, with their successful online gambling games moving forward. The sales of games and interactive products reached a total of $72.7 million, which was an increase of $8 million over the previous year. The company, which does have a office that is located in the Las Vegas area, had income and earnings per share reflected by the acquisitions that the company made in the previous year.

The company canceled and earnings call, because of a recent acquisition. They recently required the company Scientific Gaming, which is a creator of lottery tickets and software, which purchased the company for total of $1.42 billion. They agreed to pay $26 per share in cash for the company, which shows that there is still an interest in what WMS has to provide, and will be interesting to see how they make changes within the company in order to grow them moving forward.

February 25, 2013

Nevada Casino Revenue Reaches $10.8 Billion In 2012

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 3:19 am

Although casinos had a rough time in 2008, they appear to be rebounding based on a number of recent reports. It is now estimated that Nevada casinos were able to put together a total revenue of $10.8 billion in 2012. This is a huge increase over the previous year, up a total of 1.5% over the previous year. This was originally reported by the Gaming Control Board. The casinos on the Las Vegas strip alone had a revenue of $6.2 billion, which was a gain of 2.3% over 2011, showing that the strip in Las Vegas in general are both receiving much better overall totals of May had in previous years. It will be incredibly interesting to see if they are able to continue this momentum moving forward.

“The revenues on the Strip spilled over into other areas” of Clark County, said senior research analyst. “It’s driving the economy,”

As of right now, the analysts are being described as cautiously optimistic that the casino business will continue to grow in the years moving forward. For the year, downtown Las Vegas saw that there casino revenue grew a total of 2.5%. In Laughlin, casino revenue fell a total of 0.6%, which was a disappointment to the individuals in that area. The Boulder strip had an increase of 2.3%, and North Las Vegas was up a total of 1.9%. In fact, all of Las Vegas was up across the board, aside from Laughlin, which is the only area that site did. Some have guessed that Laughlin saw dips in their total overall revenue, because they were seen as a legitimate alternative to going down to the Las Vegas area.

In the month of December alone, the overall revenue for downtown Las Vegas casinos was up 2.5%. The board said that downtown Las Vegas casinos reported to wind of $36.9 million, which was up 19.6% in December. Laughlin had a wind of $33.2 million, which was 1.7% increase. Mesquite fell 5.5% with the wind of $9.1 million. It will be interesting to see if these gains and winds continue to become the norm for an area that has been suffering over the course of the last few years. With the area still looking for ways in which they can increase their revenue, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding exactly how they are going to go about doing so, and with the economy seemingly in a state of recovery, many people are returning to the Las Vegas area for their vacations. It will be incredibly interesting to see if Laughlin is able to rebound from this unexpected fall, and be able to report some of the same statistic that have been seen in other areas of the state, and gains, during the next year.

As the Las Vegas area continues to recover at a rapid rate, signs from around the country are that things are going to continue to improve moving forward, especially with all of these excellent earnings reports that have been released by high profile ocmpanies in recent days.

February 23, 2013

MGM Seeking To Re-Establish 50% Ownership In Borgata Once Again

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 3:17 am

The MGM Grand is looking to re-establish the 50% ownership that they previously had in the Borgata. However, three years ago the company agreed to surrender half of its ownership in the top casino in Atlantic City, rather than to cut ties with the family that has suspected links to Chinese gangsters. The Las Vegas company is now asking regulators in the New Jersey area to consider allowing it to keep its 50% stake in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. The request was made in the petition to the Casino Control Commission, which was filed on Friday. MGM was asking for permission to reconsider its status, and see if it was fit to hold a license to a casino in the New Jersey area again. The company released a statement about the incidents shortly after.

“MGM Resorts International is, and always has been, committed to the highest standards of operation and regulatory compliance,” the company said. “If our petition is successful, we would welcome the opportunity to once again be an active, contributing member of the New Jersey gaming marketplace through our 50 percent ownership of Borgata.”

The MGM originally reached an agreement with the gambling enforcement division in March of 2010. It was instructed to sell half of its current interest at the time in the Borgata, because the company was not faith deemed to continue to hold at stake in the casino. The Atlantic Casino market plunged in 2008, just like it did in Las Vegas. Currently, the other half of the stake in the company is owned by Boyd Gaming, and they are not keen to selling the rest of the property back to the MGM. In the petition to the New Jersey regulatory bodies, the MGM spelled out several changes that it has made to its structure in order to justify them keeping their half state ownership in the casino. The MGM Macau is a casino that has fallen under a lot of scrutiny as of late, and its connections to Chinese gangsters as well known. MGM argues that they are no longer connected to those individuals in that they now control the Board of Directors, and have the ability to break any ties with the individuals that once cause them to be kicked out of their stake in the Borgata.

“Stanley Ho is 91 years old and his health has declined precipitously in the last three years,” the company wrote in its petition. “Since July 2009 Stanley Ho has divested most of his business interests,” including a company in which his daughter is now the controlling shareholder.”

It will be interesting to see how the regulatory body response to the petition that the company put forward. Although it is thought that they will turn it down, there were some interesting points that were put forward in the petition, and the regulatory body is going to be considering it in the coming weeks. If approved, the MGM will be able to reestablish their 50% stake in the company, despite the hardships that they have felt as of late.

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