News

GMA quoted in Las Vegas Review Journal

Las Vegas Valley casinos allowed 80% occupancy starting May 1

by Richard N. Velotta

The Nevada Gaming Control Board late Friday issued a new health and safety directive that will enable 80 percent occupancy in most casinos and a 3-foot social distancing requirement, effective May 1.

The state’s directive for wearing facial coverings as a means to slow the coronavirus pandemic remains in place.

The board’s notice offers a county-by-county directive on capacity limitations for gaming areas.

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GMA quoted in GGR Asia

Japan still draw for casinos, doubts on returns: panel

Japan was likely to remain a major opportunity for investment by international casino firms, though the eventual level of return on capital investment was subject to many variables.  So heard a Thursday panel session of the Japan IR Forum, an online conference about he casino industry in that country.  Such gaming venues with tourism facilities are known in Japan as integrated resorts, or IRs.

The panel was moderated by Peter Cohen, director of regulatory affairs at The Agenda Group, and a former state regulator in Australia for gaming.

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GMA quoted in CDC Gaming Reports

NFL signs sports betting partnerships with Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel

by Howard Stutz

The National Football League, which long opposed any connection to legalized sports betting, announced Thursday its first-ever partnership with three of the largest sportsbook operators in teh U.S. – Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, and FanDuel.

Through the agreement, the gaming companies have the “exclusive ability” to utilize NFL trademarks within their sports betting operations both in retail settings and online.  The sportsbook operators will also engage with fans through NFL-themed free-to-play games.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

Arizona lawmakers approve legislation to introduce sports wagering

by Richard N. Velotta

Nevada’s neighbor to the south hopes to roll out sports wagering by the end of the year after the Arizona House version of an expansive gaming bill was approved by a substantial majority.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has indicated he intends to sign the legislation, which not only would allow Arizonans to place legal sports wagers at 20 locations – the homes of 10 professional sports franchises and 10 tribal casinos – but also expand the number of casino games available in tribal casino with revised compact agreements with tribes.

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GMA quoted on CDC Gaming Reports

Having a ‘Las Vegas presence’ drove Bally’s interest in acquiring the Tropicana

by Howard Stutz

Bally’s Corp. CEO Soo Kim worried the market for casino acquisitions on the Las Vegas Strip was “tightening up” after Las Vegas Sands parted ways with Venetian, Palazzo, and Sands Expo for $6.25 billion, the unfinished Fontainebleau-Drew was sold to Koch Real Estate Investments, and Caesars Entertainment said it wouldn’t sell one of its properties until 2022.

The company took another look at Tropicana Las Vegas

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GMA quoted in Crains Detroit

Ilitches’ Atlantic City casino purchase signals new strategy for its gaming expansion

By Kurt Nagl

The Ilitch organization’s pending ownership stake in an Atlantic City casino announced earlier this week caught many off guard, but the family’s gaming expansion plan has been more than 15 years in the making.

The original strategy of developing new casinos, devised back when family matriarch Marian Ilitch, 88, took complete ownership of MotorCity Casino Hotel in 2005, failed to come to fruition.  But gaming experts say the family’s purchase of up to 50 percent of the Ocean Casino Resort in the New Jersey tourist town signals a new strategy for an expansion plan still very much on the table.

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GMA quoted in Asia Gaming Brief

Japan casino regulator sets clear path forward

by Michael Penn

Fifteen months after its establishment, the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (JCRC) has finally emerged into the public light with a web page, a recruitment pamphlet and a round of public announcements.

Among the revelations is the settling of the official English-language name (Japan Casino Regulatory Commission) and the logo.  There is even a slogan on the recruitment guide – “There is no Precedent.”

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GMA quoted in CDC Gaming Reports

Analysis: New York mobile sports betting legislation ‘very messy’ and ‘clear as mud’

by Howard Stutz

For now, sports betting operators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania might be the only ones happy with the mobile sports wagering legislation framework approved by New York lawmakers late Tuesday.

At first glance, analysts don’t believe the deal, which could lead to two online sports betting platforms and a maximum of four operators, would be helpful in keeping New York sports gamblers from going out of state to place their bets.

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GMA quoted in GGB News

Betting on Baseball Could Break $40 Billion Mark This Season

by Bill Sokolic

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic-shortened the Major League Baseball season from 161 games to just 60.  This year, MLB is back to the full grind, an intensive schedule that almost doubles that of basketball and hockey.  All those games and all those betting options make for a sports bettor’s paradise.

“While baseball hasn’t always been traditionally highest on the sports betting spectrum, it always provides one of the most interesting seasons because of its length and number of games, ” according to Brendan D. Bussmann, partner with Global Market Advisors, who has extensive experience in sports-betting markets around the world.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

New U.S. travel guidelines could boost Las Vegas tourism

by Bailey Schulz

New U.S. guidance on travel could drive more tourism to destinations like Las Vegas, experts say.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its travel guidance on Friday to say that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can travel, provided that they continue to wear masks and social distance.  The agency had previously asked that all Americans avoid unnecessary air travel.

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