News

GMA quoted in the Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle

Casino hopefuls vie for edge with gaming board

by Eric Crump

The two finalists for the south suburban casino license squared off on Oct. 28 to refine their pitches to the Illinois Gaming Board and to seek and edge before the board makes its final decision.

The board eliminated the two other candidates Oct. 20, leaving Wind Creek Illinois (WCI) and South Suburban Development LLC as the finalists. WCI proposes to operate a casino in Homewood and East Hazel Crest, and SSD plans to operate a casino in Matteson.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

Thanksgiving holiday weekend expected to be big in Las Vegas this year

by Mike Shoro

Thanksgiving holiday travelers are coming, and they have quite the appetite.

It’s the second Thanksgiving weekend during the pandemic.  But the circumstances are different this year – there are no pandemic capacity restrictions, shows are up and running, COVID-19 vaccines are widely available across the country and international borders are open to vaccinated travelers.  Mask mandates are again in place.

Those factors bode well for Las Vegas’ tourism economy and its chances of resembling a pre-pandemic Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

Chicago unveils 5 proposals for city’s planned casino-resort

by Richard N. Velotta

The city of Chicago on Friday unveiled a summary of five casino project proposals it will consider over the next few months as it narrows options for a single resort valued at more than $1.3 billion.

The five options, submitted in a request – for – proposal process that ended in late October, will be analyzed by a committee of 11 city departments before being submitted to Mayor Lori Lightfoot for Chicago City Council approval.  The winning bid would then go to the Illinois Gaming Board for consideration.

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GMA quoted in the Chicago Tribune

South suburban casino hopefuls don’t see proliferation of video gambling hurting their odds of success

by Mike Nolan

While video gambling has proliferated in the south and southwest suburbs, applicants for the sole casino license in the region say they don’t see the thousands of machines scattered among bars and restaurants as a threat to their proposed business.

They also said their plans already factored in a land-based casino in Chicago, which is now putting together proposals to consider.

State gaming regulators could decide by the end of the year which of the two remaining south suburban applicants will be awarded a license, having eliminated two of the four contenders last month.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

More states considering casino gambling expansion

by Colton Lochhead and Richard N. Velotta

It’s no wonder why states across the nation are in various stages of introducing some form of gaming to their citizens.

The American Gaming Association last week reported that commercial gaming revenue hit a quarterly record for the months of July, August and September and that revenue is on a record pace for 2021.

The AGA said that with $38.67 billion in revenue through the first nine months of the year, the industry has already passed revenue generated for the full year 2020 and is on pace to smash its annual record of $43.65 billion, set in 2019.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

New California sports-betting plans could add to ballot confusion

by Richard N. Velotta

Two more initiatives have been proposed for the possible legalization of California sports wagering, assuring Golden State voters will have plenty of research to do if each of the measures qualifies for the November 2022 ballot.

If Californians approve sports betting, it’ll be, by far, the largest market in the country, although analysts, including Chris Grove of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, are convinced it won’t cut into Nevada sportsbook revenue.

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GMA quoted in The Nevada Independent

Original Fontainebleau developer gets chance to finish resort a decade later

by Howard Stutz

Jeffrey Soffer has visited Las Vegas often in the 12 years since halting the Fontainebleau project when it was 75 percent completed and four months from its scheduled opening.

The chairman and CEO of Florida-based Fontainebleau Development, who walked away from the planned $2 billion development when his financing disappeared, was perplexed. He couldn’t understand why another builder didn’t finish the planned nearly 3,800-room hotel-casino project at the north end of the Strip.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

CEO Matt Maddox leaving Wynn Resorts

by Richard N. Velotta

Matt Maddox, Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s chief executive officer since Steve Wynn resigned in 2018, stunned the gaming industry Tuesday by announcing he’s leaving the company as of Jan. 31.

Craig Billings, who is CEO of Wynn Interactive and who has served as President and chief financial officer of Wynn Resorts, was named the new CEO effective Feb. 1.

The company’s board of directors unanimously requested Maddox remain on the Wynn Macau and Wynn Interactive boards through 2022. That will enable him to consult for the company during the critical concession renewal process in Macao next year.

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GMA quoted in Global Gaming Business News

D.C. Sports Betting Struggles to Find Its Footing

by Bill Sokolic

There are no casinos in Washington, D.C. There are no casinos on the horizon in Washington, D.C. The nations’ capital is bordered on one side by Virginia and on the other by Maryland, state with both sports betting and casinos, already active or in the works.

Washington does offer sports betting, however, so locals, visitors and workers can wager on their favorite teams in D.C. instead of heading north on I-95 or across the Potomac.

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GMA quoted in The Nevada Independent

A buyer’s market: Vegas Strip casinos a hot commodity

by Howard Stutz

High-profile Las Vegas Strip resorts aren’t put up for sale everyday.

Last week, however, Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, the Strip’s two largest operators with a combined 17 properties, each said they wanted to part ways with a hotel-casino.

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