News

GMA quoted in Forbes

Nevada Records Another $1 Billion Month, But Las Vegas Plods Through A Cautious Recovery

by Will Yakowicz

Nevada recorded $3.462 billion in revenue from its casinos during the second quarter of 2021, making it the largest quarterly gaming win in the Silver State’s history – a signal that the gambling industry is in recovery mode.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state collected $1.2 billion in gambling revenue in June, the fourth consecutive billion-dollar month and a 14.6% increase over June 2019.

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

Nevada orders indoor mask mandate in high-transmission areas

By Mary Hynes

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak imposed a new mandate Tuesday that requires everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear masks indoors in public places in counties with high rates of COVID-19 transmission, including Clark County.

The governor’s directive aligns with a new recommendation earlier in the day from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The directive includes a three-day grace period that gives businesses and residents until 12:01 a.m. Friday to comply.

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GMA quoted in the Nevada Independent

Indy Gaming: Las Vegas left behind as Sands charts future in Macau, Singapore and online

by Howard Stutz

Las Vegas Sands is on its way to becoming just Sands.

the pending $6.25 billion sale of the Venetian, Palazzo, Sphere entertainment project and Sands Expo and Convention Center, announced in March, is expected to close later this year or in early 2022.

The transaction ends the company’s presence on the Strip that began in 1989 when the late Sheldon Adelson acquired the Rat Pack-era Sands Hotel for $110 million.

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GMA quoted in the Wall Street Journal

Chicago Casino Would Be a Costly Bet, Gambling Operators Say

by Katherine Sayre

Chicago leaders are searching for a company to build the city’s first casino, but big gambling operators are concerned that the government’s plans will be too costly to make the project feasible.

The city is calling for a megaresort with hotel rooms, meeting space and a surrounding entertainment district, according to a request for proposals issued in April.  Chicago is hoping a caisno will aid its underfunded pensions, said city officials.

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GMA quoted in CDC Gaming Reports

NIGA Tradeshow: Cashless gaming burgeoning due to pandemic

by Buck Wargo

It took a worldwide health crisis, but cashless gaming has emerged and casinos, including tribal operations, are lining up to embrace the new technology their customers are seeking.

Panelists representing three digital-wallet providers presented an optimistic outlook for the continued frowth of cashless gaming as they spoke to tribal casino executives at the Indian Tradeshow & Convention in Las Vegas.

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GMA quoted on SportsHandle.com

Digital Sports Betting May Not Look Like Stakeholders Thought It Would In Arizona

by Jill R. Dorson

When online sports betting goes live in Arizona, it might not look the way some stakeholders thought it would. While tribal interests believe they’ll be able to offer digital wagering in their casinos and on their reservations, the latest compact amendment doesn’t clearly allow for mobile wagering on a reservation outside of a casino building, and state regulators say they will geofence tribal lands, meaning that digital platforms from outside of a reservation will not be available within the boundaries of a reservation.

Up to 350,000 Native Americans live on reservations in Arizona, including more than 150,000 in the Phoenix metro area.  In a state with a population of about 7 million, those tribal residents represent 5% of the population.

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GMA quoted at MassLive.com

College sports betting, esports, diversity mandate: Here’s what’s in the Massachusetts House’s sports betting bill

by Steph Solis

The Massachusetts House on Thursday passed a sports betting legalization bill, backing wagers on collegiate sports, esports and fantasy contests.

Lawmakers spent six hours reviewing 28 amendments before approving the bill, 156 to 3.

A Boston legislator’s efforts to offer professional sports teams a shot at sports betting licenses didn’t get a vote.  Instead, lawmakers passed an updated version of Rep. Jay Livingstone’s amendment to study on whether the teams should be able to apply for licenses.

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GMA quoted in USBets.com

Could California Add Sports Betting Without A Ballot Referendum?

by John Brennan

The California State Constitution clearly forbids the establishment of commercial casinos without a laborious process that includes requiring approval of a ballot initiative by voters to amend the state’s guiding document.

But must legalization of sports betting face those same hurdles?

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GMA quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal

Nevada gaming regulators will enforce Clark County mask mandate

by Colton Lochhead

Clark County’s mandate for employees to wear masks while in crowded indoor space also will apply to casinos, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said Wednesday.

When the board issued a notice to the gaming industry in May announcing the lifting of all applicable COVID-19 restrictions starting in June, “it did so knowing that the pandemic would be an evolving emergency for the foreseeable future, and that local jurisdictions would act in the best interests of their constituents,” gaming board Chair J. Brin Gibson said in a statement.

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GMA quoted in CDC Gaming Reports

NIGA Convention and Tradeshow mask policy

by Buck Wargo

A day after a Los Angeles County health official encouraged his residents not to travel to locales with rising COVID-19 infections, like Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Health District today recommended both unvaccinated and vaccinated people wear masks in crowded indoor public spaces, including casinos.

The release prompted the National Indian Gaming Associated to announce that mask-wearing will be mandatory for everyone when it hosts the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention Monday through Thursday at the Caesars Forum Convention Center.  Previously, NIGA announced mask wearing was required only for the unvaccinated – although vaccination status would not be checked – and masks were encouraged for the unvaccinated.

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