MGM Resorts International on Wednesday reported its loss for the third quarter widened, however the gaming company posted improved revenue, led by its business in Macau.
The Las Vegas-based company lost $181.2 million in the three months ending September 30th compared with a loss of $123.8 million a year earlier.
Revenue rose 1% to $2.25 billion from the year-earlier quarter. The company attributed the increase to a 7% rise in sales at its Chinese subsidiary, MGM China in Macau.
The MGM China unit, which accounts for early 30% of the company’s overall business, gained approval earlier this month to build a $2.5 billion casino on the Cotai Strip, its second resort in Macau.
MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO Jim Murren said it will be a matter of months until the company breaks ground on the Cotai resort, with a completion date of three years. He didn’t believe the project would suffer from a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
“Gaming in Macau is a $36 billion to $37 billion industry today,” Murren said. “We are only scratching the surface. It’s a young market. We are helping to drive it to become a $50 billion plus gaming market.”
MGM Resorts competes with Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. in Macau, the world’s largest gambling region.
MGM Resorts’ revenues have improved over the last few years, driven by steady growth in Macau and improved figures from its Las Vegas hotels and casinos after a share downturn during the recession.
“Our third-quarter operating results are reflective of a challenging consumer environment,” Murren said. “But we had some bright spots with strong results from MGM Grand Las Vegas and The Mirage and record third quarters from MGM China and City Center.”
Murren said fourth-quarter “trends are improving at our domestic resorts and forward convention booking pace is showing growth in 2013 and is further accelerating into 2014.”
MGM Resorts, which owns a dozen casinos on the Strip and others cross the country, reported revenue at U.S. casinos increased 2%. However, room revenue was off by 3% as Strip revenue per available room declined 2% as the occupancy rate fell to 92% from 95%.
“We are still far from where we were in 2006 and 2007 in terms of spending patterns,” Murren said. “But we are getting there. The consumer is coming back to Las Vegas.”
November 01, 2012
Full Tilt Poker opens for play money
Full Tilt Poker has opened up for business again, albeit for play money but the once famous site has launched today without any PR for online players to enjoy the games prior to the real money launch on the 6th November.
Currently when going to press there were 990 players playing at the site and 13,539 tables including around 15 Rush Poker tables
Upon opening the old client players are prompted to upgrade their software before the site recommends choosing a new password. The cashier is accessible with this writer’s balance fully restored – the first time it has been viewable in 16 months.
The site is open primarily for beta-testing and has a host of new features including account pairing with PokerStars (which bought Full Tilt Poker in July 2012), double and triple chance tournaments, auto post on all tables, and preferred seat selection.
Currently when going to press there were 990 players playing at the site and 13,539 tables including around 15 Rush Poker tables
Upon opening the old client players are prompted to upgrade their software before the site recommends choosing a new password. The cashier is accessible with this writer’s balance fully restored – the first time it has been viewable in 16 months.
The site is open primarily for beta-testing and has a host of new features including account pairing with PokerStars (which bought Full Tilt Poker in July 2012), double and triple chance tournaments, auto post on all tables, and preferred seat selection.
Macau gambling revenues rise over 3% in October
Gambling revenue in Macau rose 3.2% in October year-on-year, government data showed on Thursday.
October’s revenue of 27.7 billion patacas ($3.5 billion) was the strongest revenue figure this year. Analysts had forecast growth of around 2% during the month.
Slower economic growth in China and heightened political scrutiny as the country prepares for a generational power shift have been keeping many cash-rich Chinese gamblers away from Macau’s baccarat tables.
Spending by China’s expanding middle class has kept overall gambling revenues from dropping significantly, but growth rates have fallen substantially over the past six months.
October’s revenue of 27.7 billion patacas ($3.5 billion) was the strongest revenue figure this year. Analysts had forecast growth of around 2% during the month.
Slower economic growth in China and heightened political scrutiny as the country prepares for a generational power shift have been keeping many cash-rich Chinese gamblers away from Macau’s baccarat tables.
Spending by China’s expanding middle class has kept overall gambling revenues from dropping significantly, but growth rates have fallen substantially over the past six months.
October 30, 2012
Phil Ivey to open new poker site
The specualtion about what Phil Ivey will put his name too since leaving Full Tilt Poker is over, the worlds leading name in poker whom undoubtedly had numerous offers and many thought he might join PokerStars, is launching his own poker site called “ IveyPoker.com” a site dedicated to training aspiring players in the ways of Phil Ivey.
The site is currently under construction, but already Ocotober-Niner Greg Merson has been signed-up to represent the site.
While many have speculated that the site will become a full fledged money poker room – something which there is certainly potential for it to become in the future – will currently only be a poker training site.
Ivey said in a recent interview “I think a lot of people really don’t know how to play poker, and I think this is going to be an opportunity to play with the best players in the world.”
Also joining Ivey on the site will be former Full Tilt buddies, Patrik Antonius and Jennifer Harman.
When the site will launch and exactly what it will contain is unknown, but if it’s got Phil Ivey’s name on it then it will certainly attract a lot of interest.
The site is currently under construction, but already Ocotober-Niner Greg Merson has been signed-up to represent the site.
While many have speculated that the site will become a full fledged money poker room – something which there is certainly potential for it to become in the future – will currently only be a poker training site.
Ivey said in a recent interview “I think a lot of people really don’t know how to play poker, and I think this is going to be an opportunity to play with the best players in the world.”
Also joining Ivey on the site will be former Full Tilt buddies, Patrik Antonius and Jennifer Harman.
When the site will launch and exactly what it will contain is unknown, but if it’s got Phil Ivey’s name on it then it will certainly attract a lot of interest.
Dutch coalition Government discuss sale of Holland Casino
The new Dutch ruling coalition of three political parties (the Liberal Party, Volkspartij voor en Democratie & the Labor Party) have announced their plans to modernise the gambling policies in the Netherlands aswell as reaching an agreement on the sale of the state-owned Holland Casino.
A gaming tax on land-based lottery & online gambling is in the pipeline for implementation in 2015.
Online gambling regulations will include:
Online gambling market to be legalised & regulated by the next termAn initial suggestion of a 29 percent gaming tax levied at online providers
Illegal providers currently providing services to Dutch residents to be excluded from the process
Licences withdrawn on non-payment of prescribed gaming tax
Modernisation of the Dutch online gambling policy will encompass regulation of the internet gambling, sports betting & poker sectors.
A gaming tax on land-based lottery & online gambling is in the pipeline for implementation in 2015.
Online gambling regulations will include:
Online gambling market to be legalised & regulated by the next termAn initial suggestion of a 29 percent gaming tax levied at online providers
Illegal providers currently providing services to Dutch residents to be excluded from the process
Licences withdrawn on non-payment of prescribed gaming tax
Modernisation of the Dutch online gambling policy will encompass regulation of the internet gambling, sports betting & poker sectors.
October 29, 2012
Couple ‘bet’ on mob: DA
An Arizona couple’s sports-betting software made them $20 million in licensing fees — and the mob more than $1 billion in illegal gambling proceeds, law-enforcement sources say.
Robert Stuart, 53, and his wife, Susanne, 50, accused of creating and licensing software used in illegal sports betting from California to New York, were hauled in handcuffs yesterday into a Manhattan court.
Each faces a single count of felony promoting gambling, although their company, Extension Software, licensed the software only to bookmaking operations based in Costa Rica, the Caribbean and Canada — where such betting is legal.
Susanne Stuart’s brother, Patrick Read, 53, is similarly charged. Prosecutor Michael Gates told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bonnie Wittner that the defendants made at least $2.3 million in three years — but their real haul is 10 times that, a source told The Post.
Sources say New York’s four crime families — the Gambinos, Bonannos, Luccheses and Genoveses — are among the biggest users of the software, even if they don’t license it directly from the Stuart family.
The software “allows the mob to move out of the back rooms of Bensonhurst and into offshore gambling and the 21st century,” a law-enforcement source said.
Robert Stuart, 53, and his wife, Susanne, 50, accused of creating and licensing software used in illegal sports betting from California to New York, were hauled in handcuffs yesterday into a Manhattan court.
Each faces a single count of felony promoting gambling, although their company, Extension Software, licensed the software only to bookmaking operations based in Costa Rica, the Caribbean and Canada — where such betting is legal.
Susanne Stuart’s brother, Patrick Read, 53, is similarly charged. Prosecutor Michael Gates told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bonnie Wittner that the defendants made at least $2.3 million in three years — but their real haul is 10 times that, a source told The Post.
Sources say New York’s four crime families — the Gambinos, Bonannos, Luccheses and Genoveses — are among the biggest users of the software, even if they don’t license it directly from the Stuart family.
The software “allows the mob to move out of the back rooms of Bensonhurst and into offshore gambling and the 21st century,” a law-enforcement source said.
Kambi signs sportsbook deal for regulated Belgian market
Belgian licensed betting operator Napoleon Games has selected Unibet’s B2B sports betting division Kambi to deliver a fully managed sportsbook for both web and mobile in the regulated Belgian market.
Kambi Sports Solutions CEO Kristian Nylén said the agreement to provide sportsbook to Napoleon Games, a leading operator in Belgium, further demonstrates the success of Kambi’s strategy in regulated markets.
“I am delighted that Napoleon Games has chosen to partner with Kambi,” said Nylén. “This agreement is further evidence that Kambi’s Sportsbook allows its customers to go head-to-head with industry leaders from day one and of the growing success of Kambi’s strategy in regulated markets. Napoleon Games is an experienced gaming operator and is very highly respected by Belgian players. We look forward to working with Napoleon Games in its efforts to continue be a leading gaming operator.”
Dieter Vanlerberghe, sportsbook manager at Napoleon Games added: “This deal ensures we will have a world class Sportsbook service for our customers. Using Kambi’s Sportsbook, Napoleon Games will be provided with a constantly developing Sportsbook solution that, coupled with our marketing strategy, will leave us ideally placed to attract and retain both new and existing Sportsbook customers in the Belgian market.”
Kambi Sports Solutions CEO Kristian Nylén said the agreement to provide sportsbook to Napoleon Games, a leading operator in Belgium, further demonstrates the success of Kambi’s strategy in regulated markets.
“I am delighted that Napoleon Games has chosen to partner with Kambi,” said Nylén. “This agreement is further evidence that Kambi’s Sportsbook allows its customers to go head-to-head with industry leaders from day one and of the growing success of Kambi’s strategy in regulated markets. Napoleon Games is an experienced gaming operator and is very highly respected by Belgian players. We look forward to working with Napoleon Games in its efforts to continue be a leading gaming operator.”
Dieter Vanlerberghe, sportsbook manager at Napoleon Games added: “This deal ensures we will have a world class Sportsbook service for our customers. Using Kambi’s Sportsbook, Napoleon Games will be provided with a constantly developing Sportsbook solution that, coupled with our marketing strategy, will leave us ideally placed to attract and retain both new and existing Sportsbook customers in the Belgian market.”
October 26, 2012
Illegal offshore gambling ring could hurt Nevada’s emerging online gaming industry
Just as the Internet gambling industry was building credibility in Nevada with strict regulations, taxation and reputable participants, along came Michael Lloyd Colbert.
Colbert, 32, the local Cantor Gaming sports book director and a Nevada gaming licensee, was among 25 people indicted this week in what New York prosecutors call a national illegal sports-betting ring that ran wagers through offshore Internet gambling sites.
The indictment is clearly bad news for Colbert and his co-defendants. But its effects on Cantor Gaming as a company, the sports book business as a whole and the emerging online gambling industry remain to be seen.
It could cause headaches for local people and companies entering the state’s new regulated online poker industry. That emerging sector has a dozen licensees so far with more in the approval pipeline, including giants Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts.
Any association with illegal Internet gambling by a Nevada licensee presents, at minimum, a public relations problem for online poker.
That’s partly because of online poker’s own troubled past, with cases such as the shutdown of illegal online poker operators on Black Friday in April 2011.
"Anything that doesn’t smell right is a negative for that effort," said Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor, a gaming newsletter and website for consumers.
But David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, said it’s unlikely legal online poker will be tarnished by the sports-betting scandal. That’s because the Internet is merely a tool for communication, he said, and no one would make a connection between legal online poker and illegal sports-betting if the sports bettors were using pencils and paper to execute bets.
Attorney Anthony Cabot, who chairs the gaming law group at the Las Vegas law firm Lewis and Roca, said the indictments illustrate the lack of regulation of most sports betting in the United States. Experts estimate that illegal sports betting could involve $250 billion annually. One of the purposes of legalizing online poker was to regulate and tax the common activity.
"It points to the need for greater transparency" in unregulated sports betting transactions, Cabot said.
As for Cantor Gaming, the company’s sports-betting customers likely were unaffected by Colbert’s alleged criminal activity, Curtis said. One of the key features of legalized sports wagering is that odds on games are posted publicly so gamblers can decide whether to bet and which bets to take.
That means that no matter what Colbert was up to, the lines his books posted were available for anyone to scrutinize, and those who didn’t like them could find odds they liked elsewhere, Curtis said.
Cantor Gaming now faces a public relations quandary with its seven partner casinos in Las Vegas and the potential new partners it hopes to gain as it grows locally. Still, the company should be able to continue operating successfully, as long as higher-ups weren’t involved, Curtis said.
"Right now it looks like it didn’t involve the company and he was putting out a shingle to work on his own," Curtis said.
It’s illegal for Americans to place wagers with offshore sports books but the practice continues — even in Las Vegas, where legal sports books are easy to find. It is particularly rampant among professionals or frequent bettors who want convenience and more favorable betting lines, discounts or rebates, Curtis said.
Cantor undoubtedly will face questions from regulators, even as it moves to distance itself from Colbert.
"Our investigation into this is ongoing and will involve any business holding a gaming license in the state — and that would include Cantor Gaming," Jerry Markling, chief of enforcement for the State Gaming Control Board, said Thursday.
Cantor officials said the arrests had no effect on the company's race and sports books.
"This case relates to Mike Colbert as an individual," Cantor spokeswoman Hannah Sloane said. "This case does not involve Cantor Gaming."
Cantor Gaming has aspirations to enter the Internet poker industry like many of its competitors. One of the questions the company will face is how its own internal compliance department failed to keep tabs on Colbert.
When it was considering selling stock to the public last year, a Cantor affiliate noted how important compliance with gaming laws is.
"We will be subject to disciplinary action by the Nevada Gaming Control Board or Nevada Gaming Commission if we engage in any activity or enter into any association that is unsuitable for us because it poses an unreasonable threat to the control of gaming in Nevada, reflects or tends to reflect discredit or disrepute upon Nevada or gaming in Nevada, or is contrary to Nevada gaming policies," the company said in a regulatory filing.
Colbert acted as one of the criminal enterprise's "money collector/agents'' who built a clientele of bettors for the ring, prosecutors said.
"It is alleged that the agents were the intermediaries between the bettor and the enterprise itself and were responsible for 'squaring up' or 'settling up' with the bettors — usually on a designated day each week — by collecting and paying out money owed," New York prosecutors said.
The ring allegedly collected $50 million in profits over an 18-month period.
Colbert, 32, the local Cantor Gaming sports book director and a Nevada gaming licensee, was among 25 people indicted this week in what New York prosecutors call a national illegal sports-betting ring that ran wagers through offshore Internet gambling sites.
The indictment is clearly bad news for Colbert and his co-defendants. But its effects on Cantor Gaming as a company, the sports book business as a whole and the emerging online gambling industry remain to be seen.
It could cause headaches for local people and companies entering the state’s new regulated online poker industry. That emerging sector has a dozen licensees so far with more in the approval pipeline, including giants Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts.
Any association with illegal Internet gambling by a Nevada licensee presents, at minimum, a public relations problem for online poker.
That’s partly because of online poker’s own troubled past, with cases such as the shutdown of illegal online poker operators on Black Friday in April 2011.
"Anything that doesn’t smell right is a negative for that effort," said Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor, a gaming newsletter and website for consumers.
But David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, said it’s unlikely legal online poker will be tarnished by the sports-betting scandal. That’s because the Internet is merely a tool for communication, he said, and no one would make a connection between legal online poker and illegal sports-betting if the sports bettors were using pencils and paper to execute bets.
Attorney Anthony Cabot, who chairs the gaming law group at the Las Vegas law firm Lewis and Roca, said the indictments illustrate the lack of regulation of most sports betting in the United States. Experts estimate that illegal sports betting could involve $250 billion annually. One of the purposes of legalizing online poker was to regulate and tax the common activity.
"It points to the need for greater transparency" in unregulated sports betting transactions, Cabot said.
As for Cantor Gaming, the company’s sports-betting customers likely were unaffected by Colbert’s alleged criminal activity, Curtis said. One of the key features of legalized sports wagering is that odds on games are posted publicly so gamblers can decide whether to bet and which bets to take.
That means that no matter what Colbert was up to, the lines his books posted were available for anyone to scrutinize, and those who didn’t like them could find odds they liked elsewhere, Curtis said.
Cantor Gaming now faces a public relations quandary with its seven partner casinos in Las Vegas and the potential new partners it hopes to gain as it grows locally. Still, the company should be able to continue operating successfully, as long as higher-ups weren’t involved, Curtis said.
"Right now it looks like it didn’t involve the company and he was putting out a shingle to work on his own," Curtis said.
It’s illegal for Americans to place wagers with offshore sports books but the practice continues — even in Las Vegas, where legal sports books are easy to find. It is particularly rampant among professionals or frequent bettors who want convenience and more favorable betting lines, discounts or rebates, Curtis said.
Cantor undoubtedly will face questions from regulators, even as it moves to distance itself from Colbert.
"Our investigation into this is ongoing and will involve any business holding a gaming license in the state — and that would include Cantor Gaming," Jerry Markling, chief of enforcement for the State Gaming Control Board, said Thursday.
Cantor officials said the arrests had no effect on the company's race and sports books.
"This case relates to Mike Colbert as an individual," Cantor spokeswoman Hannah Sloane said. "This case does not involve Cantor Gaming."
Cantor Gaming has aspirations to enter the Internet poker industry like many of its competitors. One of the questions the company will face is how its own internal compliance department failed to keep tabs on Colbert.
When it was considering selling stock to the public last year, a Cantor affiliate noted how important compliance with gaming laws is.
"We will be subject to disciplinary action by the Nevada Gaming Control Board or Nevada Gaming Commission if we engage in any activity or enter into any association that is unsuitable for us because it poses an unreasonable threat to the control of gaming in Nevada, reflects or tends to reflect discredit or disrepute upon Nevada or gaming in Nevada, or is contrary to Nevada gaming policies," the company said in a regulatory filing.
Colbert acted as one of the criminal enterprise's "money collector/agents'' who built a clientele of bettors for the ring, prosecutors said.
"It is alleged that the agents were the intermediaries between the bettor and the enterprise itself and were responsible for 'squaring up' or 'settling up' with the bettors — usually on a designated day each week — by collecting and paying out money owed," New York prosecutors said.
The ring allegedly collected $50 million in profits over an 18-month period.
October 25, 2012
bwin.party announce partnership with Zynga
Bwin.party has formed an exclusive partnership with social gaming provider Zynga to develop and operate real money online and mobile poker and casino services in the UK.
Under the agreement, bwin.party will deliver a solution that will include the necessary operating platform, software and related support, to power Zynga’s real money poker and casino services. These services will initially be focused exclusively on UK-based customers and will operate under bwin’s Gibraltar gaming licence.
Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the Co-Chief Executive Officers of bwin.party, said: “Today’s announcement is a further example of our success in leveraging our assets through strategic blue-chip partners.
“Zynga is the world’s leader in social games with hundreds of millions of active players and a significant player base in the UK. We are delighted to have been selected as their chosen partner for this important step in their evolution and hope to expand our relationship into other products and markets.”
The agreement will see Zynga’s real money poker players join bwin’s liquidity pool. Bwin is also developing a FarmVille game slot for Zynga’s real money casino.
The new services will be Zynga branded.
Under the agreement, bwin.party will deliver a solution that will include the necessary operating platform, software and related support, to power Zynga’s real money poker and casino services. These services will initially be focused exclusively on UK-based customers and will operate under bwin’s Gibraltar gaming licence.
Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the Co-Chief Executive Officers of bwin.party, said: “Today’s announcement is a further example of our success in leveraging our assets through strategic blue-chip partners.
“Zynga is the world’s leader in social games with hundreds of millions of active players and a significant player base in the UK. We are delighted to have been selected as their chosen partner for this important step in their evolution and hope to expand our relationship into other products and markets.”
The agreement will see Zynga’s real money poker players join bwin’s liquidity pool. Bwin is also developing a FarmVille game slot for Zynga’s real money casino.
The new services will be Zynga branded.
Cantor Sports Director arrested
The Sports Director for Cantor Gaming & Sports Book Manager at the M Resort, Michael Colbert, was arrested Wednesday on a out of state arrest warrant, according to the Clark County Detention Center.
Mr Colbert, 32, was booked into jail Wednesday, with a hearing is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Monday.
A Nevada gambling regulator said a total of eight Las Vegas area residents have been arrested in a New York City police investigation of illegal bookmaking and money laundering.
Gaming Control Board enforcement chief Jerry Markling said beside Colbert, the seven others are not involved with Cantor Gaming. A Cantor spokesman said the case doesn’t involve the company. A company spokeswoman said the company had no comment on Colbert’s arrest.
All those arrested faces enterprise corruption, money laundering and conspiracy charges in New York, Markling said.
Colbert has been the public face of Cantor Gaming since the company arrived to Las Vegas more than three years ago. He served as the sports book director at the M Resort, Cantor’s first property, from the day it opened in March 2009.
The M sports book found immediate, unprecedented success under Colbert’s watch. By offering the highest limits in town and an expanded betting menu that included Las Vegas’ first-ever in-running wagering, it became ground zero for the biggest bettors in Las Vegas.
Cantor grew from there and currently operates sports books at six other casinos — the Venetian, Palazzo, Palms, Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock and Tropicana.
Mr Colbert, 32, was booked into jail Wednesday, with a hearing is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Monday.
A Nevada gambling regulator said a total of eight Las Vegas area residents have been arrested in a New York City police investigation of illegal bookmaking and money laundering.
Gaming Control Board enforcement chief Jerry Markling said beside Colbert, the seven others are not involved with Cantor Gaming. A Cantor spokesman said the case doesn’t involve the company. A company spokeswoman said the company had no comment on Colbert’s arrest.
All those arrested faces enterprise corruption, money laundering and conspiracy charges in New York, Markling said.
Colbert has been the public face of Cantor Gaming since the company arrived to Las Vegas more than three years ago. He served as the sports book director at the M Resort, Cantor’s first property, from the day it opened in March 2009.
The M sports book found immediate, unprecedented success under Colbert’s watch. By offering the highest limits in town and an expanded betting menu that included Las Vegas’ first-ever in-running wagering, it became ground zero for the biggest bettors in Las Vegas.
Cantor grew from there and currently operates sports books at six other casinos — the Venetian, Palazzo, Palms, Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock and Tropicana.
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