Areas of Expertise
3799 stories by Philip Conneller
Imperial Pacific Faces License Suspension, Controversial Company Owes Island Millions
Officials in Saipan are finally losing patience with Imperial Pacific (IPI). The Chinese company has, for the past five years, been building the impossibly lavish Imperial Palace Casino in the US territory in the western Pacific Ocean. Executive director of the Commonwealth...
Suffolk Downs $3 Billion RICO Case Vs. Wynn Resorts Quashed in Federal Appeals Court
A federal appellate court on Wednesday killed a case filed by the former owner of Suffolk Downs racecourse in East Boston, that accused Wynn Resorts of racketeering in its pursuit of a casino license in Massachusetts. A panel of judges from the...
Taiwan Indicts Billionaire Accused of Running Vast Illegal Online Gambling Empire
Taiwanese authorities have indicted the billionaire chairman of Taichung-based company Xinliwang International Holdings on charges of illegal gambling and money laundering. Chuang Chou-wen and 31 of his employees are accused of operating a vast online gambling empire. It comprises 532 online gambling...
Venetian Las Vegas to be Sold to Private Equity Firm Apollo Global, VICI for $6 Billion
LVS Corp has agreed to sell its flagship Las Vegas Strip property, the Venetian Resort, plus the accompanying Sands Expo and Convention Center, for $6 billion. The buyers are private equity giant Apollo Global Management, which announced the deal early Wednesday, and...
Police in India Detain Fighting Rooster for Slashing Owner to Death
Police in southern India’s Telangana state have taken into custody a fighting rooster suspected of killing its owner during a daring escape attempt. According to the New India Express, the unfortunate man was preparing the bird for a bout of cockfighting in...
Big Fish $155 Million Settlement Finalized by Federal Judge, Says Aristocrat
Australian slot machine giant Aristocrat Gaming announced to the ASX Tuesday that a US federal judge in Washington state has given final approval to a $31 million settlement of two class-action lawsuits related to its Big Fish social casino platform. That’s good...
BC Drug Money Laundering Network Had Links to Las Vegas Casinos, Commission Hears
A man suspected by British Columbia authorities of being at the center of an international drug smuggling and money laundering ring held VIP accounts at casinos in Las Vegas, as well as Macau and the Canadian province. That’s according to new details...
Betfair Ditches Champion Racing Trainer Gordon Elliott Over Shocking Dead Horse Image
Betting exchange Betfair has parted ways with a three-time Grand National-winning brand ambassador who was recently pictured sitting on a dead horse. The Flutter Entertainment-owned brand dropped Irish racehorse trainer Gordon Elliott like a ton of bricks after the image, which appeared...
Crown Perth Chair John Poynton is Latest Head to Roll From James Packer’s Staff
Crown Perth Chairman John Poynton quit Monday, the latest executive casualty of a damning money report that also criticized the ubiquity of James Packer loyalists among Crown Resorts directors. Poynton is the third representative of Packer’s private investment company Consolidated Press Holdings...
Massachusetts Sports Betting Could Help Small Businesses Hurt by Pandemic, Say Lawmakers
A bill that would authorize sports betting at Massachusetts bars, restaurants, and other small businesses made its way last week to the state legislature. Sen. Adam Gomez’s (D-Hampden) legislation is one of several sports betting bills now doing the rounds in Boston,...