3832 stories by Philip Conneller
Former Disney Top Suit Unveils Plans for Elysium City, ‘European Las Vegas’ Set in Remote Spanish Backwater
A former Disney executive plans to build a “European Las Vegas” in a remote and sparsely populated corner of Spain. This week, John Cora of California-based Cora Global showcased his plans to Spanish media for “Elysium City,” a venture that promises to...
Wynn Resorts’ New Chairman Phil Satre Opens Up on Steve Wynn and Massachusetts Suitability Probe
As the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s (MGC) suitability investigation into Wynn Resorts nears its conclusion, the company’s new chairman Phil Satre was in Boston this week to be grilled by the commission as a formality about his own suitability. The company is building...
Surprise Alliance of Leagues and Operators Emerges to Fight Threatened Intralot Sports Betting Monopoly in Washington DC
MGM Resorts, DraftKings, and FanDuel have joined forces with the NBA, MLB, and the PGA in a bid to impose shared interests on Washington DC sports betting legislation. It’s the first known instance of sports betting operators and leagues -- two groups...
Netanyahu Bribery Indictment Would Spell Headache for Casino Tycoon Packer
Israeli investigators’ bombshell recommendation on Sunday to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges will cause fresh embarrassment to the Australian casino mogul James Packer. Police believe they have enough evidence to charge Israel’s longest-serving prime minister with breach of trust,...
DOJ Designates $17 Million for Survivors of Las Vegas Shooting
The US Department of Justice has set aside almost $17 million in compensation for victims of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. The fund comes from the DOJ’s Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program and will be used to help survivors with the costs...
Genting Dragged $66 Million into the Red After US DOI Nixes Tribal Casino Project
Genting Berhad booked Q3 net losses of more than $66 million on Friday. The Malaysian casino giant largely blamed its jeopardized investment in a Massachusetts tribal casino project, which was torpedoed by the US Department of the Interior earlier this year. In...
New York Appeals Ruling That Declared Daily Fantasy Sports Illegal, But So Will Anti-Gambling Groups
The State of New York has appealed against a judge’s ruling that daily fantasy sports is illegal gambling under the state constitution, which nullified the legislature’s effort to legalize and regulate the contests in 2016. Curiously, the decision is also being appealed...
British Columbia’s Biggest Ever Casino Money Laundering Prosecution Case Falls Apart
A criminal case against a British Columbia company that police allege was a front for an underground bank that laundered drug money through the province’s casinos has apparently collapsed. Charges were filed against Silver International and two of its operators -- Caixuan...
Bludgeoned Gambling Kingpin Whitey Bulger Hoped to Die Quietly in Sleep, Per Letters to Gangster Friend
Notorious South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger may be the only person in history to have died because his health dramatically improved. The gambling and extortion kingpin who spent 16 years on the run from federal authorities was beaten to death last...
Gambler Gets Life Sentence for Punch That Killed Reno Eldorado Casino Manager
A Reno gambler who went from being just another a sore loser to a murderer in a matter of a few catastrophic minutes will spend the rest of his life in prison. Frederick Douglas Borden, 65, was sentenced to life without the...
