3704 stories by Philip Conneller
Mobster Joey Merlino Pleads Guilty to Avoid Retrial, Offers More Sports Betting Advice
Philadelphia Mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino appeared in court on Friday to plead guilty to a charge of illegal gambling. The guilty plea will help the dapper don avoid a retrial in a racketeering case that ended up with a hung...
Blackstone Group Acquires Spanish Gaming Giant Cirsa
US private equity fund the Blackstone Group is to acquire Spain’s largest casino and bingo hall operator, Cirsa. The two companies announced the deal in a joint press release on Friday, and, while exact terms were not disclosed, Cirsa’s asking price was...
Paris 2024 Organizers in Talks to Bring Esports to the Olympics
Organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics are said to be “deep in talks” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the inclusion of esports as a demonstration sport at the Games, according to the International Esports Federation (IeSF). Last year, it was...
Majority of Americans Favor Legal Sports Betting Despite Possible Integrity Issues, Says Poll
The majority of Americans are in favor of betting on games legally, according to a new sports betting poll by Seton Hall University’s Sharkey Institute, although most respondents also believed a regulated betting market would impact the integrity of sports events. Some...
Tribal Casinos Subject to US Labor Law, Rules Federal Court
Tribal operators cannot disrupt unionizing on casino properties, said a federal court Thursday, the culmination of a case that pitted the scope of tribal sovereignty head-on against the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth...
Mandalay Bay Struggles for Occupancy Post-Vegas Shooting, Admits MGM, As It Revises Revenue Forecast
MGM Resorts International’s Mandalay Bay is taking longer than expected to recover from the Las Vegas shooting, the company’s CEO Jim Murren told analysts during a Thursday conference call to discuss Q1 earnings. Murren said the property’s revenue declined by 6.3 percent...
Crown Resorts Fined AU$300,000 for Slots Tampering
Australia’s Crown Resorts has been dealt the biggest fine in its 25-year history after it was found to have practised “button blanking” on 17 of its slot machines at its flagship Melbourne casino. The regulator for the Australian state of Victoria, VCGLR,...
Osaka Casino Up and Running by 2023 Despite Hurdles, Says Governor
Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui is confident that his city will have Japan’s first integrated resort up and running by 2023 – or 2024 “at the latest” – should it be chosen as one of three host regions for the new casino market....
Florida Lawmakers Abandon Special Session on Gambling Expansion
Florida lawmakers have abandoned the idea of a convening a special session to craft a deal on expanded gambling and will instead leave it all in the hands of voters in November. It may have been the last chance the legislature will...
Land in Sight for Louisiana Riverboat Casinos as State Senate Passes ‘River to Shore’ Bill
On Tuesday, the very day that the Horseshoe Southern Indiana was granted permission by the Indiana Gaming Commission to move its operations onto dry land, hundreds of miles south the Louisiana Senate was approving a bill that would also propel its own...
