1979 stories by Steve Bittenbender
Senate Approves $320B in New Paycheck Protection Program Funding. Will Small Gaming Companies Get Any?
The US Senate took the first step Tuesday to extend a small business COVID-19 relief program by approving a nearly half-trillion dollar spending package. That includes more than $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The vote took place on the...
Fonner Park, Tampa Bay Downs Look To Extend Meets, As COVID-19 Delays Other Openings
The Nebraska Racing Commission (NRC) is scheduled to meet Wednesday and take up a request by Fonner Park to extend its current thoroughbred meet into next month. It comes after the Grand Island racetrack reached an agreement with the state’s Horsemen’s Benevolent...
Players Say Right Call Made to Delay 2020 World Series of Poker Amid COVID-19 Crisis
Poker players across the world are hopeful the biggest event in their game will get to take place later this year. That's after the World Series of Poker (WSOP) announced Monday that the 51st running of the famed Las Vegas event will...
Trump ‘OK’ with Nevada Casino Closure Order, But He Can See Both Sides of the Vegas Issue
During his COVID-19 briefing Sunday evening, President Trump played the middle when asked whether Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was right about criticizing Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak over his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Goodman last week lashed out at her Democratic...
BetAmerica Online Sportsbook, Casino Resume Operations Three Weeks After Cyberattack on SBTech
BetAmerica announced on Friday night that its US online sports betting and casino operations have come back, three weeks after a cyberattack in its third-party platform provider caused a shutdown. The sportsbook, owned by Churchill Downs Inc., went offline after SBTech was...
New Jersey, Pennsylvania See iGaming Take Off But COVID-19 Still Costs States Millions in March Gaming Tax Revenues
Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 outbreak caused casino and sports betting March revenues in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to crater. However, unlike most other states that allow gaming, the two Mid-Atlantic states were able to offset some of their losses through iGaming. Year-to-year...
Cuomo Extends New York COVID-19 Shutdown to May 15 as Northeastern States Coordinate Reopening Plans
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday he has extended the statewide shutdown because of the COVID-19 outbreak to May 15. The Governor looks to work with his neighbors in New England and the Mid-Atlantic to coordinate a reopening strategy. The...
Trump Administration Announces COVID-19 Reopening Guidelines, When Casinos Can Restart Remains Uncertain
President Trump on Thursday evening outlined guidelines states can use to implement a phased reopening, as the United States begins the recovery phase of the COVID-19 crisis in earnest. While the coronavirus has led to an unprecedented shutdown of the country, the...
Montana Lawmakers Score Big Win, As Small Gaming Taverns Qualify for PPP Loans
Few gaming states celebrated Tuesday’s announcement by the US Department of Treasury that officially expanded the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan initiatives for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. However, Montana’s gaming establishments certainly had reason to...
West Virginia Records Show Political Betting Approved, Then Rescinded, One Day After Initial Proposal
An open records request by a West Virginia newspaper shows that state lottery officials did indeed initially approve letting the sportsbooks offer political betting earlier this month before backtracking just hours later. The Parkersburg News and Sentinel obtained emails from the West...
