1979 stories by Steve Bittenbender
Virginia Gov. Northam Wants Unregulated ‘Gray Machines’ to Fund $150 Million COVID-19 Relief
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wants the state to hold off on banning unregulated gaming machines, and instead use the devices to provide a temporary revenue source for COVID-19 relief. If the General Assembly concurs, then the games of skill, also known as...
Maryland Officials Establish COVID-19 Testing Site at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore
Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore has been transformed from a thoroughbred track to a COVID-19 testing area for the residents living in the neighborhoods surrounding the historic venue. The drive-through testing, which started Friday, comes as the area is considered a hot...
Affinity Gaming, Four Winds Casinos Set Furloughs For Nearly 2,600 Workers Combined
Two more casino companies have announced plans to furlough workers, as the COVID-19 shutdown continues with affected businesses uncertain when they will be able to resume normal activity. Affinity Gaming sent a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act notice to the...
Texas Law Enforcement Clamps Down On Illegal Gaming, Dallas PD Seizes $49K in Two Days
Police in Dallas Saturday seized a total of 10 illegal gaming machines at two businesses as part of that city’s ongoing effort to remove the devices in the Texas metropolis. The actions come as law enforcement officers in the state have stepped...
El Paso Raiders? Questions Swirl About Allegiant Stadium Construction
Friday was abuzz with rumors surrounding ongoing construction at Allegiant Stadium, the nearly $2 billion venue that is scheduled to open this summer and serve as the home for the Las Vegas Raiders. Reports circulated online that construction had stopped temporarily because...
Coronavirus-Related Casino Closures Cut Millions from Indiana, City Budgets
Indiana reported its March gaming figures on Thursday. Revenues plummeted, as expected, thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak forcing the closure of the state-licensed casinos for the last half of the month. The 12 state-licensed casinos and racinos generated just $90.6 million in...
Parx to Furlough More Than 2,200 Philly Area Workers For Pandemic, Move Effective Monday
Workers at Pennsylvania’s largest casino will be temporarily laid off starting on Monday. According to the state Department of Labor and Industry, Parx Casino and Racing will layoff more than 2,200 workers at its complex in Bensalem, a Philadelphia suburb. The state...
Eldorado Resorts Furloughs Thousands of Workers, Cites Pandemic
Eldorado Resorts Inc. has started the process of temporarily laying off workers at its casinos nationwide as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The gaming company began issuing Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act notices this week to officials in...
Dana White Cancels UFC 249 After Disney, ESPN Express COVID-19 Concerns
The show will not go on. In a Thursday interview with ESPN, UFC President Dana White said he canceled UFC 249 after officials from the network asked him to stop the pay-per-view event scheduled for April 18. While sporting leagues and organizations...
Trump Investigates Why SBA Bars Casino Loans, Nevada Rep. Lee Fears ‘Countless’ Bankruptcies
President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he’d check into issues with smaller casinos not qualifying for federal small business loans that were included in the recent COVID-19 relief package. The remarks from the president, a former casino owner himself, come...
