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Reporter: Steve Bittenbender

Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019.

Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News.

Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk.

Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.

Areas of Expertise

1982 stories by Steve Bittenbender

Prairie Meadows

Mask Mandates Spreading as Prairie Meadows Casino, EBCI Venues Take Action

As the delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, more places are starting to follow Nevada’s lead and make masks mandatory in indoor places. It’s not just governments making the call, either, as some casinos are going ahead on...

Steve Bittenbender July 31, 2021
Cayuga tribal gaming

Cayuga Nation Wins Federal Appeals Ruling On IGRA vs Local Law

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Cayuga Nation could operate a Class II gaming parlor in Union Springs, NY. The ruling stems from a conflict between the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and a local anti-gaming ordinance on the books...

Steve Bittenbender July 30, 2021
Masks Back in Vegas

Las Vegas Area and Most of Nevada Under Mandatory Mask Order Starting Friday

If you find yourself in a Las Vegas casino later this week when Thursday night turns into Friday morning, you better have something other than Lady Luck with you. You better have a mask. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday signed an...

Steve Bittenbender July 27, 2021
Reno-Tahoe airport

Fuel Shortage at Reno-Tahoe Airport Sparks Concerns from Nevada Leaders

Nevada officials issued a statement over the weekend saying they are concerned about the possibility of a fuel shortage hindering flights in and out of Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), US Sens. Jacky Rosen (D) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D),...

Steve Bittenbender July 25, 2021
Stella sentencing

Chicago Cop Gets 15-Month Federal Sentence for Role in Illegal Sportsbook

A Chicago police officer will spend 15 months in federal prison for his role in organizing an illegal sports betting operation. That was the sentence Nicholas Stella received on Thursday from US District Judge Virginia Kendall. In April, Stella entered a guilty...

Steve Bittenbender July 25, 2021
Las Vegas masks

Hawaii, Illinois Advise Against Visits to Las Vegas, Cite Delta Strain

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Las Vegas, officials in more jurisdictions are starting to advise their residents to either wear a mask when they go to the Nevada resort mecca or hold off on making a trip there for the...

Steve Bittenbender July 23, 2021
Caesars Superdome

Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Caesars $138M Superdome Naming Rights

Lawmakers in Louisiana on Thursday approved a deal that gives Caesars Entertainment naming rights for 20 years to the Superdome in New Orleans. Not long after the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget approved the deal at its meeting in Baton Rouge,...

Steve Bittenbender July 22, 2021

Rhode Island Teamsters Cry Foul as Casino Valets, Drivers Await Twin River Recall

A Teamsters union official says more than three dozen valets and drivers have been off the job for way too long, and wants their Rhode Island casino employer to bring them back. The workers were officially laid off from Twin River Casino...

Steve Bittenbender July 21, 2021
Cuomo Bully

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Losing Reelection Support, Casino Owner Calls Him a ‘Bully’

In a Wall Street Journal article posted Wednesday, casino and racetrack owner Jeff Gural made it clear how he felt about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Gural is one of the former contributors to Cuomo’s campaigns interviewed in The Journal article. The...

Steve Bittenbender July 21, 2021
Clark County Mask Mandate

Las Vegas Area Casino Workers Must Wear Masks After Clark County Passes Ordinance

Starting Wednesday at midnight, employees whose positions require them to work inside with the public in Nevada’s largest county – including Las Vegas area casinos – will need to wear a mask while on the job. That’s after the Clark County Commission...

Steve Bittenbender July 20, 2021