Archive for March, 2010

The general business press, obviously prompted by MGM Mirage’s licensing problems thanks to Macau partner Pansy Ho, appear to be out looking for straws. Among stories looking at Macau and organized crime is a Reuters report questioning a possible connection between Las Vegas Sands and Cheung Chi-tai, a Macau businessman allegedly tied to organized crime. Reuters said that Cheung... »

Perini Building Co. is suing MGM Mirage for $492 million in unpaid construction work for the newly complete $8.5 billion CityCenter, reported. The suit claims the CityCenter contract grew from $3.5 billion to $6.8 billion as a result of multiple design changes and project modifications, delivered by MGM more than 100 days late. MGM allegedly... »

It’s official. Missouri will seek out developers interested in acquiring the casino license now held by Pinnacle’s President Casino. The Missouri Gaming Commission set May 1 as the deadline for interested parties to write a brief description of their proposals. The commission will then discuss its next steps. So far, at least two proposals are expected – a proposal... »

State lawmakers and the Seminole Indians are close to an agreement in their long dispute, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Rep. Bill Galvano said the tribe would have five-year authorization to run blackjack tables at casinos in Broward, Hillsborough and Collier counties. Pari-mutuels would be banned from getting VLTs, being allowed slot-like allowed instant racing games instead, where bettors place... »

The Macau government plans to cap the number of table games at 5,500 for the next three years, then permit no more than a 3 percent to 4 percent increase per year in the number of tables, the Macau Daily Times reported. Any pending applications to open casinos before 2013 have been stopped, but those... »

Events moved swiftly Monday in Alabama’s civil war over slot machines with Atty. Gen. Troy King taking control of Gov. Bob Riley’s anti-gaming task force. While saying he opposes gambling, King issued a statement criticizing Riley and his task force for their raids on video bingo parlors saying they have resulted in local and state law enforcement officers... »

A bill to expand gambling at three racetracks and add three new casinos won Senate Finance Committee approval and now heads to the full Senate. The bill allows up to 17,000 slots between the six locations and table games for an additional fee. Rockingham Park and a proposed casino at Green Meadow Golf Club would pay licensing fees of... »

Maine, which now has just one slot parlor, could end up approving three full-fledged casinos. Black Bear Entertainment, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penn National’s Hollywood Slots have reached a tentative deal to put expanded gambling to a November vote, the Bangor Daily News reported. If approved by legislature, the referendum will ask voters to approve Black... »

New Macau chief Fernando Chui has given his long awaited policy speech and raised as many questions about the casino industry as he answered. Macau will honor casino projects that it has agreed to in principle, but will set up a committee to study future casino development, Chui said. That immediately brought differing reactions as Chui... »

Pinnacle has a new CEO and because of that, so does Multimedia Games, and it also may soon have a new owner. PNK has appointed MGAM CEO and Harrah’s veteran executive Anthony Sanfilippo to head the regional casino company. In turn, MGAM has promoted COO Pat Ramsey to CEO and has charged board director Stephen Greathouse with heading the... »