N.J., Feds, Sports Leagues Star in Supreme Court ‘Blockbuster’
Opposing sides are trading blows ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court case that is likely to decide the future of sports betting in America. No date for oral arguments has been set yet, but the clock is ticking.
PokerStars Readies Australian Exit
PokerStars has confirmed that it will leave the Australian market in the face of new gambling laws in the country. The company said it will close down operations in mid-September, but did not name an exact date. New laws in Australia do not make online poker legal in the country or provide a way for poker operators to be licensed. The country’s Senate passed the new gambling bill earlier this month.
PhilWeb Reinstated in Philippines
The license of Philippine gaming services provider PhilWeb will be reinstated a year after it was shut down by President Rodrigo Duterte. Founder Roberto Ongpin was a special target of the then-new president.
Microsoft Hosts League of Legends Events
Microsoft recently began hosting weekly League of Legends events at its stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia. The “ROG Arena at Microsoft Store” competitions are held in partnership with ASUS Republic of Gamers and HyperX. Microsoft already hosts similar in-store eSports events, including Counter Strike, FIFA and other games.
Fontainebleau Bought for $600 Million
The Fontainebleau (l.) wasn’t the only casualty of the financial crisis and recession that battered Las Vegas a decade ago. For sheer scale, though, it was the most garish. Now, eight years after the 68-story resort was abandoned unfinished, it’s landed a buyer that wants to complete and open it. The lead buyer, Steve Witkoff, considers it undervalued and “one of the best physical assets in the country.”
For the New Caesars, Only Two States to Go
Caesars Entertainment executives will be in Missouri and Louisiana this month to sell regulators on the complexities of the restructuring of its main casino subsidiary out of bankruptcy. If all goes well, as it did recently in Nevada, the gaming giant will be rebuilt and fully back in business by October.
Mean and Green in Boston
As Wynn Boston Harbor rises above the former Monsanto Chemical site (l.), attention turns to making the site clean and green. Contaminated with chemicals deep into the earth, remediation efforts are complete, and officials at Wynn are now trying to restore the site to its original—pre-Monsanto—condition.
Florida Regulators Watching Card Rooms
The Sarasota Kennel Club (l.) and Pensacola Greyhound Racing recently received administrative complaints regarding designated player games in their cardrooms. The games violate the agreement between Governor Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe, giving the tribe exclusivity to offer blackjack in return for $1 billion to the state over five years.
Security Tightens on Fremont Street
Anxious to prevent a motor vehicle attack like the one that recently killed 14 people in Barcelona, the Fremont Street Experience has sped up its deployment of traffic barriers, installing them around at least three junctions along the busy pedestrian walkway.
Atlantic City Tries Again to Develop Bader Field
Atlantic City has sought proposals once again to develop Bader Field (l.), its closed municipal airport—a 143-acre bayside tract—into an entertainment attraction. The city has received four proposals for the property including one from Florida developer Glenn Straub—who now owns the former Revel casino—and another to return minor league baseball to the resort.
Cuomo Threatens Senecas
Governor Andrew Cuomo (l.) is raising the stakes in New York’s revenue-sharing dispute with the Seneca Indian Nation, threatening the tribe with a competing commercial casino in its lucrative Niagara Falls market. To make matters worse, the tribe is facing accusations that it bugged an office of the state Gaming Commission.
Man Behind Maine Initiative Steps From the Shadows
The Progress for Maine PAC has formed to shepherd an initiative across the finish line on November 7, a ballot measure that will give one man, Shawn Scott (l.), the right to build a casino in York County.
