Nevada casinos had another billion-dollar gaming revenue month in May, thanks largely to baccarat, baseball and basketball betting.

Figures released last week by the Nevada Gaming Control Board showed statewide casino gaming revenue of $1.04b, a 5.3% increase from the same month last year and a rebound from April 2018’s $953.7m, which was the first month this year that the gaming revenue total had failed to eclipse the $1b mark.

Statewide slot machine revenue was up 3.5% to $670.2m, while total ‘table, counter and card games’ revenue was up 14.5% to $373.8m.

The table gains were driven primarily by baccarat, which shot up nearly one-fifth to $120.8m, partially offsetting a 7.3% year-on-year decline over at the blackjack tables, which reported revenue of $102.7m. Roulette was down 113.2% to $31.7m while craps improved 4.9% to $31.4m. The state’s poker operations reported revenue up nearly 3% to just under $9.2m.

Gambling technology provider Playtech saw its shares tumble after issuing another warning about its black-market Asian operations.

On Monday, Playtech issued a trading update covering the first six months of 2018, stating that its performance was “broadly in line” with the results from the same period last year. Average revenue excluding Asian markets is up 7% year-on-year.

However, looking at the way H2 2018 has started, the company warned that the current run rate in Asia was “materially below” both the H2 2017 average and the average expected for H2 2018 at the start of this year.

Playtech said average daily revenue in Asia has suffered from “a particularly aggressive pricing environment from new entrants” to the Asian market. Playtech has been forced to take steps to “protect Playtech’s position in the region and to drive revenue generation.”

Dublin-based betting technology startup Banach Technology (BT) has secured some €2.2 million ($2.56 million) in enterprise funding to help expand its product development services.

BT announced that its funding round had been “significantly oversubscribed,” thanks to the generous backers who decided to punt on the company. These investors include Paddy Power co-founders David Power and Stewart Kenny, who reportedly invested some €200,000 ($232,738) and €100,000 ($116,369) in BT, respectively.

Other ex-Paddy Power executives who made a big bet on BT were former chief executive Patrick Kennedy, former chief financial officer Cormac McCarthy, and Cormac Barry, who ran the Australian division of Paddy Power until early 2018.

BT Managing Director Rob Reck said the funds they raised will be used to expand its product development services as well as hire more staff members—mostly quant mathematicians, software engineers, and product development specialists.

Australian-listed casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. has found itself in the middle of a controversy yet again, this time over special swipe cards that give its loyal customers access to poker machines without a minimum spin rate.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Victorian government had allegedly given the Aussie casino operator a special exemption allowing Crown to issue the controversial swipe cards to its loyal customers.

Anti-gambling advocates claimed that the swipe cards allowed gamblers to wager bigger and faster, since they have access to as many as 1,000 “unrestricted” poker machines that were not compliant with problem gambling-related laws.

Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz tried to downplay the issue by saying that they’re bent on reducing gambling-related harm, but she was caught flat-footed when pressed on the supposed special exemption that the government gave to Crown.

Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau grew at a moderate pace in June, much to the disappointment of gaming analysts.

Financial records showed that Macau casino GGR grew by 12.5 percent to approximately MOP22.49 billion (US$2.81 billion) last month compared with MOP19.99 billion (US$2.49 billion) in June 2017. The result was lower than the analysts’ consensus of 18 percent.

The June results brings Macau casinos’ GGR tally for the first half of 2018 stood to nearly MOP150.22 billion ($18.66 billion), a year-on-year expansion of 18.9 percent.

Gaming analysts attributed several factors behind the GGR slowdown in the last two months after a having stellar runs in April and March 2018, with international brokerage Union Gaming noting that business volumes across Macau fizzled in the last week of June.

Another round-up from the World Series of Poker as Scott Seiver wins his second bracelet in the $10,000 Limit Hold-em Championship, Joey Couden beats a dream final table to take down a PLO event, and India wins another bracelet in the tag team event.

Many things wake me up in the morning. I understand why vampires sleep inside coffins. Give me a coffin. Nail me in. I have black bags on all of my windows. The people think it’s a crack house. The sun finds a way through. Burning. Waking.

Then there’s my daughter.

2 am.

Poker pro and founder of Run It Once Phil Galfond has finally caught the bug and has launched his own vlog. Galfond made the announcement while participating in this summer’s WSOP series, with the first episode already up and ready for the poker community.

Galfond made his announcement via Twitter, saying, “We just launched the @RunItOnce YouTube channel. The first video follows my journey through the $50k Poker Player’s Championship. We’re playing around with different kinds of content. Please, let us know in the comments what kind of stuff you want to see!”

In the premiere episode, which was published on June 27, Galfond talks about his run at the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship, where he almost made it to the money before busting on Day 3. He also delves into his table draw and discusses some key strategies and hands from the first two days of action. The episode also features an intro about a personal story that involves New York and Phil Ivey.

The 33-year-old poker pro from Maryland has racked up over $2.3 million in live tournaments. He has won two WSOP bracelets—one at the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in 2008 and the second at the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball No Limit Championship in 2015. He has also been a regular fixture on High Stakes Poker on the Game Show Network (GSN) TV channel.

This past May, Genting announced that it was hoping to win a license for a casino to be built in the Spanish region of Andorra. 13 casino operators submitted bids, and Genting entered one of the highest – $164.6 million. Unfortunately, while the money was good, Genting’s construction proposal was not, and the company lost to another bidder.

Genting was disqualified from the bidding process over issues surrounding its purported ability to secure the land where it hoped to build. The company had proposed a $162.8 million, 20-story tower, and Andorra was concerned that it had not proven that the land was already secured. Genting can challenge the decision if it so chooses.

The company who won the casino rights is Jocs SA. Jocs is a company already based in Andorra that has a technology alliance with Novomatic AG, a gaming equipment manufacturer out of Austria. The proposal by Jocs would include a six-story building – of which two would be built underground – at a price of $17.5 million (€15 million).

While the decision was certainly a little disappointing to Genting, it still has other possibilities. The company currently has operations in several parts of Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, and in the US, the UK, the Bahamas and Egypt. It also operates casino cruise ships through its Genting Hong Kong subsidiary. The company plans on launching several new vessels between now and 2021.

This past May, Genting announced that it was hoping to win a license for a casino to be built in the Spanish region of Andorra. 13 casino operators submitted bids, and Genting entered one of the highest – $164.6 million. Unfortunately, while the money was good, Genting’s construction proposal was not, and the company lost to another bidder.

Genting was disqualified from the bidding process over issues surrounding its purported ability to secure the land where it hoped to build. The company had proposed a $162.8 million, 20-story tower, and Andorra was concerned that it had not proven that the land was already secured. Genting can challenge the decision if it so chooses.

The company who won the casino rights is Jocs SA. Jocs is a company already based in Andorra that has a technology alliance with Novomatic AG, a gaming equipment manufacturer out of Austria. The proposal by Jocs would include a six-story building – of which two would be built underground – at a price of $17.5 million (€15 million).

While the decision was certainly a little disappointing to Genting, it still has other possibilities. The company currently has operations in several parts of Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, and in the US, the UK, the Bahamas and Egypt. It also operates casino cruise ships through its Genting Hong Kong subsidiary. The company plans on launching several new vessels between now and 2021.

Earlier this month, Geoff Freeman resigned as the head of the American Gaming Association (AGA). The group has now selected a new CEO to steer the ship, at least until a more permanent replacement is found. Stacy Papadopoulos, who has served as the AGA’s general counsel and senior VP of industry services, will fill the shoes as interim CEO while other candidates are considered to hold the position permanently.

Freeman resigned at the beginning of the month in a surprise announcement. The 43-year-old executive decided to leave in favor of a similar position with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. He had only been in the role for about a month and a half.

Leading the selection committee for a new AGA CEO is Tim Wilmott, Penn National Gaming’s CEO. Additional committee members include Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin and Bill Lance, secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation. Lance represents the North American tribal gaming sector.

There are also several industry executives with ties to the Asia-Pacific market who are participating in the search. Among them are Mark Frissora, president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corp, Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, Trevor Croker, CEO and managing director of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. and Ron Reese, senior vice president, global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands Corp. All of the companies also have operations in Macau, and, with the exception of Aristocrat, are also interested in trying to expand into Japan once the country begins to authorize casino licenses.

Earlier this month, Geoff Freeman resigned as the head of the American Gaming Association (AGA). The group has now selected a new CEO to steer the ship, at least until a more permanent replacement is found. Stacy Papadopoulos, who has served as the AGA’s general counsel and senior VP of industry services, will fill the shoes as interim CEO while other candidates are considered to hold the position permanently.

Freeman resigned at the beginning of the month in a surprise announcement. The 43-year-old executive decided to leave in favor of a similar position with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. He had only been in the role for about a month and a half.

Leading the selection committee for a new AGA CEO is Tim Wilmott, Penn National Gaming’s CEO. Additional committee members include Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin and Bill Lance, secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation. Lance represents the North American tribal gaming sector.

There are also several industry executives with ties to the Asia-Pacific market who are participating in the search. Among them are Mark Frissora, president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corp, Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, Trevor Croker, CEO and managing director of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. and Ron Reese, senior vice president, global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands Corp. All of the companies also have operations in Macau, and, with the exception of Aristocrat, are also interested in trying to expand into Japan once the country begins to authorize casino licenses.