Penn National Gaming (PNG) managed to close out 2020 on a positive note, reporting a net income for the fourth quarter. That’s an improvement on 2019’s Q4 net loss, but still feel behind analyst expectations.

PNG’s net income came in at $12.7 million, or 7 cents a share. That resulted off of revenue of $1.027 billion, and improved on the $92.9 million loss of Q4 2019.

While total revenue was down from the $1.341 billion of 2019, cost cutting helped result in black at the bottom of the report.

The company’s West segment, which consists of the Tropicana and M Resort in Southern Nevada, Cactus Pete’s and Horseshu in Jackpot on the Nevada-Idaho border, Ameristar Black Hawk in Colorado and the Zia Park Casino in New Mexico, reported $79.5 million in revenue, down from $158.1 million for 2019. For the year, West segment revenue was $302.5 million, down from $642.5 million.

Circa Resort, the new, massive casino property in Las Vegas that just opened last December, has had its crime cherry popped. It now joins the ranks of all the other casinos in Sin City that have had to deal with crime, but, like everything else Circa does, this incident is unique. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a naked woman has been arrested after she broke into the venue’s fire control room and started shutting off the power to various pieces of equipment.

28-year-old Alissa Neeley was a guest at the Circa earlier this week when she concocted her unusual claim to fame. At around 9:30 Monday night, she was ordered off the property for walking around the hotel in nothing but her birthday suit and for entering rooms that were off-limits to everyone but hotel staff. Approximately 30 minutes after her mandatory exit, the property lost power to its casino, hotel and parking garage. At first, there was no obvious connection between the power outage and the former guest, but that soon changed.

Given that the Circa is a new property, it wouldn’t be surprising to have an occasional glitch, so a maintenance worker went to investigate. What he found were bent control switches, disabled wires and, beside all that, a naked Neeley sitting on a chair in the control room. Security was called and put in handcuffs, apparently still naked, as everyone waited for Las Vegas Metro Police to arrive.

Neeley was taken to the Clark County Detention Center and booked before being let go on her own recognizance. She is charged with “theft of a fire prevention device” and ordered to stay away from the resort. There was no work on whether she was ordered to wear clothes when she’s in public.

The last quarter of 2020 brought some good news for Wynn Resorts, despite having to continue to deal with COVID-19. The company’s Wynn Macau operations saw an improvement in adjusted property EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) that saw it land back on the right side of zero. The figure was in the red in the third quarter, coming in at -$112.1 million, but Wynn turned things around and posted a positive adjusted property EBITDA of $39.4 million for the final quarter of the year. This was due, in part, to a greater focus on the premium mass gambling segment, a move that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. 

The latest figures were made available through a company filing this week, in which Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox pointed out that improved travel and reduced COVID-19 restrictions helped with the recovery process. In addition, the premium mass segment gave the rebound “particular strength,” while VIP and mass-market gaming improved, as well. The quarter’s mass-market table drop was $1.29 billion, six times higher than the previous quarter, and VIP turnover from table games improved almost at the same rate, coming in at $4.58 billion. Still, both figures were nowhere near the number Wynn Macau had seen a year earlier, before the coronavirus upended Macau.

The improvement in premium mass action was possible due to a shift in operations across the last six months of 2020. Wynn realized what was going to drive its growth and began implementing changes that would allow it to focus better on the premium mass segment. Maddox explained in the company filing, “It’s crystal clear that the growth drivers for Macau are really the sweet spot for our company, and that’s the premium segment, premium mass in particular.” He added, “The premium segment did better than the core mass segment – it was not down 50 percent as the overall mass was. We do not need 50,000 people a day walking through our facilities to get back to our EBITDA target. We require significantly less people because we cater to the higher-end customer … We are targeting that segment. We think we are going to get more market share in the premium-mass segment than we have in the past.”

Wynn had predicted last year that VIP gambling was likely to take a hit as it began to shift gears. However, the changes don’t reflect a complete move away from the segment. The company knows that it still needs to give its high rollers a lot of attention and has indicated that it already has a number of whales ready to descend on its Macau properties during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday period next week.

The Americas

Gambling laws are changing in the U.S., with DraftKings set to feature in the Superbowl ads. DraftKings have picked up a couple of sports to highlight sports gambling; Online poker continues to make a comeback in the U.S., with Michigan set to legalise online poker. The Great Lakes State will be the fifth state to greenlight the return of online poker in the U.S. Former MGM Resorts boss Jim Murren continues to be busy in the casino industry. His company Acies Acquisition Corp continues to play a key role in the Playstudios merger; Rod Ratcliff, the former CEO and chairman of Spectacle Entertainment faces the loss of his casino license. The Indiana Gaming Commission launched an investigation into allegations of election tampering in 2015; The body of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa may have finally been found. Two Fox journalists have followed a story, believing the body of Hoffa may be located in a landfill in New Jersey.

Europe

Polish bookmaker Totolotek SA is closing its retail betting operations. Totolotek announced that it would close 116 of its retail betting points of sale in Poland from March 31 due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russian online sports operators continued to support local sporting bodies in record amounts. The First Self-Regulatory Organization of Russian Bookmakers announced a 60% increase in member contributions over 2020; The UK Gambling Commission has unveiled a host of changes set to bite into online casino revenue. Online slots are in the crosshairs of the regulator, as they look to improve safety measures; Ladbrokes has been fined by the Advertising Standards Authority in the U.K. Ladbrokes ran an ad for an on-demand video service and found strong opposition from the U.K. Gambling Commission;

Ed Pownall looks ahead with an Industry-based Eye on the Superbowl, Draft Kings & Ladbrokes’ dalliance with the suits.

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UK gamblers doubled their use of internationally licensed online operators over the past year or so, according to a new survey by their UK-licensed rivals. 

On Thursday, the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) issued a 66-page report that attempts to quantify the state of ‘unlicensed online gambling in the UK.’ The report (viewable here) was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and builds on the findings of a similar report issued one year ago. 

The report involved an online survey filled out by 2,363 active UK online gamblers in late-2020. These punters were queried on their awareness, usage of and spending with ‘unlicensed operators,’ as well as their motivations for seeking out these ‘unlicensed’ ruffians. 

Before we go further, we must point out that the report notes that it wasn’t interested in “UK licensed operators serving gamblers in foreign jurisdictions without a license.” Apparently, even acknowledging that the UK Gambling Commission-licensed online white knights behave abroad much like the UK-facing international rogues they so despise would tarnish their otherwise gleaming armor. But we digress…

The battle to win the ugliest heads-up duel in poker history is over. Doug Polk trounced Daniel Negreanu over 25,000 hands of poker and won $1,200,000 after their heads-up game ran the longest session of the series to close out the drama.

Polk had been pegged back just a fortnight ago after Canadian poker legend Negreanu won $390,000 in a single session – the biggest amount either man won in the months long epic poker duel. But it was the younger man who eventually sealed the win with a mammoth victory of his own, stunning Kid Poker to the tune of over a quarter of a million dollars across the biggest number of poker hands played in one session.

As Polk himself announced on Twitter:

Session: +$255,722 over 1718 hands

There are many good games on offer in the English Premier League this weekend, with a full programme of fixtures.

We start our look at some sportsbetting value at Old Trafford, where the last game saw nine goals, all for the home side.

Manchester United vs. Everton (Saturday, 8pm GMT kick-off)

Saturday night’s game features two sides in good form, as United host Everton under the lights in M13. Carlo Ancelotti’s side won 2-1 at Leeds United in their last game and have continued to bounced back after every stumble this season. As a result, they would be in the top four if they have played and won their two games in hand and are a dangerous side for the Red Devils to face.

The latest example of poker on screen isn’t a glitzy Hollywood movie or a stylish cameo to bulk out a gangster film. It’s not a tournament or cash game highlights show, either.

Smile, produced by Norwegian filmmakers Kari Wåle and Linn Amundsen, is a documentary that follows the last steps of Thor Hansen’s journey in poker and in life itself. Diagnosed with incurable cancer, Hansen’s prolonged battle against the disease took in the making of the film and it one of the single most fascinating films you’ll ever watch.

It goes without saying that Thor Hansen is a poker legend, but the two-time WSOP bracelet winner is also a hero to Norwegians who play the game and it’s not hard to see why in a documentary where Hansen, despite the impossible battle he faces, is constantly smiling.

While the jovial Norwegian has not yet made his way into the Poker Hall of Fame, it is an induction that surely will come in time. He’s impossible not to like, not only because of his infectious lust for playing poker (“I’ll be playing on my deathbed, you guys can bring cards!”) but his humility and acceptance of his fate.

Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) out of Los Angeles, California, has been around for almost 22 years and has had its hands in the casino industry for much of that time. It served as a holding company for Peninsula Gaming, which was sold to Boyd Gaming nine years ago for $1.45 billion, and is behind Bossier City’s DiamondJacks Casino & Hotel in Louisiana. COVID-19 forced the property to shut down in May of last year, but P2E wasn’t ready to give up on Louisiana’s casino industry. It wants to build a new property in Slidell, just outside of New Orleans, but there’s a problem. Bossier City is in Caddo Parish on the northern border of Louisiana, while Slidell is in St. Tammany Parish in the south. 

In Louisiana, casino licenses are issued by the parish, not the state. As a result, P2E, led by CEO Brent Stevens, would have to first receive approval by state lawmakers, who would authorize (or deny) a request to put a measure on the ballot in St. Tammany Parish. Then, local residents would have to approve (or deny) the request if it were to make it to the ballot. After that, state gaming regulators would have to approve the relocation of the license, provided voters had agreed, as well as approve any development plans. 

Even if lawmakers agree to allow the ballot measure to appear, P2E has a battle ahead. Years ago, St. Tammany Parish voters found a casino gambling measure on the ballot, which they were quick to deny. Just under two-thirds of the voters rejected that measure in 1996; however, were more supportive of sports gambling last year. A sports gambling measure that appeared on the ballot in November found 67% of the voters approving the possibility of sportsbooks coming to the parish.

Slidell is about 35 minutes to the northeast of New Orleans, just over the 5-Mile Bridge. If Stevens and P2E are able to gain the support needed, the new venue would potentially be a $250-million resort close to Lake Pontchartrain and the Lakeshore Marina. It would offer the casino and a hotel with 250 keys, but no information about other amenities have been provided. While it’s possible that COVID-19 might make parish voters more amenable to the idea of a casino, as has been seen elsewhere, Stevens has to realize the uphill battle he’s about to fight.

Don’t count Wynn Resorts out of the Japanese Integrated Resort (IR) competition just yet. The casino operator denies reports that they’ve abandoned the hunt, while a European operator is reported to be cutting back on their own efforts.

“Wynn Resorts continues to closely monitor the integrated-resort situation in Japan and views the country as a strong potential market,” Wynn told the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Wynn was bowing out of a potential Yokohama bid, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still interested in Japan. It’s just Yokohama has too many issues, they write:

“While Wynn’s positive pursuit of an IR development in the country is undiminished, it will not be participating in the upcoming request-for-proposal process by the City of Yokohama, because there is not yet clarity regarding the post-COVID-19 international IR market nor the definitive national basic policy to meaningfully update our previously submitted plans and to complete, with the necessary detail, the documents published by the city.”

In the fast-moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements from the gambling industry. Our Press Release section is updated constantly, and we publish roundups of the latest partnerships twice a week.

Evoplay Entertainment showcases leading credentials with EveryMatrix

Supplier signs with one of B2B gambling’s most prominent players

The U.K.’s battle with the gambling industry continues to show how far regulators will go to push gambling into dark corners that no one would want to visit. The U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) is implementing policies and regulations that will severely handicap operators, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is always willing to take a stab at the industry. All it takes is for one person to lodge a complaint about a gambling operator’s ad, and the ASA is ready to put the company in front of a firing squad. While there may be some ads that have crossed the lines, the latest attack, this one against sports gambling giant Ladbrokes, shows how petty the ASA can be. 

Ladbrokes ran an ad on on-demand video services that was introduced last October. In it, several individuals were seated at tables in a café using the Ladbrokes mobile app to place their bets. The commercial cuts to show a live horse race with a voiceover asserting, “Come starter’s orders. I’m a bag of nerves,” as the camera pans to the man’s shaking leg. That nervousness was enough for the ASA to assert that Ladbrokes was “socially irresponsible” with its ad, and the advertising watchdog slapped it on the wrist, as well as the wallet. 

It’s absurd to think that there could be a link between nervousness and “social irresponsibility.” Most individuals would be nervous when placing bets, regardless of the size, and some people get nervous just reading the menu at Starbucks. Ladbrokes isn’t happy about the situation, either, and said in a statement, “[We did] not believe the ad depicted socially irresponsible behaviour because the man was not shown placing a bet nor indeed talking about gambling.”

The operator has support from several marketing industry insiders, including Clearcast, which oversees commercials that are put on commercial TV in the U.K. It asserts that, because the man wasn’t presented as an individual obsessed with gambling, and was still aware of his surroundings, the ASA might be reaching too far. Channel 4, a U.K. broadcaster, agrees, arguing that it fails to see how the ad could be viewed as causing emotional, financial or social harm.