With the help of the governor, Nevada casinos are hoping to draw back customers with the safety of vaccinated employees. Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced resort employees will have priority access to Cvodi-19 vaccines, putting them in the “Tier 1 lane.”

This puts casino employees in at the same priority as other essential workers, including government employees and teachers, but also including food-service and airport workers. Making up more than 25% of Nevada’s workforce, adding resort workers to the Tier 1 group makes that group pretty big indeed.

By prioritizing the casino industry, the hope is that Nevada’s struggling economy can make a faster recovery, something gambling officials agree with. Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resort Association, said the move will “will accelerate the consumer confidence needed to drive the visitor volume our economy depends on.” Candice McDaniel from the state Department of Health and Human Services agreed, noting the employees are “essential to our ability as a state to be healthy and to recover.”

There’s a pretty clear strategy to who’s getting vaccinated here. If a visitor can land at an airport where employees are all vaccinated, and then show up at a resort where they can dine and play with vaccinated employees, the general fear of Covid is removed. Valentine noted this offers a “significant competitive advantage” over other destinations.

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. Our Press Release section is updated constantly. We also roundup the latest slot game releases for you every Wednesday.

BetConstruct’s White Label Package to Power BetShah

The online operator BetShah integrates products from gaming and sports betting software provider BetConstruct.

If Donald Browne expected that relinquishing his position as CEO of Imperial Pacific International (IPI) might save him from being a target, he appears to have been mistaken. Browne served as the scandalous casino operator’s head honcho for about six months before stepping down when his brief contract came to an end last month. However, the company behind the Imperial Palace casino in Saipan continues to be the subject of public and political ridicule for a comedy of errors that could have been avoided, and threats of putting Browne behind bars have already surfaced. The latest warning comes from the same source, but is backed by a large and powerful federal body that is beginning to take a vested interest in how IPI runs its day-to-day operations in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Browne and IPI Chair Cui Li Jie are expected to appear before CNMI Chief Judge Ramona Manglona next Thursday, per an order she has issued. If they don’t show up, the judge is ready to issue arrest warrants for both of them. While IPI is no stranger to controversy and questionable work ethics, this time, the US Department of Labor (DOL) is involved and it’s now a whole new ballgame.

The DOL has accused IPI executives of forcing employees to work without pay for long periods of time during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as not having provided the basic necessities to its workforce. The federal agency also believes that IPI left a number of employees stranded with no way for them to return to their home countries, which the DOJ asserts has led to a humanitarian crisis. Whenever violations of humanitarian rights start to be whispered, things are getting serious.

The DOL already believes that Browne, Cui and IPI should be held in contempt for not properly responding to a previous judgment dating back to April 11, 2019. Several calls to have Browne and IPI held more accountable for what has been going on at the company have been made but, so far, threats have rung hollow with the line in the sand moving each time it has been drawn. For his part, Browne has tried to assert that he can’t be held responsible since he is no longer the CEO, but this argument would most likely fall on deaf ears. He could be given some sort of relief for having only been an IPI figurehead to appease regulators, but his argument that he was unaware of the April 2019, court order won’t hold up. He was the company’s head of security at the time and would have most likely been aware of all the negative attention IPI was receiving.

Continuing on with the theme of upcoming events in 2021, this week I wanted to focus on digital events, a schedule that is a bit more, shall we say, predictable than in-person events for the time being. 

While many of us experienced “digital event fatigue” towards the end of 2020, its important to look at the bright side of the situation. Never, ever in our gambling industry careers have we had so much information at our fingertips and in most cases, for free. Not to mention digital events are time-efficient, we don’t have to travel to another location, we don’t even have to get out of our pajamas to learn from the top experts our space. This is actually something quite special that might not continue once the pandemic is over, so take advantage while you can!

I’m sure there will be plenty more digital events popping up as the year goes on, once we have a better idea of what in-person events are going to push forward and which are not. 

Rather than list all the events in chronological order, they are grouped by organizer with short descriptions on what you can expect. 

Texas looks like it may bend to the pressure of competition, as the Governor’s office has now started putting out feelers about adopting legal sports betting. The office of Governor Greg Abbott has reportedly been reaching out to states where sports betting is legal to get an idea of how to do it, notes the Legal Sports Report.

Apparently pushed to do so by professional team owners in the state, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, and Tilman Fertitta of the Houston Rockets, Abbott’s office may have spoken with New Jersey lobbyists and regulators about how the Lone Star state can get in on the action.

“Something is going to happen in Texas,” said Bill Pascrell III, a lobbyist with the Princeton Public Affairs Group. “It’s complicated because there’s no gaming culture and nothing definitive yet. But the governor is interested and the legislature is interested.”

If Texas is serious about the effort, it’s going to take a lot of work. They would have to change gambling laws, of course, but also adopt a constitutional amendment to get it done.

The latest Super MILLION$ title has been won by Greek player Alexandros Kolonias, who hoovered up the $438,733 top prize after beating Carlos Villamarin heads-up to claim the victory.

Before the final table kicked off, plenty of money was wagered on the nine players assembled around the table, with some of the superstars in action backed to the tune of thousands of dollars despite going into play short-handed.

Here are the chipcounts heading into play: 

Place Player Country Chips 1st Alex Kolonias Greece4,179,268 2ndKevin Rabichow U.S.A. 3,987,317 3rd Carlos Villamarin U.S.A. 3,861,580 4thGleb Tremzin Russia 2,553,738 5th‘Pluto The Doggo’ Ireland 2,523,679 6thJuan Pardo Dominguez Spain 1,705,548 7thSamuel Vousden Finland 1,128,648 8th‘imjuniar’ Canada 982,200 9thMichael Addamo Australia 778,022 

Atlantic City casinos snapped their three-year gaming revenue winning streak in 2020, with an uncertain future ahead in 2021.

On Wednesday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement announced that Atlantic City’s nine casinos generated combined brick-and-mortar slots and table game revenue of $147.1m in December, a 29.5% decline from the same month last year but effectively unchanged from November 2020’s $146.6m.

December’s slots revenue was off 34.4% year-on-year to $98.4m while table games slid a relatively modest 16.8% to $48.7m. All but one casino reported year-on-year declines in December except the Hard Rock Atlantic City, which somehow managed a 1.7% improvement to $26.3m.

December’s biggest decline was at Caesars Entertainment’s Harrah’s property, which slid 52.7% to just $12.1m. Other notable decliners included the Golden Nugget ($8.2m, -42.9%), the Tropicana ($13.6m, -42.2%) and Resorts Casino Hotel ($7.2m, -41.9%). The market-leading Borgata fell 27.9% to $39.6m.

New Jersey’s online gambling and sports betting markets closed out 2020 in style, setting all-time revenue records.

Figures released Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the state’s licensed online casino and poker operators generated combined revenue of $99.45m in December, more than doubling its December 2019 total and $7.65m better than November 2020’s result.

December’s online casino operators drove the record-setting performance with revenue up 102.6% to $96.43m while online poker was up nearly three-quarters year-on-year to just over $3m, a 25% improvement from November.

For the year-to-date, total iGaming revenue came within $30m of the ONE BILLION DOLLAR mark, up 101% from 2019. Online casino did the heavy lifting, rising 101.7% to $931.5m while poker improved 85.3% to $38.8m.

An online casino launched under the radar in New Brunswick, Canada last August is being made accessible to more gamblers. Operated by the Atlantic Lottery Corp. (ALC), the site is expected to be made available to residents of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and will give gamblers in those areas the ability to place larger online wagers than ever before. The effort follows an announcement made by the company last October, when it said that it was going to push forward with expanded online gaming options to counter the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ALC has had a rough couple of years, partly due to restrictions on gambling and partly due to the coronavirus. As it struggled to gain strength, it introduced its online casino in New Brunswick last year, implementing a CAD$500 ($392.75) limit per hand on blackjack and a CAD$100 ($78) limit per turn at a slot machine. ALC had difficulty finding a decent amount of support for its online casino operations, but the revenue slide caused by COVID-19 proved to be the catalyst it needed. 

Prince Edward Island leaders have tried to keep online casinos away for over ten years, but is now reportedly more amenable to the idea, as are more governments everywhere. According to the CEO of ALC, Chris Keevill, too much money continues to be directed to offshore operators, leaving places like Prince Edward Island and others without much-needed revenue. Keevill asserts, “Offshore operators who are marketing to Atlantic Canadians really picked up steam over COVID. We don’t think that they operate with the best interests and safety of Atlantic Canadians in mind.”

ALC has had an annual initiative to try to expand its online gambling operations and has routinely asserted that a virtual casino could produce as much as CAD$80 million ($62.8 million) over a seven-year period. That figure is likely to be higher now, given the expanded attention directed to online gaming, and a significant portion of that revenue would be turned over to governments for their programs. The company has been silent on the exact amount of money it has been racking up through its New Brunswick segment, but has reportedly told Prince Edward Island leaders that they can expect up to CAD$750,000 ($589,000) in profit in only the first year of operation. That’s not too bad, considering the government had forecast a budget for the new year of CAD$2.2 billion ($1.8 billion). 

How much do you let your walls down when interacting with colleagues, superiors and direct reports? Do you keep a stiff upper lip and only reveal the depths of your personality when necessary, or are you completely transparent? For many of us, we can make the choice, and which path you chose is important.

Minter Dial recently wrote a wonderful piece on “Should You Bring Your Whole Self to Work?,” discussing the transparency scale available to all of us, and it got me reflecting on my own history with transparency in the office. And in discussing upcoming yearly performance reviews with a colleague, some of Dial’s points really started hitting home, so I thought I’d share some of my own experiences and thoughts.

In my mind, how transparent you are in the workplace largely depends on three factors: how comfortable you are letting your guard down, where you work and who you’re interacting with. Some jobs and industries require you to be more secretive, some people can’t be trusted, and some people just can’t let loose. Simple as that.

Also, there are some topics you just probably shouldn’t be transparent about. Some people have ruined their careers by proudly voicing their politics, exposing their personal lives to those with different cultural norms, or just being a bit of a weirdo. The idea of “professionalism” often doubles as a way of keeping everyone from getting a little too weird or offensives.

Calabria, Italy is about to be overrun this week. The city is going to be the site of one of the largest trials in the history of the country, with 355 people suspected of being tied to the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate ready to face a judge, according to a report by the Daily Mail. This is the same mafia that has ties to organized crime around the world, including the operation of drug trafficking outlets and illegal casinos and sportsbooks in a number of countries. It’s also the same group that is said to be linked to Wirecard, the failed payment processing company that went under after as much as $3 billion went missing last year. 

Calabria is now under siege, but not by a military force. Instead, it is overwhelmed by security personnel and police trying to keep everyone safe. The public prosecutor, Nicola Gratteri, has had police protection for over 30 years as he continued to try to bring an end to organized crime in Italy. When supposed mafia members have had to appear in court in previous years, there has been no shortage of bloodshed, with mobsters willing to murder prosecutors, witnesses and anyone else who might help send them to jail. 

Reports have asserted over the years that the ‘Ndrangheta syndicate has operated over 1,500 betting shops and around 82 online gambling sites. It has also trafficked in cocaine and illegal arms, supported a large refugee center in Europe and has no limits on what it’s willing to do to gain more power. 68 people tied to the mob were arrested in an anti-mafia raid recently, but that didn’t stop the organization, with its global reach, from being able to pick up and continue on.

This time, though, things are a little different. As the new trial is set to get underway, prosecutors have been able to find assistance from the son of one of the syndicate’s mob bosses. Emanuele Mancuso has been helped the government build its case and has been under police protection, but is still a potential target should someone look to seek revenge on him for turning his back on the family.

The iGaming NEXT: POWER Hour is back, starting 2021 with a great lineup of conversation on Friday, January 15. This monthly series of social digital gatherings is starting the year off right with four great topics nine amazing participants.

At 3:00 CEST, Green Jade Games’ Chairman Jesper Kärrbrink starts us off with an Industry update. Although he’s only slated to speak for 10 minutes, Kärrbrink always has a great perspective on the gaming industry and the world beyond it, and it could just be the best 10 minutes of your day.

Following that is a Fireside Chat on “Is Entertainment the future for iGaming? Nicola Longmuir, CCO of Push Gaming will be joined by Sam Brown, CCO of Hero Gaming, and continue iGaming NEXT Online’s look at how gambling can learn from the entertainment industry.

At 3:30 CEST, Better Collective’s Head of strategic events Sjona ODonnell will be joined by Hero Gaming CMO Scott Dodson for the Fireside Chat: “That’s entertainment! With the rise of addictive technology, how can gambling compete for consumers time in what is a largely unregulated marketplace for its competitors.” The question is right there in the title, you have to tune in to see what their answer is.

The iGaming NEXT: POWER Hour is back, starting 2021 with a great lineup of conversation on Friday, January 15. This monthly series of social digital gatherings is starting the year off right with four great topics nine amazing participants.

At 3:00 CEST, Green Jade Games’ Chairman Jesper Kärrbrink starts us off with an Industry update. Although he’s only slated to speak for 10 minutes, Kärrbrink always has a great perspective on the gaming industry and the world beyond it, and it could just be the best 10 minutes of your day.

Following that is a Fireside Chat on “Is Entertainment the future for iGaming? Nicola Longmuir, CCO of Push Gaming will be joined by Sam Brown, CCO of Hero Gaming, and continue iGaming NEXT Online’s look at how gambling can learn from the entertainment industry.

At 3:30 CEST, Better Collective’s Head of strategic events Sjona ODonnell will be joined by Hero Gaming CMO Scott Dodson for the Fireside Chat: “That’s entertainment! With the rise of addictive technology, how can gambling compete for consumers time in what is a largely unregulated marketplace for its competitors.” The question is right there in the title, you have to tune in to see what their answer is.

Resorts World Genting (RWG) will once again have to tighten its belt, as new Covid-19 related restrictions in Malaysia will force the operation to operate at reduced capacity and hours.

The resort is opting to reduce their operations due to a predicted decline in visitors between January 13 and 26, the period of a new interstate travel freeze. “With this announcement, we anticipate a decline in the number of visitors to RWG,” the resort wrote on their site. “Hence, we will be operating at a lower capacity and some of our offerings may not be available from 13 January 2021.”

“Some of our hotels, facilities, attractions and other offerings will be subjected to revised operating hours, limited availability or temporary closure. Kindly visit our website regularly for further information,” they added.”

The new travel ban was announced on January 11, following a rise of new Covid-19 infections peaking over 3,000 a day. The Movement Control Order calls for a freeze on travel between six states: Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories, Johor, Melaka and Sabah.

Online casino sights need to stay on top of the hottest slot offerings to keep up with the competition. We’ve got the newest slots released in the past week, so you can check them out and decide if you want them on your site.

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.

Relax Gaming shines with Kluster Krystals Megaclusters

Relax Gaming, the igaming aggregator and supplier of unique content, is kicking off the year with another blockbuster slot game, Kluster Krystals Megaclusters.