Monthly Archives: January 2015

Genting Jeju grand opening; South Korea approves casino cruise legislation

The newly renovated casino at South Korea’s Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel will have its official grand opening on Sunday (18). The hotel is run by Hong Kong-listed property developer Landing International Development Ltd while the casino is owned by Grand Express Korea Co. Ltd., the 50/50 joint venture of Landing and the Hong Kong subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

The casino, which will operate under the Genting Jeju brand, will feature 26 baccarat tables, one blackjack table, one Tai Sai table, one roulette table and 16 electronic gaming machines. Landing says the casino “opens a new phase of the Group’s presence and participation in the Korean casino industry.” In December, Landing paid $112m to acquire control of the Alpensia casino at the Holiday Inn Resort in Pyeongchang in Gangwon-do province.

The $117m renovation of the Hyatt property was announced in November, marking the second project Landing has embarked upon in the Jeju region with a Genting subsidiary. Landing and Genting Singapore are still awaiting the regulatory nod to proceed with their proposed $2.2b Resorts World Jeju integrated resort, although the partners are optimistic their shovels will break ground sometime in Q2.

SOUTH KOREA CRUISE SHIP CASINOS ARE GO

Meanwhile, South Korean politicians have approved legislation to permit domestic cruise ship operators to offer casino gambling on board their vessels. On Monday, the National Assembly approved a bill that will allow casinos on ships weighing more than 20k tons, bringing closure to an issue that has been languishing in the Assembly since July 2013. As with 16 of South Korea’s 17 casinos, cruise ship gaming will only be accessible by foreign tourists.

The New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) opposition party had been against the bill over fears of gambling expansion. The Korea Herald reported that the NPAD’s support was finally secured after the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to approve legislation authorizing damage payments to the families of the victims killed in last April’s Sewol ferry tragecy.

Little League Coach Avoids Jail in Illegal Poker Game Case

Justin Doyle was one of 15 men arrested in 2011 for taking part in a series of high-stakes illegal poker games in Staten Island, New York. And while the idea of an illegal, underground poker ring brings images of crooked gamblers and mobsters to mind, the group of defendants consisted of several people with admirable […]

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California Online Poker Bill to be Amended

When California Assemblyman Mike Gatto introduced an online poker bill last month, he indicated at the time that AB 9 was being offered as a starting point and that changes would be required before the final version was achieved.

The first amendments to AB 9 have been announced via press release and Gatto has decided to scrap the idea of requiring in-person appearances for initial deposits and certain withdrawals. That provision in Gatto’s proposal received considerable criticism and the lawmaker showed his flexibility by nixing the idea.

Q:After meeting with security experts and hearing from poker players and industry professionals, I have concluded that online poker would be best served by making in-person registration an option rather than a requirement,” Gatto said.;

Gatto’s initial thoughts were that the anti-online gambling crowd who are concerned about fraud, money laundering and minors accessing gaming sites would be appeased by the in-person requirement. He has since apparently become convinced that he was perhaps trying to fix a problem that exists only in the minds of those who oppose online poker and gambling.

Louisa County Bus Driver Wins $1 Million Lottery

One million dollars was awarded Friday to a local man who picked all the right numbers in the January 10th Virginia Lottery drawing. Charles Houchens, a Louisa County bus driver, matched the winning numbers 6-8-10-25-26 last Saturday night and was originally supposed to win $100,000…but thanks to a gold million-dollar Money Ball, that prize increased to $1,000,000.

High-rollers’ share of Macau 2014 revenue falls to 60.5%

High-rolling gamblers accounted for just 60.5% of Macau casinos’ overall gaming revenue in 2014, down from 73% in 2013. Figures released on Friday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) showed VIP revenue of MOP 212.54b in 2014, down 11% from the previous year. Macau reported an overall revenue decline of 2.6% in 2014, the first annual decline since the special administrative region began releasing financial data in 2002.

Were it not for respectable showings in H1 2014, the VIP decline would have been much worse. Figures for the fourth quarter show VIP revenue down 29%, mirroring December’s record-setting 30.4% overall revenue decline. Macau’s seven-months-and-counting revenue slide is primarily the result of VIPs giving Macau a wide berth so as not to get caught in the headlights of China’s crackdown on corruption.

On the plus side, Macau’s mass-market sector (including slots) saw its revenue rise 13.7% in 2014, despite a 16.2% revenue decline in Q4. Slots revenue all on its own nudged up a mere 0.4% to MOP 14.4b in 2014, just 4% of the overall revenue pie.

The number of gaming tables in action in Q4 was 5,711, down 39 units from Q4 2013. The ranks of active slots fell by 88 to 13,018 machines.

Revenue from ‘live multi-game’ tables – which seat dozens of mass-market gamblers and utilize live dealers and electronic bet settlement – earned MOP 2.26b in 2014, which seems a pittance but represents a 51.7% gain over 2013’s total.

Macau’s greyhound and horseracing revenue experienced a downturn in 2014, falling 18.5% and 16% respectively. The 2014 FIFA World Cup helped boost Macau Slot‘s football sports lottery sales up over 29% to MOP 598m while basketball sales fell 8% to MOP 138m despite a nearly 15% rise in betting turnover.