Over the past two weeks the CalvinAyre.com crew and I went from Las Vegas to San Francisco and covered US-facing iGaming conferences iGaming North America and GiGse, respectively.

The proximity of the dates of these two events was a concern for some and if two weeks was too long to spend out of the office, they were forced to make a choice.  For us, the proximity was a convenience as it meant one long haul flight to the West Coast from London as opposed to two separate trips, so there were certainly some pros and cons with the timing.

Next year the organizers have put some space between the two conferences with iGaming North America scheduled for April 5-7 in Las Vegas and GiGse scheduled for April 27-29 in San Francisco, so enough time to go back and forth and back and forth again for everyone.

After attending these two conferences back to back I think its safe to say they both served different purposes and the overlap was not extreme.  However, regardless of the different speakers, attendees and conference session structures, both events did inspire conversation touching on the same core hot topics in the US market.

The CEO of casino operator MGM Resorts says it’s no sweat off his back if US federal politicians succeed in passing anti-online gambling legislation.

In an hour-long interview with reporters on Wednesday, MGM CEO Jim Murren (pictured) said his company was ‘in the resort-based business, we are not in the convenience gambling business.” Murren said people come to MGM properties to enjoy “a form of hospitality and entertainment they cannot get at home and they certainly can’t get on the internet … Getting the growth of internet gaming in and of itself is not required for us to meet our growth projections.”

The US House of Representatives is currently mulling the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), which would ban all forms of online gambling, except horseracing, fantasy sports and on-premise mobile casino apps. (State lotteries are pressing for their own exemption.) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is mulling a run for president, has promised to introduce his own version of the bill to satisfy GOP sugar daddy and RAWA supporter/author Sheldon Adelson.

Should RAWA pass, MGM would not go unscathed MGM co-owns Atlantic City’s Borgata Resort Casino, which has teamed with Bwin.party (and Pala Interactive) to become New Jersey’s online gambling market leader. RAWA wouldn’t affect MGM’a highly successful social casino app myVegas, which operates in partnership with Andrew Pascal’s PlayStudios.

This is a guest contribution by Nathan Howes of Casino Kings. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

So you’re a keen gamer with a bit of cash (hopefully raised from a minimal slots or casino bankroll stockpiled from playing your favourite casino house at its own games), and you’re gaming at a mobile casino and you think, “Why can’t I access my promotions tab or account data from my gaming window?” This is the light bulb moment you’ve been waiting for. Your destiny is clear: you are going to launch your own mobile casino. But where to start?

When Casino Kings launched in November 2014 we already had a strong background in online gaming. When you see friends and colleagues gaming on their commutes and in their leisure time you don’t necessarily need to know the market research figures putting projected mobile gaming revenues up from $44bn to some $64bn this year to know that the mobile casino marketplace is a marketplace you want to trade in, or a gaming place you want to play in. But obviously it helps. 

In this week’s confessions series, Lee Davy, compares the handling of the end of Liverpool midfielder, Steven Gerrard’s contract, with Team PokerStars Pro, Jonathan Duhamel, and he’s not happy.

Steven Gerrard has been at the helm of Liverpool FC for the past decade. At the time of writing he has made 500 appearances for the club, scored 117 goals, and played for his country 114 times, scoring 21 times. He was the main reason that Liverpool won the Champions League trophy in 2005.

At the turn of the year Liverpool announced to the press that their very own Roy of the Rovers would be leaving at the end of the season. Steven Gerrard also made a statement to that fact. A few weeks later, LA Galaxy announced they had obtained his signature, and the Liverpool club captain would be moving to America in the summer.

Steven Gerrard doesn’t work for Rank Xerox. He is a star amongst stars. It’s important that the media, and his fans, were made aware of his contract position, and the in’s and outs of his impending departure.

James Mitchell wins the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour Main Event in Edinburgh after beating Colin Wu, in heads-up action, to take the £33,930 first prize.

[Image Credit: GUKPT]

James Mitchell has won the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour (GUKPT) Main Event title in the Scottish capital. He defeated Colin Wu, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of £33,930.

It was the fifth time Mitchell had appeared in a GUKPT Main Event final table. The Londoner finished third behind David La Ronde and Sam Trickett in Luton back in 2008, ninth in Walsall two years later, fifth in the Grand Final in 2011, and fourth in last seasons event in Blackpool.

UK-listed online gambling operator 888 Holdings has inked a prospective online gambling tie-up with Pennsylvania’s Mount Airy Casino Resort.

On Wednesday, eGR North America reported that the deal would be done via the All-American Poker Network (AAPN), the joint venture of 888 and hedge fund Avenue Capital, which is currently in operation in neighboring New Jersey. 888 is the only operator currently doing business in all three US regulated online gambling states, supplying technology for Caesars Interactive Entertainment’s WSOP.com site in Nevada and also for the Delaware Lottery.

AAPN executive chairman David Licht told USPoker.com that the deal had been in the works for over a year. Licht said Mount Airy’s management and ownership were “very supportive” of online gambling, which made the marriage “a very easy match.”

The AAPN deal is the third such tie-up in Pennsylvania, following the pairing of GameAccount Network and Parx Casino, plus Bwin.party’s alleged deal with an as yet unidentified casino partner.