The decline is relentless. It was in late March that Brean Capital put its reputation on the line and made a bullish call on Macau stocks. It had a $174 target on Wynn from $132. Wynn is now at $114, nearly cut in half from its highs. It called for a $65 target on Las Vegas Sands from $56. LVS is now trading below $52. A $27 target on MGM from $22.60, now trading at $19.30. Finally, it had a $31 target on Melco Crown (MPEL) from $23, and Melco is trading at $19.75.

That’s a batting average of 0. All of its bullish calls have declined, with the most damage being done by MGM at a loss of 14.5%, and its best call, comparatively, being LVS, down only 7.5%. Full disclosure, in my commentary on that bullish call, I said Wynn and LVS were headed down though a cautionary hedge may be warranted, MGM was safe to buy on dips only, and Melco was OK to go long but to keep your eye on system financial trouble. I was wrong on Melco and MGM.

It could be that Brean was just trying to unload a few positions on the four stocks it was calling to go up, in which case it succeeded on all four of them. Either that, or it has egg on its face and its clients are pretty upset. I would tend to think these calls were all fake, because firms like Brean can get clients by simply publishing their annual returns instead of pinning themselves to specific stock calls and even more meaningless “targets”. They don’t have to stick their necks out in order to get business. They simply have to make the right calls and keep them private, and word will spread. So I would say Brean succeeded here in fooling those who follow “targets” and unloaded their Macau stocks on unsuspecting retail investors.

The troubling thing though is that all four of these stocks, including Melco which was most surprising, simply continued to tank despite heavily oversold conditions. While Melco’s Q1 profit fell 75% year over year, it’s not that itself that is surprising. Rather, it’s that despite expectations of earnings declines, which should normally put in bids under stock prices, Melco just kept falling. Its newest resort City of Dreams Manilla only added $2.9M to its earnings, which is just a drop in the bucket compared to its flagship property City of Dreams Macau. This should remind us all of how massive Macau is, and that expanding to smaller markets does not make up for those losses.

Crown Resort’s rival over a Sydney casino Echo Entertainment claimed that James Packer’s casino resort in Barangaroo is legally flawed.

An assessment done by Wentworth Selborne Chambers on behalf of Echo said that the modifications “would be open to judicial review proceedings in Class 4 of the Land and Environments Court’s jurisdiction.”

Crown Sydney Chief Executive Rowen Craigie said that the move is a “blatant” tactic to delay development.

“I consider this to be a blatant misuse of the planning process by The Star Casino to try and protect their existing monopoly and delay much needed competition into Sydney’s VIP gaming market,” Craigie said.

Inspired Gaming launches its Virtual Sports products in Nigeria, across Surebet247 retail venues via a satellite TV feed.

Surebet247 has over 1,900 betting shops and has launched nine of Inspired’s Virtual Sports and games – horses, dogs, cars, speedway, cycling, tennis, football, roulette and keno—to its 1,100 retail outlets while 800 outlets will go live later this year.

“Nigeria is one of the fastest growing sports bet markets in EMEA. The introduction of our Virtuals will help Surebet247 to capture more player demand for betting entertainment products, due to the high frequency of the events, which can be scheduled for every three minutes,” said Inspired SVP Virtual Sports Steve Rogers. “Inspired’s Virtuals have become renowned for being a market-leading product due to the quality of graphics, range of sports and bet markets, and the flexibility of the technology. In addition, we were swiftly able to meet Surebet247’s needs across its entire estate by delivering content via our satellite TV feed.”

Surebet247 CEO Sheriff Olaniyan added, “We are thrilled with the performance of Inspired’s Virtuals. We looked in detail at all the Virtual Sports products on the market and Inspired’s proposition was head and shoulders above its competitors – especially its Virtual Football product, which is already going down a storm with our players. “

Jason Wheeler wins the World Poker Tour Amsterdam High Roller, after beating the British pro, Jack Salter, in heads-up action, to take the first prize of €125,000.

Jason Wheeler has won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Amsterdam High Roller, parlaying a €6,000 investment into a €125,000 score, after beating a field of 52 entries in the Holland Casino.

Interestingly, Wheeler shouldn’t have even been playing in the event. As described on Facebook a few hours before he sat down to play heads-up for the title.

“What a bizarre world we live in. I prepare myself mentally for two months, and physically for the last two weeks, to play SCOOP’s online. Then I see a great High Roller tournament in the Holland Casino, and I love playing there, so I hop in after three hours sleep, and end up skipping the entire online Sunday I had prepared so long for and instead tomorrow I play heads-up for the trophy and 140 usd.”

Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia), regarded as the premier and huge Asian trade event and regional sourcing platform for global gaming and entertainment products, is back and will be held on May 19–21 at the Venetian Macao.

This year will also mark the inaugural edition of a three-day competition All Asia Dealer’s Championship, designed to show the “best performing and outstanding casino dealers in Asia.”

The competition is to be held in an arena style set-up within the G2E Asia Exhibition floor for a “spectator sport” effect, drawing the crowds to cheer for their favorites.

Teams comprised of three dealers from properties all around Asia will compete in three games: Baccarat, Roulette and Blackjack. Croupiers will use the same equipment they deal with on a daily basis at their respective properties to maintain an even field.