Monthly Archives: May 2015

Slots operator offers NagaCorp $40m non-refundable fee just to talk

Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp says an investor has agreed to pay $40m just to enter into negotiations on opening a slots operation at the NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh.

In a filing this week with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NagaCorp said CMC Phnom Penh Import Export Co Ltd had expressed interest in setting up an electronic gaming business in a designated area on NagaWorld’s ground floor for a prescribed period. In exchange for simply opening negotiations on this proposal, CMC has agreed to pay a non-refundable fee of $40m.

CMC is owned by “a group of independent Chinese businessmen” who were referred by China Central Asia Group, the company that built NagaWorld and is also serving as turnkey contractor for the Naga2 property being built in NagaWorld’s shadow.

Union Gaming Research said the space CMC was looking to occupy currently holds 300 slot machines operated by Best Merit, whose concession expires at the end of this year. CMC’s $40m negotiation fee would serve as the traditional upfront payment for such deals, with NagaCorp keeping about 70% of future revenue from the machines. Union Gaming suggested the deal could push NagaWorld’s slots revenue “materially higher,” given that CMC is likely to bring in newer machines than Best Merit’s, which are “among the oldest on the floor.”

Scientific Games interactive revenue rises 52% in Q1

Gaming and lottery technology supplier Scientific Games Corporation (SGMS) saw revenue rise 70% in the first full quarter of contributions from its $5.1b acquisition of rival Bally Technologies.

Overall revenue in the three months ending March 31 rose to $656.7m from $388m in the same period last year. Operating income swung from a $12.1m loss last year to a gain of $18.1m. However, acquisition- and integration-related expenses resulted in a net loss of $86.4m for the quarter, nearly twice the $45m lost in Q1 2014. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted earnings more than doubled to $252.1m.

The Bally acquisition had a dramatic effect on SGMS’ gaming segment, which reported revenue up 161% to $426m (services up 148% to $238m and product sales up 178% to $188m). Bally operations contributed $286.7m to the gaming segment’s total.

The lottery segment saw revenue fall 4.1% to $186m, thanks to a 35% decline in product sales and a 9% fall in services revenue. The quarter saw SGMS break off talks to run the Turkish national lottery with its local partners, which had won the 10-year concession last July. The consortium couldn’t arrange the necessary funding, causing Turkey to award the concession to the runner-up bidder ERG-Ahlatçı.

Nevada Judge Deciding If Sands Case Will Proceed

Listen Live Welcome to NewsRadio 100.5 KXNT! NewsRadio 100.5 KXNT is dedicated to being the dominant information and talk source for Las [] CBS Sports Radio 1140 and 100.5-2 FM HD2 CBS Sports Radio 1140 and 100.5-2 FM HD2 7255 South Tenaya Way Suite 100 Las Vegas, NV 89113 Business Office: 702-889-7300 Business Fax: 702-889-7373 Maureen Pulicella, General Sales Manager, 702-889-7566, [email protected] Kyle Helmick, Promotions & [] LAS VEGAS – A Nevada judge will decide if a wrongful termination case against Las Vegas Sands Corp. can proceed nearly five years after it was first filed.

Peter Erskine to step down as Ladbrokes Chairman; Smurfit Kappa CEO eyes Paddy Power chairmanship

Ladbrokes chairman Peter Erskine has announced that he is to step down from his position this year, with the search for his replacement now underway.

Senior non-executive director John Kelly will lead the search Erskine’s successor while he works with the board to ensure a smooth transition once a new candidate is identified.

Erskine has served as chairman and non-executive director of Ladbrokes since 2009. Prior to working with Ladbrokes, he was the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications firm O2.

He also held senior positions with BT, UNITEL and Mars, and currently serves as a director of Telefónica.

Pfizer to compensate Parkinson’s patients over gambling and sex addictions

Judge Jennifer Davies of Victoria’s Federal Court delayed the settlement approval between Pfizer and patients who developed gambling, sex and shopping addictions as a side effect of drugs for Parkinson’s disease.

Around 172 patients took Pfizer’s drugs Cabaser and Dostinex to treat quivers associated with Parkinson’s disease or restless legs syndrome between 1996 and 2010 and have linked these drugs to risk-taking behaviors and addictions.

Patients claimed to have gambled using their entire life savings, after taking the drugs despite not having pre-existing gambling problems.

The claimants also argued that Pfizer was careless in selling the drugs to health care professionals and patients, as it does not provide sufficient warnings despite knowledge of the potential side effects.

Sportsbettingchamp.com founder pleads guilty in illegal gambling operation case

Tony Chau, founder of sportsbettingchamp.com and author of Exterminator Sports Betting System, has pleaded guilty in federal court for running an illegal gambling operation and hiding more than $1.5 million from the IRS.

A math geek with an intense passion for sports and statistics Chau founded his first sports betting system The Sports Betting Champ in 2007, published under the name “John Morrison.”

Chau/Morrison acted as an affiliate for the bookmaker BetOnline. He stated in his blog that this affiliation allowed him to negotiate great deals with sportsbooks (extra deposit bonuses, extra redeposit bonuses, higher betting limits) for his customers. As a US citizen, this got him into legal trouble and his domain was seized by homeland security.

According to a plea agreement unsealed on Thursday, Chau operated the now-closed sportsbettingchamp.com with help from offshore sports books in Costa Rica and Panama, which do not have Nevada licenses.

More Probable Than Not Observations on Deflategate and Other Sports Trends

By Terry Lyons @terrylyons @TheDailyPayoff

After four months of speculation, accusation and humiliation, the National Football League via an independent investigation came down from their Park Avenue mountaintop to decry, in a 243-page report, “that it is more probable than not” that New England Patriots QB Tom Brady and two locker room attendant/ball boys were involved and aware of circumstances involving the improper deflation of footballs used in this year’s AFC Championship football game.

With that in mind, I thought it might be useful to examine a few other occurrences that might be “more probable than not.”

First, regarding the football game in question: Because of the 45-7 score in favor of the Patriots, it is more probable than not that the slightly deflated footballs utilized by the Patriots had no bearing on the outcome of the game. However, it is more probable than not that they helped inflate the number of fantasy points accrued by RB LaGarrette Blount.

With the report conducted by Ted Wells and a team of lawyers from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison coming down and the NFL soon to dole-out punishment, it is more probable than not that back-up QB Jimmy Garoppolo will be starting when the NFL season kicks off with the Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game on September 10th.

Leading up to that date, it is more probable than not that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will no longer be quoting Mona Lisa Vito.

Away from football, it is more probable than not that basketball fans raised their eyebrows when Madison Square Garden boss Jim Dolan hired Isiah Thomas to be the president and co-owner of the New York Liberty. It is also more probable than not that Bill Cosby will not be a WNBA owner.

In boxing, it is more probable than not that a few million fans who purchased the Mayweather-Paquiao pay-per-view for $99 will be stupid enough to do it again if there is a rematch.

In hockey, it is more probable than not that viewers will change the channel from a playoff hockey game unless Emmy Award winning play-by-play man Doc Emrick is calling the game.
http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2014/05/listen_amazing_doc_emrick_soundboard_lets_you_hear_all_of_legendary_nhl_announcers_quirky_phrases.html

It is also more probable than not that I would never look to CNBC or USA Network for a Stanley Cup playoff hockey game.

Along those lines, for some reason, I have tabbed TruTV as a favorite on my remote, but I haven’t watched a minute of TruTV other than NCAA March Madness.

It is more probable than not that most of the NBA’s postseason awards will leak to the media before they are officially announced by the league. Similarly, it is more probable than not that the NBA Players Association will screw-up their own version of postseason awards.

It is more probable than not that the NCAA will intervene and put a stop to open, free transfers of graduate students. And, it is more probable than not the NCAA will not care when there is significant backlash from the players, err, student-athletes.

It is more probable than not that, after David Letterman and Jon Stewart retire, the funniest late night tv act will be the NBA on TNT’s Ernie, Shaq, Kenny and Charles.

It is more probable than not that the NBA will ignore the problem of “Hack-A-DeAndre Jordan” and just let the trend play out.

It is more probable than not that NBA reporters will not bring up what might be in James Harden’s beard.

It is more probable than not that Tim Duncan will be playing next April 25th, on his 40th birthday.

Heading into The Players Championship, the fifth major so-to-say, it is more probable than not that Tiger Woods will not catch Jack Nicklaus or … Wilt Chamberlain.

It is more probable than not that LA Clippers reserve power forward Big Baby Davis will never be mistaken for the Royal baby.

And now for some serious predictions:

It is more probable than not that American Pharoah will not win the Triple Crown, but I like his chances.

It is more probable than not that the Stanley Cup Finals will involve teams that no one cares about.

It is more probable than not that Golden State will win the NBA championship, and I like their chances even more than American Pharoah’s.

And lastly, it is more probable than not that there are already too many candidates for the 2016 Presidential election.