Monthly Archives: June 2015

Casinos are improving their efforts to fight money laundering, Treasury official says

The gaming industry’s fight against criminals who want to use casinos to disguise illegal money was front and center Thursday at the Paris resort. There, industry leaders and government officials gathered for a conference that addressed how casinos are handling their obligations under anti-money-laundering law.

Macau casino revenue headed for five-year low; Galaxy Macau Phase 2 underwhelms

Macau casino gaming revenue in the month of June could fall to its lowest level since 2010, according to a top government official.

On Thursday, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said June’s casino gaming revenue total could fall as low as MOP 16b (US $2b), more than MOP 4b lower than May’s total. Leong told reporters that the past four or five years had seen an average 20% drop in gaming revenue between May and June and there was no reason to suggest a similar pattern wouldn’t occur this year.

In April, Macau’s government warned that it could run a fiscal deficit if monthly gaming revenue dipped below MOP 18b. On Thursday, Leong said a MOP 15.7b total this month would bring the year-to-date monthly average down to MOP 20b. While the government is preparing “retrenchment measures” to handle the shortfall, Leong insisted that cuts to social and medical services, public sector salaries and public construction projects weren’t in the offing.

Leong’s warnings are all the more disappointing considering the late-May opening of Galaxy Macau’s Phase 2, the first new mega-resort to open in Macau in three years. This week, Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) reported that business at the new venue had been “satisfactory, but not as good as we expected.”

Phil Ivey And Tom Dwan (Kind Of) Promote Six-Plus Hold’em

Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan, both high stakes legends in their own right, appear to have found a new poker variant to satisfy their competitive urges. Known as Six-Plus Hold’em and seemingly an innovation coming out of Asia, the new game is, according to the two pros, “more exciting” and filled with a lot more […]

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Russian bookmakers protest gov’t plan to tax bettors’ winnings

Russia‘s bookmakers are protesting their government’s proposal to tax sports bettors’ winnings.

Russia is in the process of regulating its online sports betting market and its most recent draft decree was published in May. The Ministry of Finance’s latest proposal calls for bettors to be exempt from a 13% betting tax provided their winnings total less than RUB 4k (US $74).

But Russian bookmakers point out that the tax would apply if a player’s winnings top RUB 4k at any point during an as yet undetermined period of time – believed to be a calendar year – regardless of whether a player’s overall betting activity results in a net loss during this period.

Oleg Zhuravsky, president of the First Self-Regulatory Organization of Russian Bookmakers, told Bookmakersrating.ru that both bookies and bettors were opposed to the tax plan. Zhuravsky called the proposal “a complete misunderstanding” of the betting process that would only encourage bettors to seek out internationally licensed betting sites.

PokerStars and Morongo Get On Board with Californians for Responsible iPoker Coalition

Californians for Responsible iPoker is the latest effort that’s brought together PokerStars and the Morongo tribe to finally push legal online poker in the Golden State. The launch of the advocacy group, which includes a website, will be devoted to the establishment of “a well-regulated iPoker market in California will protect the state’s poker-playing consumers, […]

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Paddy Power ditches ad agency BMB after only three months, hires Lucky Generals

Irish betting operator Paddy Power has dumped its advertising agency just three months after handing them the job.

In March, Paddy awarded its £20m creative account contract to Beattie McGuiness Bungay (BMB) following a four-month competitive pitch. At the time, Paddy’s head of brand Paul Sweeney said he couldn’t wait to see “how much trouble we can get into” with its new agency while a BMB exec called the deal “a marriage in mischief.” Followed, apparently, by a divorce in disappointment.

On Friday, CampaignLive revealed that BMB was out and Lucky Generals, which has worked with the Paddsters on special projects since 2013, was in. BMB CEO Juliet Haygarth told Campaign that Paddy’s new marketing director Gav Thompson “arrived at Paddy Power on Monday and, by the end of the week, he had moved the account to Lucky Generals.”

Paddy Power issued a statement saying it was “very grateful to BMB for their work over the past three months and wish them well for the future. We have partnered with Lucky Generals on several exciting projects in the past and look forward to teaming up with them once again on our next campaign.”

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas bids farewell to its famed hotel bar

It’s an end of an era at Center Bar , the lively bar overlooking the casino floor at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas , as it closes on June 28. “Center Bar is, and always will be, an important part of our Hard Rock Hotel & Casino family,” said Jody Lake, chief operating officer for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “It’s the end of an icon but the beginning of a new and exciting era on property.”

Draft Kings Seeks Licensing in Great Britain?

By @TheDailyPayoff
Indications are that Draft Kings, the Avis to Fan Duel’s Hertz status in the daily fantasy (DFS) sports arena, is looking to expand oversees, as previously indicated by the organization last December.
Bigo1 mentioned yesterday on Twitter https://twitter.com/Bigo1_/status/611200132080627712 and then Legal Sports Report followed up last night with a full report http://www.legalsportsreport.com/1765/draftkings-uk-license-application/ that Draft Kings had filed an application with the UKGC for the necessary licenses to operate in the United Kingdom.
Legal Sports Report also posted a copy of the application, which apparently seeks approval for gambling software and pool betting.
The move opens up much conversation about the future of DFS on whether it constitutes gambling, and whether Draft Kings is looking at gambling as a business. It also poses the question on if this is true, how Draft Kings’ strategic move be addressed by rival Fan Duel.

PKR names Neil Alexander new CEO, exits “particularly difficult’ French market

Three-dimensional online poker operator PKR has appointed a new CEO and announced the closure of its French market site.

On Friday, PKR announced that former MyLotto24 and LottoNetwork managing director Neil Alexander would replace Malcolm Graham, who left the company earlier this year after nearly a decade at the helm to take a VP role at mobile gaming developers Gametech. Alexander also spent six years with online betting operator Sportingbet.

In other PKR news, the company has decided to shutter its French-facing online poker site. An email sent to PKR affiliates claims the “particularly difficult” French market is “no longer viable for PKR.” The company exited the Italian market last October, citing similarly difficult market conditions.

The company says it made the “difficult decision” to close its French-facing site “to refocus our efforts on the rapid growth of www.pkr.com for the rest of 2015 and beyond.” PKR.fr will cease accepting new players as of June 22 before the site closes for good on July 22. The closure follows similar moves in the past three weeks by MyJoaPok and ACFPoker.

WSOP Day 24: Doug Polk Grabs Lead in $10K NLH Six-Handed Event

Doug Polk has made a million as we head into WSOP Day 24. Not dollars (yet), but chips he’s amassed to put him in the lead for the $10K NLH Six-Handed event now going into the Final Table. The World Series of Poker was host to a wide range of action on Thursday, from Hold’em […]

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American Pharoah’s Next Run in NY or NJ?

By Terry Lyons, Contributing Columnist, The Daily Payoff
@terrylyons

The suspense is killing me. When will American Pharoah run? Just tell me, please, when and where.

The horse racing world is abuzz this week as fan speculation on the whereabouts of Pharoah’s next race is being fueled by a considerable amount of old-fashioned lobbying.

Since thoroughbred owner Ahmed Zayat’s initial statement two days after The Belmont Stakes, the odds-on favorite for the Triple Crown winner’s next race was The Haskell at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. However, a June 18th social media posting by Zayat turned the racing world upside down when the horse owner cryptically tweeted, “right know Saratoga is in the lead. Head of Haskell.” (sic).

That post might have the folks at TVG, known as America’s #1 online horse wagering and TV network, scrambling for a PR flack re-write as the broadcaster had previously issued a press release, complete with Betfair odds on Pharoah’s next run, which stated:

4-to-5 – August 2 – Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park (NJ)
4-to-1 – August 1 – Jim Dandy Stakes, Saratoga (NY State)
4-to-1 – August 22 – TVG Pacific Classic, Del Mar (San Diego, California
7-to-1 – August 29 – Travers Stakes, Saratoga
16-to-1 – September 26, Awesome Again Stakes, Santa Anita
20-to-1 – August 29 – Mystic Lake Derby, Canterbury Park (Minnesota)
20-to-1 – September 19 – Pennsylvania Derby, Parx (Bensalem, PA)
33-to-1 – September 26 – Jockey Club Gold Cup, Belmont (New York)
10-to-1 – “The Field” also known as Any Other Race

“American Pharoah won the nation’s heart when he crossed the finish line at the Belmont Stakes to end the 37-year wait for a Triple Crown champion,” said Kip Levin, CEO of TVG. “His time in the spotlight is hardly over, however, as he is expected to hit the track once again. The real question on everyone’s mind is, ‘Where will he race next?’”

As American Pharoah was shipped from Kentucky to California for a “promotion and appearance” at Santa Anita, the speculation swung from Monmouth to Del Mar to Saratoga over a 24-hour span.

“I’m intimately involved with all the goings on,” said Dennis Drazin, advisor to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, to Stephen Edelson of the Asbury Park Press. “It’s a lot of money. But at the end of the day, what I would say is that (trainer Bob) Baffert is a top horseman, and regardless of the money, you have to do the right thing for the horse. And the right thing for the horse is to run at Monmouth Park against straight 3-year olds. You don’t want to attack older horses at this point.

“The ultimate goal is the Breeders’ Cup Classic and you have to plan for him getting to that race,” said Drazin to the APP. “The Haskell, although it’s not a walkover, it’s the right kind of race. It’s straight 3-year olds on a track he’ll love. Baffert’s been a winner seven times (at The Haskell).”

Immediately after the perfectly-timed Zayat social media post, the twitterverse exploded with further speculation and Drazin declined comment to his Asbury Park pundit.

American Pharoah is now looking at his non-racing public appearance at Santa Anita in California for the track’s Gold Cup day on June 27. Importantly, the colt’s breeding rights have already been secured by Ashford Stud in central Kentucky’s bluegrass country and his stud fees will range between $175,000 and $200,000, placing a conservative $17.5 million for annual fees, according to numerous published reports.

The plan for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Ahmed Zayat will remain secret as they field requests from “all kinds of tracks,” according to Baffert. Last weekend, American Pharoah returned to Churchill Downs, site of the colt’s Kentucky Derby win, and was applauded by 30,000, just for a stroll in the park.

“We won’t know for a few weeks,” said Baffert to the Asbury Park Press. “We want to do what’s best for American Pharoah, not what is best for the racetracks.”

Certainly, what is best for all, including the Triple Crown winner, is to continue to fuel interest in the sport of kings while his keepers fuel speculation and keep the industry in the national news. But, as they decide what is best, the victims of that campaign might just be race track ticket buyers who scramble for admission and attempt to make their summer travel plans, whether it be to Monmouth, Saratoga or maybe, Del Mar,

For more information on the TVG press release on Odds:
https://www.tvg.com/press-releases/63866