The casino gaming device supply business got a little more concentrated this week after Austria’s Novomatic announced a deal to acquire a majority stake in Australian rival Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT).

The sale came after AGT founder and principal shareholder Len Ainsworth (pictured) decided to sell his 172.1m shares in the company, which amounted to 53% of AGT’s share capital, at a price of $2.75 apiece, for a total consideration of around $473m.

AGT will hold an extraordinary general meeting within the next three months to seek formal approval of the deal. Assuming shareholders and regulators find no reason to block the sale, Ainsworth will stay on with AGT as chairman, and AGT’s existing board and management teams also aren’t going anywhere.

In its H1 earnings report covering the six months ending Dec. 31, 2015, the ASX-listed AGT reported revenue of AU $142m, up 27% year-on-year. AGT has a strong position in Australasia and the Americas, with the latter markets a chief engine of AGT’s growth. North America accounted for $43m of AGT’s H1 revenue and Latin America added $37m, representing year-on-year gains of 42% and 64%, respectively.

With the professional grinding community becoming more and more disillusioned by the changes made at PokerStars, Lee Davy reminds everyone that choice remains the sole propriety of the beholder.

In my short career as a poker writer, only two of my stories have reached the front cover of a print publication magazine. One of them was an interview with the late Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot. The other was a story about the incredible career of Dusty ‘Leatherass’ Schmidt.

At the time of the Schmidt article, he was one of the most talked about grinders of his generation. His graph had a profile that wouldn’t look out of place in the Himalayas. The community drooled over his work ethic, attitude and skill. He wrote two successful books: Treat Your Poker as a Business, and Don’t Listen to Phil Hellmuth, and PokerStars hired him to become their latest Team Online pro.

Cue the stormy reprise of Black Friday.

With the professional grinding community becoming more and more disillusioned by the changes made at PokerStars, Lee Davy reminds everyone that choice remains the sole propriety of the beholder.

In my short career as a poker writer, only two of my stories have reached the front cover of a print publication magazine. One of them was an interview with the late Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot. The other was a story about the incredible career of Dusty ‘Leatherass’ Schmidt.

At the time of the Schmidt article, he was one of the most talked about grinders of his generation. His graph had a profile that wouldn’t look out of place in the Himalayas. The community drooled over his work ethic, attitude and skill. He wrote two successful books: Treat Your Poker as a Business, and Don’t Listen to Phil Hellmuth, and PokerStars hired him to become their latest Team Online pro.

Cue the stormy reprise of Black Friday.

The team behind the World Series of Poker has revealed the full schedule for the 2016 event in Las Vegas. There will be 69 events; the Big One for One Drop is not one of them.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has released the full schedule for their 47th iteration of the greatest poker tournament series in the game, and there is one event that’s inconspicuous by its absence.

The $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop has become one of the most exciting tournaments introduced in recent times. We have witnessed it twice. It was due to be held a third time this year. It’s not on the schedule.

But chill.

The team behind the World Series of Poker has revealed the full schedule for the 2016 event in Las Vegas. There will be 69 events; the Big One for One Drop is not one of them.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has released the full schedule for their 47th iteration of the greatest poker tournament series in the game, and there is one event that’s inconspicuous by its absence.

The $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop has become one of the most exciting tournaments introduced in recent times. We have witnessed it twice. It was due to be held a third time this year. It’s not on the schedule.

But chill.

Kara Scott has joined the team at 888Poker as an ambassador, and 888Live Local returns for a second season – the first event will be held at Aspers, Stratford March 3-6.

Kara Scott has joined 888Poker as an ambassador. Scott has close to $700,000 in live tournament earnings but refers to herself as a poker enthusiast and not a professional poker player.

It’s not Scott’s first affiliation with an online poker room. She spent close to five years working as an ambassador for partypoker. Scott left at the end of 2014.

A few months later, Scott joined the Italian tournament organisers Tilt Events alongside her husband, Giovanni Rizzo. Her role at Tilt was as a consultant and brand ambassador. Scott resides in Italy.

Kara Scott has joined the team at 888Poker as an ambassador, and 888Live Local returns for a second season – the first event will be held at Aspers, Stratford March 3-6.

Kara Scott has joined 888Poker as an ambassador. Scott has close to $700,000 in live tournament earnings but refers to herself as a poker enthusiast and not a professional poker player.

It’s not Scott’s first affiliation with an online poker room. She spent close to five years working as an ambassador for partypoker. Scott left at the end of 2014.

A few months later, Scott joined the Italian tournament organisers Tilt Events alongside her husband, Giovanni Rizzo. Her role at Tilt was as a consultant and brand ambassador. Scott resides in Italy.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts took a beating in its fiscal H1 thanks to the continued challenges facing its Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture.

On Thursday, Crown handed in its H1 report card, which showed net profit falling 22% to AU $205m (US $147.5m) in the six months ending Dec. 31. The struggling Melco Crown was fingered as the culprit, as Crown’s share of the Macau casino operator’s H1 profits fell 89% to $9.4m.

Crown’s shares tumbled nearly 10% on the news – the biggest single-day decline since 2008 – but CEO Rowen Craigie chose to emphasize the “solid” performance at the company’s domestic resorts, which saw ‘normalized’ revenue – so-called because it helps smooth out high-roller variance – rise 4.2% to $1.7b.

The domestic gains came courtesy of a nearly 10% rise in main floor gaming revenue, which offset a 3.8% decline in VIP turnover. Craigie called the latter number a “reasonable outcome” given “the depressed nature” of the Asian VIP gaming market.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts took a beating in its fiscal H1 thanks to the continued challenges facing its Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture.

On Thursday, Crown handed in its H1 report card, which showed net profit falling 22% to AU $205m (US $147.5m) in the six months ending Dec. 31. The struggling Melco Crown was fingered as the culprit, as Crown’s share of the Macau casino operator’s H1 profits fell 89% to $9.4m.

Crown’s shares tumbled nearly 10% on the news – the biggest single-day decline since 2008 – but CEO Rowen Craigie chose to emphasize the “solid” performance at the company’s domestic resorts, which saw ‘normalized’ revenue – so-called because it helps smooth out high-roller variance – rise 4.2% to $1.7b.

The domestic gains came courtesy of a nearly 10% rise in main floor gaming revenue, which offset a 3.8% decline in VIP turnover. Craigie called the latter number a “reasonable outcome” given “the depressed nature” of the Asian VIP gaming market.

Daily fantasy sports operators got a rare opportunity to celebrate on Wednesday as Virginia legislators approved a bill to regulate DFS.

On Wednesday, the Virginia General Assembly approved SB 646, aka the Fantasy Contests Act, which now requires only Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s signature to become law. The vote marks the first time a pro-DFS bill has progressed to this stage since the industry imploded last October.

SB 646 requires DFS operators to pay a $50k registration fee, while registered DFS sites must ensure that all their players are over 18 years of age and that player funds are segregated from operating capital. Operators must also submit to an annual audit by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

SB 646 exempts DFS from the state’s list of illegal gambling no-no’s, but the bill’s language arguably authorizes other types of ‘skill-based’ contests involving sporting events – such as prop bets – that could lead the federal government to conclude that the state is in violation of the 1992 PASPA sports betting prohibition. But for the moment, anyway, it’s progress.

Daily fantasy sports operators got a rare opportunity to celebrate on Wednesday as Virginia legislators approved a bill to regulate DFS.

On Wednesday, the Virginia General Assembly approved SB 646, aka the Fantasy Contests Act, which now requires only Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s signature to become law. The vote marks the first time a pro-DFS bill has progressed to this stage since the industry imploded last October.

SB 646 requires DFS operators to pay a $50k registration fee, while registered DFS sites must ensure that all their players are over 18 years of age and that player funds are segregated from operating capital. Operators must also submit to an annual audit by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

SB 646 exempts DFS from the state’s list of illegal gambling no-no’s, but the bill’s language arguably authorizes other types of ‘skill-based’ contests involving sporting events – such as prop bets – that could lead the federal government to conclude that the state is in violation of the 1992 PASPA sports betting prohibition. But for the moment, anyway, it’s progress.