Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., which operates Resorts World Manila (RWM), has vowed to get the trust of the public back as it concedes that their earnings will drop this year.

To win the hearts of the people, Travellers faces a daunting task of erasing the traffic memory that a former patron left when he burned down the gaming facility of RWM, resulting in the deaths of 37 people, before he committed suicide.

Bloomberg reported that Travellers plans to complete a new gaming zone this year as it rebuild its tarnished brand.

“We’re spending a lot of time enhancing the overall security of the place and learning about what had happened,”Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. chief executive officer, Kingson Sian said, according to the news report. “We obviously have to gain back the trust of our guests and the public.”

Authorities in Macau have banned automated teller machine (ATM) operators from offering cash withdrawal services to China UnionPay (CUP) customers if their machines are not fitted with the so-called “know your customer” technology.

The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) announced that starting July 4, 2017, holders of mainland China-issued UnionPay bank cards would only be able to withdraw cash in the city state at ATMs that allow face recognition verification.

Holders of Macao bank cards or cards issued by banks in other jurisdictions are allowed to “carry out ATM cash withdrawals as usual.”

The order came several weeks after the Macau government said it will require more intrusive and “Big Brother”-style security checks at ATMs. Holders of UnionPay bank card, particularly those from China, will have to scan their identity cards at ATMs and also pass facial recognition scans before they will be able to withdraw cash.

In order to expand its businesses in and out of Macau, casino services firm Macau Legend Development is letting go. Of its Landmark Macau casino hotel, that is.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company announced that it has a non-binding letter of intent in relation to the possible disposal of one of its properties.

Under the LOI, the purchaser will “acquire the entire issued share capital of and all the shareholder’s loan(s) owed by New Macau Landmark Management Limited (NML)… the legal and beneficial owner of the piece and parcel of land and in the messuages erections and buildings thereon known as ‘The Landmark Macau’ at a consideration to be agreed between the parties.” NML is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Macau Legend.

The filing did not name a potential suitor nor the total consideration involved, but the company said the buyer will be required to pay a refundable deposit of HK$460 million (US$58.91 million)—of which HK$300 million (US$38.42 million) must be paid upon signing of the LOI, followed by the remaining HK$160 million (US$20.49 million) within 30 days from the date of the LOI.

Two more bracelet wins to catch up on including a fifth all-time bracelet for Israel, a young man reaching the summit of the Romanian all-time money list, and a famous man with Romanian blood coursing through his veins leading the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship.

The proud chin of Shai Zurr will be jutting out like one of those stone faces on Easter Island after the Israeli took down Event #65: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em (30-Minute Levels).

The 34-year-old, Poker Academy owner, taught everyone a lesson on how to play the Turbo format and did so after only three hours of sleep – a strategy I hope he doesn’t teach his students.

It’s the second bracelet win for Israel at this year’s festival (Ben Maya won Event #47: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout). It’s the fifth all-time, pushing them to #13 in the All-Time WSOP Bracelet List (By Country) – an incredible feat when you consider the authorities deem poker illegal in Israel.

WGES 2017 continued today at the W Hotel in Barcelona, the most senior event of the year dedicated to C-level professionals working in the gambling industry.  Today marked the start of the event’s two day “Main Summit”, attracting a larger crowd than yesterday’s Regulation Day due to panels and presentations covering a variety of pertinent topics.

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Authorities in South Korea have launched an investigation into a reported data breach that lead to the theft of funds from Bithumb, the country’s largest bitcoin and ethereum exchange by trading volume.

According to Yonhap News, Bithumb contacted state-run internet watchdog Korea Internet and Security Agency last week to report that “its data on customers was leaked” after “one of its employees’ home personal computers was hacked.”

The exchange confirmed the hack in a notice, which stated that “the accident was caused by an external infringement accident,” noting that the breach “is independent of Bithumb’s internal network, server and virtual wallet, and all members’ original (fiat) and virtual currency deposits are safe.”

The exchange estimated that personal data on about 30,000 of its customers, or 3 percent of its members, have been compromised. MK News reported that the stolen data did not contain any of the customers’ passwords, but it includes personal information such as email addressed and telephone numbers, which authorities said could be used in voice phishing scams.

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) giants DraftKings and FanDuel have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to allow the two firms to merge, saying that it is the best interest of the fantasy sports industry.

DraftKings and FanDuel have submitted their respective responses before the Commission this week denying that the proposed merger would deprive customers of the substantial benefits of direct competition.

DraftKings remains to be the largest DFS operatory in the US despite incurring operating losses of half a billion dollars. FanDuel attested to this fact in its 23-page reply to the FTC.

Both DFS operators agree that their merger is procompetitive since it “will result in substantial merger-specific efficiencies, cost-savings, innovation, and other procompetitive effects that will directly increase the consumer value proposition.”

Revenue of South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd dropped 20.7 percent in the first half of the year on weaker gaming segment.

In a regulatory filing, Paradise Co told the Korean Exchange on Wednesday that its revenue for January to June 31, 2017 was estimated at KRW241.7 billion (US$210.3 million), lower than the KRW304.7 billion (US$263.93 million) it posted in the prior-year period.

Paradise Co. saw its table game sales tumble by 21.6 percent year-on-year to approximately KRW224.8 billion (US$194.72 million) from nearly KRW286.8 billion (US$248.42 million) in first half of 2016. Machine game sales in the first six months of 2017 was at KRW16.9 billion (US$14.64 million), a 5.4 percent decline.

The revenue results were collated from its all foreigner-only casinos namely: Walkerhill in Seoul; Jeju Grand on Jeju Island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City, in Incheon, near the main international airport serving the country’s capital Seoul.

Building a consensus to move Japan’s casino plans forward faces a new hurdle following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) recent defeat in Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s party lost nearly two-thirds of its seats—from 60 to 23—during Sunday’s election for the prefecture-level parliament of Tokyo. LDP’s coalition partner, Komeito, secured 23 seats, while the Tomin Party became the largest single part with 49 seats.

The loss has largely been viewed as a rebuke to Abe and the LDP, as well as their associated policies, including the push for integrated resort (IR) legalization.

“We believe the Tokyo defeat for the LDP, and by implication a weaker outlook for the LDP nationally, will make it incrementally tougher for PM Abe to push through his agenda, including the very contentious IR issue,” Union Gaming Securities Asia analyst Grant Govertsen said in a note.

Florida has settled its longstanding feud over gambling rights with the state’s Seminole Tribe, for the time being, at least.

On Wednesday, state regulators announced they had reached a deal with the Seminoles, who operate the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos under the Seminole and Hard Rock brands. The parties claim this resolves the lawsuits that the two sides have filed against each other in recent years over who has the right to offer certain types of gaming in the state.

The deal extends the Seminole’s monopoly over blackjack and other house-banked card games to 2030 while requiring the state’s pari-mutuel racing and card room operators to cease offering so-called ‘designated player’ games that are house-banked games in everything but name.

In exchange, the Seminoles will continue making monthly revenue-sharing payments to the state. Ever since the parties went to the mattresses a couple years ago, the tribe had been paying the state’s share into an escrow account, which now contains $220m. The deal allows the state to access these funds, plus a further $120m over the next fiscal year.

The Australian Football League governing body has given the green light for the league and its representatives to bury their head deep into the bosom of esports.

It won’t be long before our children think of physical sports as being old and arthritic. Our technology experts are like the explorers of old, searching for the fountain of youth. Very soon, treadmills will go the way of the Dodo, as we will be able to change our cellular structure at the touch of a button.

Throwing a ball and catching it?

Give me a break.

Maryland’s newest casino continues to outperform its rivals, reporting gaming revenue over $50m in three of the six full months it’s been open for business.

Figures released Wednesday by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency show the state’s six casino operators reporting gaming revenue of $130.5m in the month of June, representing a nearly 40% rise over the same month last year.

However, the state’s largest casino, MGM Resorts’ National Harbor, didn’t open until midway through last December, and an apples-to-apples comparison shows the state’s other five operators reporting a year-on-year decline of nearly 14%.

National Harbor continued its place atop the revenue charts, earning $50.1m last month. That’s $400k less than May’s total and $1.1m below March’s record sum, but the property has now topped $50m in three of the past four months, so MGM isn’t likely complaining too loudly.