The European Poker Tour (EPT) is breaking out the new decks of cards, dusting off the tables and setting the stage for its annual poker tournament in Barcelona. The series kicks off on August 21 and runs through September 2 and will be held at Casino Barcelona, where it has previously been held.

There will be a total of 24 tournaments in the series, starting with a €1,100 NLHE Turbo event on August 21. This tournament will also serve as a qualifier for the EPT’s fifth event, the €10,000 NLHE Single Re-entry tournament. As usual, no-limit games dominate the series, but there will also be several Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) games to mix things up. On August 29, a €10,300 PLO game gets started, lasting two days. There will also be a €1,100 PLO event on August 31.

The €1,100 EPT National event will be held from August 22-27, overlapped by the €50,000 EPT Super High Roller tournament running from August 25-27. The Main Event, with a buy-in of €5,300, kicks off on August 27 and should find a winner by September 2. It will run parallel to the €10,300 EPT High Roller, scheduled for August 31 to September 2.

Last year’s Main Event was won by Swedish player Sebastian Sorensson. He overcame a field of 1,682 players to capture the victory and win the top prize of €987,043 (US$1.176 million). He was awarded the win after making a three-way deal with the remaining two players, Lachezar Petkov and Raffaele Sorrentino.

A few lucky poker players from the 888poker online poker portal could find their way to Malta. The poker site is giving players a chance to win a seat at the Battle of Malta (BOM) €550 Main Event for as little as $0.01. The tournament offers a guaranteed prize pool of €1 million (US$1.16 million).

The series of tournaments will run from October 25-30 and include an ample selection of NLHE and PLO games. In addition to the Main Event, there will also be a Ladies Tournament, a €165 PLO Double Chance, a €220 Final Battle Turbo, a three-day €1,320 High Roller, a €330 Deepstack Turbo event and a three-day €245 “Siege of Malta” tournament.

888poker’s Battle of Malta package includes the Main Event buy-in, accommodations at the Hotel InterContinental, travel money, access to the BOM VIP party and a 888poker LIVE kit. In addition, the BOM Main Event winner will also receive the LIVE kit for the London event in November, including accommodations and entry into the Main Event.

Last year’s tournament attracted 2,074 entries, setting a new attendance record. It was the largest poker tournament ever seen on the Mediterranean island and set the stage for an even bigger turnout this year. Given that the event has been called the “Best Low Buy-in Tournament in Europe,” it’s no surprise that the field keeps growing.

Elaine Wynn, the majority shareholder and pot-stirrer at Wynn Resorts, is having a good week. She finally got her way when the company announced that Phil Satre had been tapped to be the company’s vice chairman with the possibility of being bumped up to chairman by the end of this year. Now, in the latest board shakeup, two new directors are being appointed to the board and should help to erase the “legacy” image Elaine Wynn has so desperately wanted to eliminate.

Wynn CEO Matt Maddox is one of the two new members of the board of directors. According to outgoing chairman Boone Wayson, “Matt has ushered in a new era at Wynn, providing outstanding leadership since stepping into the CEO role, and we are pleased to officially welcome him as a director on the Board.”

Maddox is looking forward to making some changes in the company, and said, “We have made it our top priority to implement meaningful change at Wynn Resorts and have made demonstrable progress over the past six months. I am excited to be part of this refreshed board that is committed to growing the premier brand in luxury resort development.”

The other new member is Richard Byrne, an independent director who was previously the CEO of Deutsche Bank. Wayson said of Byrne, “We are also pleased to add another high-caliber independent director with Rich. His deep financial expertise and knowledge of the lodging, leisure and gaming industries, including extensive familiarity with Wynn, will further enhance the Board’s expertise.”

It’s that time of year when almost all the companies are reporting their revenue for the previous year. The latest report comes by way of Australian gambling and entertainment company Tabcorp, which saw a very productive year. At the end of the fiscal year, the company had netted AU$28.7 million (US$21.31 million) in profit, climbing 71.7% and setting a new single-year record.

Given the fact that the company lost $20.8 million in the previous year and recently had to pay a $50-million fine for exiting a Sun Bets venture, the numbers are impressive. Full-year revenue came in at AU$3.83 billion (US$2.83 billion) and declared a final dividend of AU$0.10 (US$0.07) per share to bring the annual total to AU$0.21 (US$0.15) a share.

According to the company’s CEO and managing director, David Attenborough, this was a “company defining year.” He added, “FY18 has also been a year of positive change for the gambling sector. A number of reforms have been introduced which aim to make the industry more sustainable. The introduction of point of consumption taxes, the prohibition of synthetic lottery products, advertising restrictions and improved consumer protection measures are creating a fairer playing field. Tabcorp is very well placed to perform in this improved environment.”

The numbers helped bump the company’s share prices up a little, as well. Following the release of the financials, shares ticked up 7.7% to AU$4.84 (US$3.59). Yesterday, the share price closed at AU$4.50 (US$3.34).

SkyCity Entertainment saw a significant boost in revenue for the previous fiscal year thanks in no small part to an increase in its international business. The company, which operates six casinos in Australia and New Zealand, reported a net profit after taxes of $113 million, an increase of 10% over the previous year. It also showed a 5.5% increase in its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) of more than $251 million.

The company strengthened its overall operational performance across all properties with turnover increasing by 39% to $8.84 million for its international business. EBITDA for its international operations also improved, climbing 71% to hit a record of $24.23 million.

Needless to say, SkyCity’s CEO, Graeme Stephens was “really pleased” with the results. He said, “I’m particularly encouraged by both the strong rebound in our International Business and a return to earnings growth in Adelaide and Darwin on a like-for-like basis. Set alongside the continued growth of our flagship Auckland property on a record previous corresponding period and a solid result from our Hamilton site, the group’s performance provides us with confidence that we can continue to deliver on our key strategic initiatives and major projects over the coming year.”

Five of the company’s six casinos saw higher earnings than they did the previous year. The company’s only black sheep was the Darwin casino, which saw a higher than average number of jackpot wins for its Keno 10-spot game. If it weren’t for that, it “would have seen Darwin earnings up 6.7 percent on the previous year.”

New Yorkers aren’t typically known as pushovers, but it seems like they may have dropped the ball this time. As reported by Reuters, gaming officials are considering caving to demands of sports leagues as they prepare to draft legislation for the state’s sports betting laws. Many sports leagues have repeatedly claimed that they are entitled to a percentage of all sports bets, a fee they have called an “integrity fee.”

Peter Moschetti, a gaming commissioner for New York, said recently at a panel discussion being held during a gaming industry conference in Saratoga Springs, NY that “all” aspects of a NY Senate bill submitted earlier this year are being considered. This would apparently include the sports leagues’ integrity fee.

The fee has already been shot down by a number of states that have recently implemented sports gambling legislation. If NY moves forward and agrees to the demand, it will become the first state in the US to pay the fee.

The chairman of the NY Senate’s gaming committee, John Bonacic, introduced a sports gambling bill this past March. He is hoping that it will become the framework sued by state regulators in the state and, possibly, elsewhere. The bill would provide for a 8.5% state tax on sports betting revenue and an additional 0.20% fee paid by the casino operators to the major sports leagues.

Belarus is apparently preparing, finally, to allow online gambling. According to a Belarus media outlet, BelTA, the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, signed legislation on Tuesday that defines the gambling business. The legislation provides better definition to the industry, including the organization and administration of online gambling activity through a virtual casino.

Thanks to President Lukashenko, the country now has established procedures covering the licensing and taxation procedures for gambling. Belarus also now has created the conditions and requirements necessary to establish a gambling business.

Specifically, a license would be approved only following a deposit made into a designated account. This deposit, which wasn’t assigned an amount, would be used to cover any winnings and/or tax payments should the casino go belly up. Tax authorities would have to be given remote access to the establishment and a special computer system would have to be used to cover cash turnover related to the operation’s gambling activity.

No gambling would be allowed for anyone under 21 years old. This is an increase over the current 18-year minimum and applies to all casinos, brick-and-mortar or virtual. The legislation also indicates that casino visitors are now prohibited from giving money to others so that they can gamble and all gambling facilities must have video surveillance systems installed.

The Pennsylvania Lottery had a banner year last year. According to its most recent report for the 2017-18 fiscal year, the lottery sold more than $4.2 billion in games and paid out over $2.7 billion in prizes. The result was $1 billion in revenue generated for the state’s senior benefit plans.

The billion-dollar year set new records across the board – amount sold, amount paid out and revenue earned. It is also the seventh year in which the lottery has been able to see $1 billion go to the state’s senior citizens. Drew Svitko, the Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director, said, “We’re proud that this was the seventh consecutive year in which we exceeded $1 billion in proceeds to benefit older adults. I’m grateful for the support of our players, business partners and the entire Lottery team for making this record year possible.”

According to a report by the Pennsylvania Lottery, “traditional” game sales took in over $4.2 billion, a $199.5 million increase over last year’s amount. It also broke the previous sales record, established in the 2015-16 fiscal year, of $4.13 billion.

Lucky winners received a total of over $2.7 billion, $145.5 million more than winners took home last year. 67 players won at least $1 million and $0.65 of each sales dollar was returned to winners.

The Pennsylvania Lottery had a banner year last year. According to its most recent report for the 2017-18 fiscal year, the lottery sold more than $4.2 billion in games and paid out over $2.7 billion in prizes. The result was $1 billion in revenue generated for the state’s senior benefit plans.

The billion-dollar year set new records across the board – amount sold, amount paid out and revenue earned. It is also the seventh year in which the lottery has been able to see $1 billion go to the state’s senior citizens. Drew Svitko, the Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director, said, “We’re proud that this was the seventh consecutive year in which we exceeded $1 billion in proceeds to benefit older adults. I’m grateful for the support of our players, business partners and the entire Lottery team for making this record year possible.”

According to a report by the Pennsylvania Lottery, “traditional” game sales took in over $4.2 billion, a $199.5 million increase over last year’s amount. It also broke the previous sales record, established in the 2015-16 fiscal year, of $4.13 billion.

Lucky winners received a total of over $2.7 billion, $145.5 million more than winners took home last year. 67 players won at least $1 million and $0.65 of each sales dollar was returned to winners.