State regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is not looking to sell casinos earlier targeted for privatization just yet, Inside Asian Gaming reported.

According to PAGCOR’s chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo, the revenue these casinos generate for the government is more advantageous than if they were to be sold off to private operators.

She said the agency would continue its dual role as both casino operator and regulator “for the next few years, because they’re still profitable. Because the PAGCOR-owned and -operated casinos, the GGR [gross gaming revenue] they yield goes directly to the government, 100%. With the IRs [integrated resorts], our share of the GGR is about 19.5%. So if you look into that and the contribution to the national government every year, if you take this out it will take five years for a new IR to contribute that amount which automatically lessens our net contribution to the national government by PHP22 billion [$405.2 million] for at least the next 10 years.”

Domingo projected earnings of PHP26 billion-PHP27 billion ($479 million-$497 million) for 2018.

Gaming regulators in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have approved four junket operator licenses, offering a credit lifeline to local casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI).

On Monday, the monthly meeting of the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) resulted in the approval of two-year junket operator license applications filed by four operators: Jiming Dong’s High Tides (CNMI) LLC, Hongyi Ma’s Stellar Paradise CNMI LLC, Hong Zhang’s Bula Mula LLC and Ni ‘Lily’ Ren’s Hengqin Guiji LLC.

The Marianas Variety quoted top regulator Edward Deleon Guerrero saying the CCC had worked closely with IPI’s compliance VP Charles McDonald to establish the terms and conditions of each junket applicant’s license. IPI has yet to finalize individual agreements between the company and the successful applicants.

The CCC had previously only authorized one junket license, and that was over two years ago. It’s unclear why the 17 junket license applications the CCC claimed to have received by that point have gone unprocessed, although IPI’s approval was reportedly required for any application to proceed.

A round-up of the best bits of 888Poker’s XL Eclipse including the Main Event win for Roman “Romeopro33” Romanovskyi, a High Rolling victory for Dietrich “2pacnrw16” Fast, and a couple of wins for Cuadradro12. 

PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) generated a fishing line width below $100m.

partypoker’s POWERFEST came within a pea shell of $70m.

What about 888Poker?

The first fully licensed casino in Cyprus, C2 in Limassol, is about to officially open its doors, after holding a soft launch this past June. In an announcement this past Monday, the casino indicated that it will celebrate its grand opening with two huge events this week, one of which was held last night. The other is scheduled for tonight.

According to the announcement, “While the two-day festivities will serve as the ceremonial grand opening, the events are more of a celebration of the past three months and the C2 way of saying thank you to the community for all of their support thus far…In three short months, C2 has become a must-see destination for locals and tourists alike. Currently, more than 600 persons are employed at the casino, and the vast majority of those being Cypriot citizens.”

Last night’s festivities included a cocktail party for the business community on the Mediterranean island, as well as for a number of government officials. Tonight’s party is open to the public and will offer an array of festivities and surprises.”

“Guests will have the opportunity to win cash prizes and gifts amidst the bounty of the Columbia Bistro food, drinks and other surprises throughout the celebration,” explained the casino.

Casinos in Cotai have been the biggest winners in Macau lately, taking a huge chunk of the profits from those casinos located on the peninsula. However, there’s no need to be concerned that the peninsula-based casinos could be forced out, as they still attract a different clientele that are more comfortable with the old-style venues.

Ben Lee, iGaming’s managing partner, told the Macau News Agency that the two districts attract completely different types of gamblers. He explained, “The Peninsula attracts the hardcore, old fashion, value-conscious gamblers who prefer the proximity to the range of dining, shopping and entertainment amenities. Cotai attracts more status conscious and family oriented clients.”

Union Gaming’s Macau expert, Grant Govertsen, told the media outlet that the solid money is on the peninsula venues retaining their share of the market. He said that the casinos will more than likely not see “any revenue declines in any sort of material way.” Govertsen added, “The reality is that while the Macau Peninsula has seen its share of GGR decline relative to Cotai, it is experiencing growth in revenues.”

The Union Gaming analyst pointed out that Cotai will still be the stronger segment. He expects gaming revenues in Cotai to likely account for as much as 70% of the overall gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau for the next several years as many of the visitors look for new experiences “beyond the casino floor.”

Greek gambling company OPAP has announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase a 36.75% stake in TCB Holdings, the parent company of the Stoiximan Group. The deal, although still in its preliminary phase, is reportedly worth $58 million.

TCB is an online gaming operator that has a presence in Greece and Cyprus through the Stoiximan brand. Greece and Cyprus are two of the core customer bases for OPAP, making the acquisition a logical choice for OPAP’s continued expansion plans. TCB also has a presence in Germany and Romania through Stoiximan.

OPAP said that it will also take control of Stoiximan’s activities in Greece and Cyprus; however, this is subject to a “number of previous conditions.” The conditions include regulatory approval and a due diligence survey, both of which must be completed before the terms of the investment can be finalized.

Stoiximan took in a total of €136 million (US$159.99 million) in revenue last year and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of €16 million (US$18.8 million). CEO Giorgos Daskalakis said of the deal, “This partnership strengthens Stoiximan’s leadership position in Greece and at the same time allows us to accelerate our growth plan in foreign markets as well as to step up our basic orientation for development in the field of technology.”

The WSOP is back in the Czech Republic at its favorite venue, King’s Casino in Rozvadov. The WSOP Circuit events have proven to be huge successes everywhere they go and things were no different as players descended on Rozvadov. As usual, the opening event drew a large field to get the festivities off to a good start.

The first day of the Opening Event got underway last week and the players were lining up to take a shot at being named tournament champion. The total number of entries quickly increased to 346 by the time action was just getting heated.

In a Twitter post while the game was still in progress, King’s Casino said, “245 entries at Day 1b in the €300k gtd #WSOPC Opening Event, 47 qualifier for the final. total entries so far 346, total left 64. David Taborsky is the new overall chipleader with 698.500 (174,5 big blinds).”

Each buy-in cost around €299 (US$351) and 45 players took advantage of the re-buy option to continue the poker battle. The lead off event is the first in the series to offer a WSOP Circuit gold ring which, to many, is all the incentive they need to cough up the entry fee as many times as possible. Of course, the guarantee of €300,000 (US$352,998) doesn’t hurt, either. Given the significant turnout, the guarantee will certainly be exceeded.

Most players go into a poker tournament series expecting to perform well and, with a little luck, possible make it to the final table. Making it to more than one final table in a single series is the mark of a truly gifted player. That is exactly what Tim Burt did at the recently completed Gulf Coast Poker Championship at Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Burt finished second at the Opening Event for $42,563 and followed that up with a title win at the $1,350 Main Event, taking home an additional $103,752. The 37-year-old Mississippi native has now picked up over $1.1 million in live poker action, according to the Hendon Mob.

There were a total of 13 events spread out over 11 days this year, making it one of the largest poker festivals in the southern US states. Burt’s second-place finish at the first event was impressive, given that there were a total of $1,738 entries. The Main Event attracted a field of 375, setting a record for both the state and the tournament.

According to Henry Garrison, Beau Rivage’s poker manager, “The Gulf Coast Poker Championship continues to draw more players each year. We attribute this year’s record numbers to our exciting new format – the ‘Beau Format’ – where all Day 2 players are guaranteed to be in the money. It’s been very well-received by the poker community. We always seek input and feedback from our players as we strive to make our poker tournaments the best in the region.”

Online gambling scammer Fred Khalilian has been booted from Monster Technology Group less than a year after selling the company his worthless gambling technology.

On Tuesday, electronics firm Monster Products issued a press release celebrating its 40th anniversary, while casually mentioning that its chief operating officer, one Fereidoun ‘Fred’ Khalilian, had been “successfully exited out of the company as of July 27, 2018.”

The release went on to say that Khalilian was the subject of a temporary restraining order issued in California’s Superior Court “for the protection of numerous employees of Monster against threats of mutilation, death, and threats to family.”

Furthermore, Monster has filed reports with the South San Francisco Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, “including the FBI,” concerning “allegations of fraud, theft and conspiracy.” Accompanying Khalilian on his way down Monster’s shame chute was “the team he brought into the company to do a hostile takeover.”

A round-up of the newsworthy stories of partypoker’s most significant POWERFEST to date including a double for Patrick Leonard, Steve O’Dwyer’s largest ever score, and much more. 

Oh, the irony; sitting on my bony arse reading the article Why Sitting Too Much is Bad for Your Health learning why the greatest online poker players in the world had better don a trackie top and start running now September has come to a close.

There is a nip in the air.

Across the sanest parts of the world, hundreds of thousands of poker players breath a collective sigh of ‘something’ as the most significant online poker festivals of the year reach a climax.

Two quick shots from the largest online poker room this side of the ‘Caution Wet Floor’ sign that hangs out near the umbrella stand, including an uber-successful Galactic Series, and the return of two recently purged online games.

When I think of the word Galactic, I think of the Beastie Boys.

When I Google the same word, I meet Yusaku Maezawa for the first time. The Japanese businessmen will become the first non-astronaut type geezer to fly around the moon in one of SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rockets (BFR), and he’s bought every single seat on board.

The plan for the man who once paid $110m for a picture of a skull its creator couldn’t even be bothered to name is to invite eight artists representing humanity.

Bookmaker William Hill and gaming solutions provider International Game Technology (IGT) have inked a partnership to sell US state lotteries on the joys of legal sports betting.

On Tuesday, Hills’ US division and IGT subsidiary IGT Global Solutions Corporation announced the signing of a “multi-year agreement” to make a combined push “to offer US lotteries a full-service solution for sports betting.”

The two companies are already working together in Rhode Island, readying the betting technology underpinnings of the Rhode Island Lottery’s sportsbooks at the Twin River Casino and Tiverton Casino, which are scheduled to launch sometime in November.

The new partnership will see IGT supply its PlayShot sports betting platform for land-based, retail, online and mobile wagering, while William Hill US will supply the operational, trading, player management and strategic expertise it has gleaned from years of running sports betting operations on behalf of Nevada casino operators.

3: Barrels with an Asian flavour including Valeriy Pak winning World Poker Tour Korea, Wei Ran Pu taking down the Poker King Cup Main Event in Macau, and the Chinese Government banning Twitch. 

Imagine fighting in, and surviving two World Wars, only to be handed the task of leading four woefully light and untrained divisions against 75,000 advancing North Koreans in the Korean War.

You manage to get out of that jam, alive; pin a few medals on your chest, and then while out experiencing a leisurely drive in your jeep a South Korean weapons carrier swerves out of lane sending you to your death.

That’s what happened to Walton Walker, and I know this because, during a recent visit to Seoul in South Korea, my wife’s uncle drove me to the Hotel Grand Walkerhill promising the most majestic view of the city, only to be foiled by barricades preventing access by road vehicle.

Brazil’s new online lottery is proving a hit with the locals, further emphasizing the country’s need to get a move on authorizing other online gambling products.

On August 10, the Loterias Caixa division of Brazil’s state bank Caixa Economica Federal launched its new online lottery service, and the early returns have the company kicking up its heels, particularly given the new online product’s appeal among young female customers.

According to the lottery operator, online sales over the first month of operation exceeded BRL18m (US$4.42m), representing 1.4% of all lottery sales between August 10 and September 9. Daily sales averaged BRL600k and the average ticket buy was just under BRL51.

Nearly 341k customers opened online lottery accounts in the first month of operations, and their demographic profiles were music to Loterias Caixa’s ears. As hoped, online lottery players skewed much younger and more female than those who patronize traditional lottery sales channels.