Over $90,000 sitting in online gambling accounts in New Jersey will have to be forfeited after regulators in the state uncovered a strange connection between the money and its source. It appears that, somehow, a gambler from 3,000 miles away in California was able to gain access to the two online gambling sites, against federal regulations.

California resident Vinh Dao somehow managed to bypass geolocation technology employed by New Jersey online casino operators in order to participate in his favorite pastime, Associated Press reported. The activity has been traced back to February 2014, shortly after online gambling went live in New Jersey, and both the Borgata and Caesars Interactive are now going to have to turn over the funds to authorities.

Online gaming had only been offered in The Garden State for around three months when the enterprising Dao figured out how to beat the house and bypass the geolocation controls, according to reports. Virtual Private Networks (VPN) are often used to mask someone’s true location, but advanced systems, like the one used in New Jersey, are supposed to incorporate other means of geo-detection, as well.

The state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has not indicated how much of the $90,000 were actual winnings held by Dao, only offering that the amount represented “completed gaming transactions theoretically owed [to Dao] by Marina District Development Company [MDDC], Borgata Casino Hotel, and Caesars Interactive Entertainment, New Jersey.”

On Thursday, Megaworld, one of the leading real estate developers in the Philippines, announced that they would be building two new residential projects in Westside City, a prominent precinct in Manila’s famed Entertainment City. The project is expected to nearly double the number of units available in the area, growing from 3500 to nearly 5400.

Two new structures will be built as a part of the project. The first will be a 15-story building, the South Beach Place, which will have 582 units. The structure will have direct access to the Westside City Resorts World complex.

The other unit will be a 21 story tower with 1309 units included. Both complexes are expected to be completed by the year 2024.

The cost to build the two structures is expected to reach around Php 64 billion ($1.25 billion USD). That will come directly from Megaworld while another Php 57 billion ($1.1 billion USD) is expected to come from the Travellers International Hotel Group, which will be involved in the project as well.

It would seem that the gambling industry only has so much wealth to spread around in South Korea. Grand Korea Leisure Ltd (GKL) has reported a year over year decline of 12.7% in February, GGRAsia reports.

In total, the company had casino sales of KRW31.82 billion (US$28.1 million). That number also represented an 8.3% decrease when compared to January. The biggest culprit for the decline was a 14.2% decrease in table game sales, but machine game sales also fell by 3.1%.

This isn’t just a bad for GKL, it’s a blow for Korea. The operator, who runs three foreigner-only casinos in the country, is part of the Korea Tourism Organization, a body with close ties to South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Even though this was a decrease from January, February wasn’t much better. Overall, 2019 income is down 18.8% year over year, again largely due to table games, which is down 20.9% year over year.

Gaming employees in Macau were able to pull ahead of inflation last year, according to a survey conducted by the city’s Statistics and Census Service (SCS). The average earnings for full-time gaming employees, excluding bonuses, through the end of December were 3.5% higher year-on-year. This was greater than the rate of inflation, giving those employees a little extra take-home pay.

The SCS showed that the average monthly wage for a Macau resident working in the gaming sector was around $2,936. For a non-resident, it was slightly lower at about $2,437.

Based on the composite price index provided by the SCS this past January, the inflation rate for last year was 3.01%, giving the gaming employees a cushion of around 0.4%. The rate of inflation for 2018 had increased by 1.78% over the 1.23% seen just a year earlier.

The survey also showed an increase in gaming employment in 2018. The aggregate number of casino dealers rose 1.1% from its 2017 level, reaching 24,719 by the end of the year. The average monthly salary for a casino dealer in Macau came in at approximately $2,529 last December, an increase of 3% over the same period a year earlier.

More than a month after most casino operators in Macau said they would give pay raises to their employees, MGM China has finally stepped up. It announced this past Wednesday that it is giving its non-management workers a slight bump in appreciation for their “loyalty and commitment.” The increase will be effective as of March 18.

Eligible personnel who currently earn up to $2,000 can expect to see their pay increase along the same lines as what has offered by operators such as Melco, or about $74.21. Depending on the current salary, these employees will see between 3.8% and 7.1% added to their paychecks. Those employees who earn over $2,000 will be given an increase of 2.5%.

In a statement regarding the pay increase, MGM China CEO Grant Bowie said, “We continue to invest in nurturing our team, to develop their skills and in providing opportunities for them to build a successful career and contribute to the growth of our Macau community.”

Sands China made the jump first, announcing in January that it would offer its employees a pay raise as of March 1. All employees who have been with the company for at least a year were eligible for the increase. Melco’s announcement followed, and was similar to the Sands increase, but doesn’t take effect until April 1.

Elon Musk’s mechanical moles might be heading to Las Vegas. The entrepreneurial billionaire has apparently struck a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) that could see The Boring Company descend on, and move under, the city in order to build an express tunnel system. That system would be designed, initially, to transport visitors to and from the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Boring Company was founded by Musk in 2016. It was initially meant as a joke – a way to publicize Musk’s frustration with traffic congestion for which he stated at one point, “Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…” However, when different entities began to take notice and show interest, Musk wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass him by. He began digging below his California home to test the idea and presented his finished tunnel to the media at the end of last year.

The LVCVA wants to improve its image and cater to a more diverse public. It wants to build a two-mile-long tunnel that would run beneath the city’s convention center and, if construction stays on schedule, would be ready by January 2021. That would be an important feat, as the Consumer Electronics Show will take place that month. Provided there are no budget overruns, the project is expected to cost anywhere from $35 million to $55 million.

There would be a fleet of autonomous cars running along the tunnels, to and from the convention center. Not surprisingly, the cars would all be Tesla vehicles, most likely the Model X and the Model 3, in addition to a 16-passenger vehicle. It would reportedly be free to use for those individuals attending exhibitions and conferences at the convention center. In the future, if all goes well, the tunnel system could be connected to the Vegas Strip, Downtown Vegas and McCarran International Airport.

Gambling venues in Japan, including the integrated resorts (IR) coming to the country’s landscape, will most likely need to install facial recognition technology. The Japanese government is discussing the application of the technology in gaming venues across the country as a means to deter problem gamblers from being able to place wagers, and has already started to make requests to the venues that they embrace the face readers.

The facial recognition systems are just a part of a larger plan designed to ensure those with gambling problems are protected. ATMs are expected to be removed from gambling facilities, including from horserace tracks, other racing venues and pachinko parlors, to make it more difficult for gamblers to have access to cash.

Beginning next year, gamblers will be able to establish a cap on how much they are allowed to spend when purchasing certain racing tickets online. In addition, pachinko parlors are expected to allow family members of gamblers to request that those individuals not be allowed to enter the gambling venues. That change should become effective as of the upcoming fiscal year.

The changes are based on feedback from the public and the Japanese government has already stated that it will review the changes every three years. This will give regulators the opportunity to make adjustments as necessary and to have a solid system in place before the first IR is seen in the country, currently anticipated for 2025.