Jade Entertainment and Gaming Technologies, Inc, a casino gaming floor product supplier based in the Philippines, is hoping to become a major player in the Asian market. The company is ready to take the region by storm, offering a complete line of products for casinos that make it, in Jade’s words, a “one-stop shop” for casinos looking to outfit their venues.

GGRAsia conducted an interview with Jade’s founder and CEO, Joe Pisano, who asserted that the company now has “the product range to fully fit out a casino.” He added that it can supply an array of products, including traditional gaming tables, RFID-capable tables, gaming systems, redemption terminals where players can cash out their winning, and more.

To help with its expansion plans, the company has been able to establish offices across the region. Pisano indicates, “We now have offices in Malaysia, Vietnam, Macau, the Philippines. We plan to expand into Australia, so I’m going through licensing in Australia.”

The executive adds that Jade is capable of servicing large or small venues. It was recently tasked with outfitting the Corona Resort and Casino on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam and Pisano explains, “A lot of such places are new to the industry. We can provide them with a lot of services and support. Or we can supply the larger properties, where we now have a very big tech team.”

It looks like the gross gaming revenue (GGR) rollercoaster in Macau hasn’t finished running its course, after all. The first few months of the year have seen the gambling city’s revenue move up and down, with May being relatively productive as it improved 1.8% over the same period last year. However, June is about to see the ride slow down if Sanford C. Bernstein analysts are correct.

The brokerage’s analysts predict that GGR will drop this month from what was previously forecast and has lowered its prediction to between 1-3% for year-on-year growth. They add that, if the US-China trade war continues, GGR recovery in Macau is going to become more difficult.

Over the first five months of the year, Macau reported GGR of around $15.57 billion. While that is an impressive return, it still represents a drop of 1.6% over what was seen during the same period in 2018. Most analysts have determined that the loss stems from a reduction in the number of VIP gamblers, which are, to some degree, staying away as a result of the trade war.

In Bernstein’s Monday note, the analysts asserted, “Weaker-than-expected macro data for May, along with the recent heightened tension in U.S.-China trade relations however, casts uncertainty over the GGR recovery. If a trade war sustains over an extended period, it will likely pose a headwind to China’s economy and gaming spend from China’s high-net-worth individuals in Macau.”

Adam Friedman shows his superhero after defending his $10,000 Dealer’s Choice title, and Howard Mash takes down the $1,000 Seniors title at the 50th Anniversary World Series of Poker.

A kid sits on a school bus, nose dripping with snot, tears bursting from holes in his face like a shower head as a group of bullies take their household pain out on the top of his head, playing it like a drum. Had Adam Friedman been on that bus, he would have done something about it, because Friedman is the baddest superhero in the DC Universe.

One year, after Friedman beat 111-entrants to capture the bracelet in the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship, he’s successfully defended it despite 122 people trying to throw a card protector into his spokes.

The storyline also reeks of vengeance, as Friedman beat Shaun Deeb, heads-up, to win the bracelet (Deeb defeated Friedman in the same spot during the 2016 $1,500 Seven Card Stud event).

The World Series of Poker has released the International stops for the 2019 portion of the World Series of Poker Circuit with Mexico, Russia and Aruba on the calendar. 

As ‘Chernobyl’ explodes to the top of the IMDB TV Charts with the same intensity as the RBMK-1000 reactor that nearly sent the Ukraine and Belarus to the moon, the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) advises us of a return to Mother Russia to play a spot of poker.

WSOPC Sochi is one of nine events held this side of Christmas internationally, and although you’re guaranteed to see a plethora of meltdowns at the tables, you can be sure the organisation of the event will run smoother than the Chernobyl investigation.

The trip to Sochi is the first of 2019’s International events, taking place July 19-28. Back in May 2018, the WSOP and Sochi partnered to create an 11-event schedule with Vadim Shlez winning the 1,699-entrant, $1,000 buy-in Main Event for $289,958, Justas Vaiciulionis took down the 207-entrant, $2,000 buy-in High Roller for $71,716, and Michael Semenov conquered a 39-entrant field in the $5,000 Super High Roller for $76,945.

Investigators looking into the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar have placed the French football legend and former UEFA President, Michel Platini, under the microscope, and Belgium continues to rule the world in the new FIFA rankings.

During his pomp, Michel Platini found ways to sneak through the toughest of opponents, and the 63-year-old will need all of that guile and cunning to move through the current wall that stands in his way after the Anti-Corruption Office of the Judicial Police detained him on suspicion of corruption this week.

According to the French investigative entity, Mediapart, officials arrested the three-time Ballon d’Or winner in Nanterre, Paris, on Tuesday morning as part of the ongoing investigation into the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, an inquiry that also involved the former Fifa President, Sepp Blatter.

Platini worked for Fifa between 1998 and 2002, and was the president of UEFA from 2007 until he stepped down after a Fifa Ethics Committee handed Platini {and Blatter} an eight-year ban from football over financial irregularities (later reduced to four years on appeal).

[Image credit: WPT flickr]

Rainer Kempe surprises everyone except Rainer Kempe after agreeing to be the ambassador of the fledgeling online poker room, GreySnowPoker. 

You don’t need a fleet of Fairchild C-123 Providers spraying Agent Orange to find the best poker players in the business. These days we have the Global Poker Index (GPI), and it’s never looked as exciting as it does, today.

The positioning of lovers, Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell, at the heads of the GPI World Rankings (All Gender and Female), is a poker media discussion topic as popular as the sale of kimonos in Kyoto, Japan. Then you have the close proximity of that other prize poker couple, Rainer Kempe and Maria Ho.

Major Caesars Entertainment shareholder Carl Icahn wants to sell the casino company and the Board of Directors has loosely agreed to the possibility. However, the directors appear to not be quite as anxious as Icahn, and are putting up resistance to any possible deal. Many of the board’s members are holding out for more money.

According to Josh Kosman with the New York Post, Icahn would be willing to dump the company in the lap of Eldorado Resorts as quickly as possible if it were up to him. He has acknowledged that the offer made by Eldorado – $10.50 per share and only about 15% higher than its value – is not realistic, but he is much more open to a deal and would accept a lesser amount than what the board expects to receive.

Icahn, who owns 28.5% of Caesars after a series of recent stock purchases, hasn’t been shy about his position. The only reason the billionaire investor bought into the company was to try to force a sale and his stake has given him certainly weight to make that happen. He now has three seats on the 11-seat board and was responsible for bringing in CEO Tony Rodio, with whom he has worked previously at Tropicana Entertainment.

Caesars Board of Directors has been trying to hold out for $13 per share. Icahn purchased his stake at about $9 a share, and, although a $10.50 price point would be a nice return, he believes a better offer should be made. He also thinks $13 might be too high a goal and is reportedly becoming impatient with the time it’s taking to secure a deal.

Sports gambling company PointsBet Holding, Inc., is looking to expand deeper into the US and Mexico. In order to achieve that goal, it expects becoming a publicly-traded company will be the best route to take and launched an initial public offering (IPO) last week on the Australian Stock Exchange. Trading under the ticker symbol PBH, PointsBet entered the public realm at AUD$2 ($1.37) and was trading at US$1.79 as of the start of trading yesterday.

This past Monday, PointsBet issued a press release, announcing that it will offer 37.5 million shares for trading under the IPO, with 110 million shares on issue. Any remaining shares are to be held by individuals who have previously invested in the company. CEO Sam Swanell adds, “Similar to the way we allow fans to take part in sporting events, our public offering allows fans to take part in us, as a company and as a platform.”

PointsBet has been around since 2017, but entered the US sports gambling market this past January when it opened an online sportsbook in New Jersey. Three months later, it launched its first retail sportsbook after signing a partnership agreement with Catfish Bend Casino in Iowa. That arrangement also included the company operating the casino’s online sports gambling operations, as well.

PointsBet provides different betting options, including traditional options and more unique bets. The company’s “Pointsbetting” allows a gambler to increase their winnings, or their losses, based on the performance of the wager’s target against the spread. If Tiger Woods is favored to win by three strokes and the bet is $100, the final award would be $300 if Woods pulls off the victory by the three strokes. If not, and he wins by just one stroke, the gambler loses $200.

Like Oliver Twist in the novel by Charles Dickens by the same name, Marina Bay Sands is asking for more. It is reaching out to lenders in search of another $6 billion in financing for its expansion plans, after borrowing $3.71 billion from 28 lenders seven years ago. Just like Oliver was lambasted by Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney for making the request, Marina Bay’s parent company, Las Vegas Sands (LVS), will most likely receive a similar response.

LVS still owes $2.91 billion for money it was given in 2012 and receiving more loans won’t come easy. Local financial institutions will most likely be hesitant to step forward, with one bank telling Reuters, “The borrower has not raised such a size before and it is also unprecedented for the market in Singapore.”

New lenders most likely will not be willing to jump in, which means that LVS will have to turn to existing lenders if it wants the money. Another banker told Reuters, “I don’t expect a significant number of new lenders joining the deal because the borrower has already combed the market in the past.”

LVS, as does virtually every major casino operator, wants to be awarded one of the three initial casino licenses in Japan. It has been pointed out that the company’s business model in Singapore works well, and could be adopted for Japan’s integrated resorts (IR). LVS has been hoping its continued performance in Singapore will show the Japanese government that, despite carrying massive debt and possibly influencing legal decisions, it deserves one of the licenses.

Being it follows the toughest test in golf every year, the U.S. Open, and the fact that tournament was across the country at Pebble Beach in northern California, it’s a shockingly good field at this week’s PGA Tour stop, the Travelers Championship outside of Hartford.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Most top players tend to take the week after a major off to decompress, and one would have really thought that would be the case this week with the U.S. Open and Travelers on opposite coasts.

No, U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland isn’t playing after winning his first-ever major. Neither is Tiger Woods, who probably won’t be seen again until the British Open. However, five of the world’s Top 10 and 16 of the Top 30 are at TPC River Highlands, a par 70 at a very short 6,840 yards. This course is best known for where Jim Furyk shot a PGA Tour-record 58 in 2016, and he didn’t even win that year. The winner is going to be well into double digits under par at this track.

The strange case of two UK lotto louts just got a lot stranger after a third individual stepped forward to claim the disputed jackpot.

In April, two thirty-something career petty criminals named Mark Goodram and Jon-Ross Watson – who boast dozens of convictions between them – claimed to have won a £4m scratchcard jackpot. But National Lottery operator Camelot has so far refused to pay the pair, citing concerns that the ticket was not legally purchased.

Seems neither Goodram nor Watson has a bank account, yet somehow used a bank debit card to purchase the winning ticket in south London. Both men have been linked to stolen bank cards in the past, leading Camelot to suspect that the winning ticket was bought with “funds obtained without the [card] owner’s consent.”

Goodram and Watson have engaged a lawyer who continues to issue deadlines by which Camelot needs to make with the money or face a lawsuit that Camelot appears only too eager to contest.

Legal online sports betting failed to provide much of a boost to Pennsylvania’s monthly gaming revenue figures, but then again, it was only available at a single site and for only the last four days of May.

Figures released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show the state’s overall sports betting handle coming in just over $35.9m in May, a modest step down from April’s $36.8m but well back of the $44.5m the state’s books reporting handling in March.

While month-to-month comparisons don’t necessarily mean much, the betting revenue trend was similarly negative, falling to $2.86m in May, down from $4.2m in April and $5.5m in March.

Pennsylvania now has eight licensed sportsbooks in operation, and the last week in May saw the launch of the state’s first online betting site courtesy of the SugarHouse (soon to be Rivers Casino Philadelphia). The SugarHouse site handled just over $573k in online wagers during those four days – during which the site was still working out its kinks – and netted revenue of $38,753.