If everything goes according to plan, Oregon will have sports gambling before this September. To make it happen, the Oregon State Lottery (OSL) has teamed up with SBTech to power the retail and mobile sportsbooks for the entity. There’s a lot of logistical issues to be tweaked quickly if Oregon hopes to get the sportsbooks up and running before September, which marks the beginning of the regular NFL season.

Oregon is also planning on introducing betting kiosks, which could come as early as the first quarter of next year. This will give bettors more flexibility and options when placing their wagers, and a spokesperson for the OSL states, “We’re excited about sports betting in general because it allows us to generate additional revenue for state programs without asking players of our current games to play or wager more.”

The Oregon Lottery Commission (OLC) looked at several offers last year in determining who would be best to lead the sports gambling charge. Among those reviewed were Playtech and Scientific Games; however only SBTech was determined to be able to comply with the deadlines established for the sports gambling rollout.

The OLC wanted to make sure it covered all its bases when it investigated the companies – either that or the commission members just wanted a field trip. They visited Sofia, Bulgaria and SBTech’s headquarters there.

The Argentinian province of Buenos Aires recently implemented legislation to regulate online gambling in the country and the industry has already seen a healthy response. It now appears that two more companies are entering the market, hoping to use Argentina as a springboard for further expansion across the country, as well as the rest of South America. Betway and Bet365 have both set up joint ventures with local companies in order to get their feet wet and start their expansion journeys.

Bet365 has reportedly joined forces with Pasteko, a local bingo hall operator in Buenos Aires, while Betway teamed up with Bingo King. A third company, Codere LatAm, will work with Iberargen to launch in the country, if approval is given. Codere’s CEO, Aviv Sher, expects Latin America to be the next location for massive growth after Europe and Asia.

Buenos Aires is preparing to approve as many as seven online gambling licenses in the province. Most of the licenses issued are expected to be awarded to joint projects that involve international and local operators.

Only Buenos Aires has approved online gambling; however, this doesn’t mean that it won’t make its way into other parts of the country. If successful in the province, online gambling would almost certainly be legalized in other provinces, as well.

Poker no longer deserves its own space at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, Delaware. According to the Delaware State News, the venue has decided to shut down its poker room and relocate all the poker tables to the main casino floor. The move comes following a recent merger between the casino’s parent company, Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, and Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc.

When the merger was first announced, it looked like the poker room would carry on as always, according to comments made by a Dover Downs’ spokesperson at the time. However, subsequent reports showed a change in management opinion, and the poker room is no more. Nicholas Polcino, Jr., the VP and General Manager of Dover Downs, said in a statement last Friday that the poker tables now “answer to table games and no longer operate as a separate entity.” He added, “[All] personnel that could be transferred to table games were transferred,” including the venue’s Poker Director.

Personnel at the casino who had made their living off of poker were reportedly given the opportunity to train on other casino operations and table games if they chose to do so. There was no word on whether or not any employees had to be let go, or who may have opted to train on other games.

Dover Downs and Twin River first agreed to a merger in July of last year. The latter, the owner of casinos in Mississippi and Rhode Island and a horseracing track in Colorado, added Dover Downs to the list of properties once the merger was finally approved by shareholders this past March.

The fact that MGM Resorts International would go on a multibillion-dollar shopping spree and then begin massive job cuts should impress Japanese officials. This is the position of the company’s president of global gaming development and former governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval. He asserts that the reduction in its workforce will demonstrate to Japanese lawmakers and regulators that MGM is more flexible and adaptable, which would be positive traits as the company tries to secure one of the initial three integrated resort (IR) licenses to be awarded.

The staff reductions are part of MGM’s “MGM 2020” plan, conceived by its CEO, Jim Murren as a way to cut costs and lower its debt. Part of that initiative involves letting go around 2,000 employees, some of whom could be replaced by robots. By the time the plan is done, MGM should have reduced its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) by $200 million, and a further $100 million before the end of 2021.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal quotes Sandoval as asserting, The bottom line is if they’re aware of it, it’s about making MGM a stronger, more nimble company, and it’s actually going to benefit our work in Japan.” He added, “I’ve been to Japan four times, and I haven’t been asked once about MGM 2020.”

Sandoval’s position isn’t equally shared by industry analysts. Many believe the move could have benefits in the IR bidding wars, but that it could have negative implications, as well. They highlight the company’s willingness to be transparent, but aren’t convinced that the action of eliminating jobs is going to change Japan’s perception. One, Union Gaming’s John DeCree, states, “I don’t think it would be a sticking point for a Japanese regulator.”

Three new masters, the same old collar, as Daniel Sterlitz, Yuval Bronshtein and Murilo Souza bink the most sought after prize in poker.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) had a right royal treat for viewers of the live stream when Event #11: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em conjured up a final table full of winners and warriors. And if it wasn’t on the live stream, then ignore everything that I’ve just written.

Daniel Strelitz is no stranger to the big time after winning the Season XV World Poker Tour (WPT) Championships in 2017 for $1m, but he was still the punchline when it came to friendly banter about the WSOP.

Strelitz took a buzzsaw to that punchline, hacking it to pieces in style, taking down a 400-entrant, $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, and the most robust final table of the series thus far.

Gold bracelet wins at the World Series of Poker for Femi Fashakin, Jeremy Pekarek and Scott Clements.

Three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet events to catch up on with only three people avoided the Salvadore Dali drooping clockface.

First up, the record-breaking Event #3: BIG 50 $500 No-Limit Hold’em, and the fabulously named Femi Fashakin conquered the 28,371-entrant field to take down the $5m GTD, $1m GTD to the winner, one-of-a-kind event.

For four days, opponents blasted so many arrows into Fashakin that he looked like a spiny sea urchin, but his leaks were never severe enough to see him drop to the bottom of the ocean with all the other dead fish.