While Imperial Pacific International (IPI) continues to struggle with a myriad of financial and legal issues surrounding the development of the Imperial Palace casino resort in Saipan, it’s doing everything it can to shore up its financial health. It doesn’t seem to be working, though, and has seen two consecutive years of losses. Now, after accountants poured over the books with more scrutiny, the company reports that its losses for last year are going to be greater than previously anticipated.

In a filing with the Hong Kong bourse today, IPI asserted that it sees “an increase in net loss for the year ended 31 December 2019” compared to 2018. It added, “The expected increase in net loss is mainly attributable to the considerable decrease in total revenue and gross profit and the impairment of trade receivables.” That decrease in revenue and gross profit stem from the company’s agreement to finally make good, in a small way, on its outstanding $37-million tax bill. The final year-end numbers aren’t yet available, as accountants are still wrapping up their calculations.

In 2017, IPI reported a profit of around $82 million. Since then, however, things have gone downhill, due in no small part to the allegations of wire fraud and money laundering, as well as a number of lawsuits from former construction workers, and the past two years have seen losses. In 2018, IPI’s total revenue was around $418.37 million, a 58.2% year-on-year drop, and the company reported a net loss of $382.3 million for the year. For the first six months of last year, the company saw a net loss of about $242 million off a massive 82.5% reduction in gaming revenue. With that in mind, it’s difficult to imagine what its full-year performance will be when IPI releases its updated figures on March 31.

From top to bottom, IPI can’t seem to get its act together. In recent history, no CEO has been willing to stay for more than a year and several executives have jumped ship. The company’s controlling shareholder was forced to sell 5% of her holdings in order to help keep IPI running as it faces several legal actions from various fronts, including federal authorities and workers. Yet, despite spending an exorbitant amount of time trying to overcome the plethora of negativity, the company still hasn’t been able to grasp that its troubles would go away if it simply played by the rules – the established rules, not its own.

It’s anything but business as usual in Italy as government officials have essentially placed a blanket over movement in the country. A lockdown has been ordered by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte due to the coronavirus, which is forcing citizens and residents to stay at home and to only be allowed to travel after receiving permission. As a result, and as previously predicted by the company, Playtech is expecting major losses in the country and has decided to temporarily halt all operations in Italy until next month.

Playtech, which specializes in online gaming operations and technology, said in February that its revenue was going to take a hit in Italy and China as a result of Covid-19. Things already began to slow down as a result of the country-wide travel ban and the company announced this past Monday that it would close all of its shops in Italy until April 3, according to Gambling News. Playtech is the owner of Italy-based sports gambling firm Snaitech, of which it purchased a controlling 70.6% stake in 2018.

Italy has reported over 460 deaths caused by the coronavirus. In order to prevent the virus from spreading, the government ordered the temporary closure of certain public establishments, including arcade halls, bingo facilities, betting shops, cinemas, discos, pubs and gyms. Other activities, such as sporting events, weddings and funerals, were also ordered to be suspended.

The coronavirus has already taken its toll on global gaming operations, forcing estimated losses of between 1%-4%. This completely wipes out all gains the gaming ecosystem has experienced over the past three years, and recovery is already starting to get underway, but it’s going to be slow. Macau is already back up and running, albeit with a reduced footprint, and other regions, some of which are just starting to see an impact from the virus, are only just now beginning to feel the strain.

In an effort to make sure gaming regulators in Nevada don’t raise any red flags over possible too much market control, Eldorado Resorts has agreed to unload its MontBleu Casino in Lake Tahoe. In doing so, it is proactively preparing for approval from regulators for its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment, presenting a slightly smaller local portfolio that shouldn’t cause concerns about a regional Nevada monopolization of gaming activity. Eldorado outlined the sale in a statement yesterday, explaining that it has already put the wheels in motion to hand over the keys to the property.

Maverick Gaming will pick up the casino for an unspecified amount of money. Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg adds in the statement, “The agreement to divest MontBleu is consistent with our continued focus on the expected closing for the Caesars transaction in the first half of 2020.”

Maverick has been busy the past year or so buying properties around the country and now has acquisitions in Colorado, Nevada, Washington and Louisiana. This is the second deal of the year between the two casino operators after Maverick agreed to purchase the Eldorado Resort & Casino in Shreveport, Louisiana this past January for $230 million in cash. That purchase is still under review by local gaming regulators.

MontBleu has a unique history in the gaming industry. It was operated by Caesars for about 25 years before the company finally bought it. It then sold the property to Columbia Sussex, a former gaming operator, in 2005, in a deal to avoid similar monopolization concerns when the company was merging with Harrah’s. Columbia then sold the venue in 2010 to Tropicana Entertainment, who sold it to Eldorado eight years later.

2018 was a particularly great year for casino equipment supplier TransAct Technologies. It saw 69% growth compared to the previous year, allowing the company to report a net profit of $5.4 million. However, what goes up, with very few exceptions, must come down, and 2019 saw TransAct’s numbers take a huge hit. So huge, in fact, that they almost completely wiped out all of the gains from the previous year.

According to a company filing from yesterday, TransAct saw a 2019 fourth-quarter loss of $800,000, an almost complete 180 to the $962,000 profit it reported for the same quarter a year earlier. For all of 2019, profit plummeted a massive 90.5%, wiping out the $5.4 million 2018 gain and leaving just $516.000.

The weaker results are due to a drop in net sales of around 5% in the last quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, shrinking from $11.76 million to $11.16 million. That activity was a reflection of the entire year’s performance, which saw net sales slide 16.2% to $45.75 million from just under $54.6 million a year earlier.

Still, the company’s chairman and CEO, Bart Shuldman, is apparently happy with the performance, although shareholders probably don’t share his upbeat spirit. He said when turning over the financial numbers, “We are pleased with our execution throughout the year as we transition the focus of our business to the very large food service technology market opportunity that is served by our Boha ecosystem of recurring software and service subscriptions, consumable label sales and our purpose-built BOHA! Hardware.”

Another wave of accusations and opinions against the Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs) came after President Rodrigo Duterte refused to shut it down entirely. Senator Richard Gordon has clarified what he hopes to see from the government, and hinted at a bribe offered to him. Meanwhile, at least one outlet has gone all out with opinion pieces about the industry.

Gordon alleged on March 10 that he was offered a P25 million ($500,000) bribe to end his investigation of money laundering in the POGO industry. The offer was made by a mutual friend linked to the Rodriguez family, who Gordon has summoned to appear before his money laundering senate committee due to their alleged involvement with online gambling operations, and sneaking money into the country.

Flatly refusing the bribe, Gordon insists the offer was a sign of guilt and that the investigation will continue.

But the senator made sure to refine his messaging from the past week about what should be done with POGOs. As long as crime is eliminated and taxes paid, he’s fine with operations continuing. ‘’I don’t want POGO to closed down immediately. I just wanted it regulated,’’ Gordon said.

A bill is working its way through the Missouri legislature could be a solution to unlicensed machines cropping up around the state. It is hoped that this bill will not only be able to regulate the activity and add additional revenue for the state.

Video machines have been spreading across the state, but have done nothing for government coffers. These machines are not regulated, and there is no requirement for operators to pay any form of tax.

Senate Bill 566 looks to address these concerns. The bill, sponsored by State Senator Denny Hoskins, legalizes video lottery game terminals in fraternal and veterans’ organizations, truck stops, and retail locations which also have liquor licenses. The terminals would be connected to a centralized computer system overseen by the state lottery commission, but the machines would be required to be placed in a separate, supervised area that was only accessible to people who are 21 years of age or older.

One area that is unclear at this point is if the bill would automatically legalize machines that are currently operating. Hoskins indicated that some could be grandfathered in as long as they were in compliance with the law, but he did not provide any further details.

SBC Events announced they would be postponing two of international gambling conferences on March 10 due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. CasinoBeats Malta and the Betting on Sports America will be moved until later this year.

The CasinoBeats Malta, the dedicated gambling conference and exhibition was initially set to be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Malta on March 24-26. However, this event has now been moved back until June 22-24, but will still be held at the same venue.

The Betting on Sports America conference was to be held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey on April 28-30, but it has been moved to December 1-3 at the same location.

SBC Events explained: “While the global COVID-19 situation evolves and the official advice and restrictions concerning travel and public gatherings continue to change, we feel we have no alternative but to postpone both events until later in the year.”

PokerStars have taken the predictable step of cancelling three tournaments that were approaching in mainland Europe in the coming weeks and months. With cities in Germany, France and Spain all affected, the poker giant was quick to allay any fears fans and players might have about refunds or transfers and were clear about exactly when the planned events will be postponed until.

Here’s how the news was broken:

“With many PokerStars-sponsored live events upcoming around the world, we wanted to take a moment to let our players know our current position regarding the coronavirus.

We are closely monitoring the spread of COVID 19 and working with the casinos operating the events we sponsor to ensure we are being kept up to speed with all the latest developments.

After the success of Late Night Poker Season 1, which we also featured in this series, poker on screen got a whole lot more entertaining in Britain at the turn of the millennium as Late Night Poker returned.

Season Two focused on many of the features that had made the first season so appealing to viewers. The lipstick cameras hidden under the table that showed fans the players cards before and during each hand, the lingering close-ups on hard-worn faces and smoky background shots that made you, the viewer, feel like the whole game was taking place in an underground bunker. Everything that fans loved was still in place.

The graphics, structure and tournament organization were all even slicker than the first series. A poker series is a little like a comedy vehicle that turns into an established sitcom, with Seinfeld being a good example of the comparison.

In the first series, all the characters have to be introduced and the chemistry discovered. By the time Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer returned to screens, fans were familiar with their idiosyncrasies, as well as the sets, the timing and the energy. It was the same with Late Night Poker; if the feeling after watching the first series was ‘What the heck is this?’ in Britain, then upon the resumption of rivalries, there was a real warmth and welcome to proceedings.

Retrieving a situation from a deficit in sport is always hard. The very nature of knockout football, and the Champions League specifically, is that starting from a losing position is infinitely tougher than starting from a leading position. Every statistic will tell you that it’s easier to have won your first leg if you want to progress into the next round.

Two teams who have plenty of recent history in coming back from a losing first leg to triumph against the odds in the second leg are Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, however. The North London outfit were 30 minutes from an inglorious exit against Ajax and 3-0 down in the tie only for Lucas Moura to spark wild celebrations in the away fans as they came back to win 3-2 on the night and go through to the Champions League final on away goals.

Liverpool know exactly how good it feels to win from behind in this competition too. Not only did they win the cup outright when they came back from 3-0 down at half-time in the 2005 final in Istanbul, but they lost the first leg of last season’s semi-final against Barcelona 3-0 before winning the return fixture at Anfield.

The questions begs asking, then: can these two British teams pull off the great escape yet again?