Monthly Archives: November 2020

Junkets could become a thing of the past for Macau

The junket market feeding Macau’s casinos could be in trouble. It has already come under fire by the city’s gaming regulators, and a new law expected to be approved in China could make things worse. However, that’s not the end of it, as junkets had already taken a massive hit due to COVID-19, both directly and indirectly. As far as Wynn Resorts is concerned, the market segment will never be the same, regardless of how strong the gambling industry emerges after the coronavirus pandemic.

Wynn Resorts held an earnings conference call last week when the topic of junkets came up. The company’s CEO, Matt Maddox, painted a gloomy picture of what’s in store for its “top line market share,” and asserted, “As far as the junkets, again, lots of conversation about junkets. That business is not dead as some people like to say. We saw it getting back to 25 percent to 30 percent of its previous levels. I believe it will continue to consolidate with some of the largest operators, and we will continue to participate in it. So I don’t anticipate that junket business will be back to 2019 levels, because it is consolidating and it is shrinking.”

In January of last year, there were 100 licensed junkets in Macau, and that figure dropped to 95 at the beginning of this year. It has continued to decline since then, and the city has already been forced to adjust its earning potential from the segment. Macau has only taken in around 75% of what it received last year from junkets, and this is expected to be lower as the coronavirus issues linger. 

Just because the junket segment is smaller doesn’t mean that Wynn is ready to write it off completely. Maddox added during his call, “Clearly [the junket industry] is changing and it will be smaller than it was before, but it’s still very real. That business is not dead as some people like to say. The industry will continue to consolidate into the larger operators, and we will continue to participate in it.” Wynn started paying junkets a commission of 42.5% this past March, a 2.5% increase over the previous figure, and the first time the operations had seen a boost in 14 years. Of course, with no traffic heading to Macau at that time, a 42.5% commission could have just as easily been 100% and it wouldn’t have made a difference in payouts.

India raids gambling den of dead congressman

A raid of a former Indian Congressional Leader has resulted in more than 60 arrests. Madhya Pradesh Police swarmed the home of the late Dharmendra Sonkar, arresting his brother and confiscating guns and money on November 7.

The raid consisted of over 200 policemen, who went after Gajendra Sonkar, nicknames Gajju, for suspicions of running a gambling den. They confiscated 17 weapons, ammunition, Rs 7.5 lakh ($10,129 USD) and “relics of deer,” according to one outlet.

Jabalpur Superintendent of Police Siddharth Bahuguna said, “The police came to know about illegal gambling from a house owned by Gajendra Sonkar. When police raided the house, 41 people were found to be gambling.”

“During the raid, the police also found a large number of weapons and ammunition, including carbines, pistols, rifles, in-country pistols, revolvers and air guns,” he said. The Sonkar brothers will face other criminal cases as well, Bahuguna noted.

Pennsylvania’s casinos keeping Covid-19 under control

Pennsylvania might still be catching up to Nevada’s gambling industry in a lot of ways, but it can proudly say it’s better in at least one way: It has less Covid-19. The state has reported just 108 positive cases among casino employees.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced the figure in a Thursday release. The 108 number represents less than 1% of the 16,000 casino employees statewide. The total, representing positive cases since casinos reopened in June, includes 28 cases at Rivers Pittsburgh and 25 cases at Parx in Bensalem, amongst others.

“We currently have more than 1,900 people working at Parx,” said Carrie Nork Minelli, director of advertising and public relations for Parx. “As such over a four-month period our positive case rate is approximately 1.3% which we believe is below the state and Bucks County average.”

Rivers had just a 2% positive test rate. “We’re extremely grateful to Rivers Casino’s Team Members in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for their relentless dedication to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace,” said casino spokesman Jack Horner. “Despite operating in the two Pennsylvania counties with the highest population densities, cases among Rivers Casino Team Members remain low.”

Surprising blowout in Week 9 of the NFL has sports fans flustered

The Week 9 NFL action on Sunday left a lot of sports fans stunned. Even those who aren’t fans of a particular team and one of the oldest veteran quarterbacks in the league were surprised by a blowout loss that most could have never seen coming. By the time the action wrapped up yesterday, two things were perfectly clear about the 2020 NFL season – anything is possible, and nothing is ever guaranteed.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had difficulty overrunning a team that had expected to put up little resistance. However, the Dallas Cowboys gave their best effort and almost managed to walk away with a win. Cowboys linebacker Vander Esch will have to accept his role in handing his team the loss, as he took a shot at Steelers running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. late in the fourth quarter that gave Pittsburgh great field position and a new set of downs. That single egregious act gave new life to the Steelers, who subsequently punched into the end zone to come from behind and take the win, 24-19. 

The Carolina Panthers found themselves facing the league-leading Kansas City Chiefs yesterday and had some addition help with running back Christian McCaffrey finally able to get back on the field after an injury suffered in Week 2. He picked up 18 rushes for 69 yards and tacked on a touchdown to ultimately make things very difficult for the Chiefs. McCaffrey has proven his value to the Panthers offense by being able to return to the action, and the Chiefs had to fight to win, only taking the game in the final seconds when Carolina failed to convert. The 33-31 score shows how strong the Panthers played against the defending Super Bowl champions. 

The Arizona Cardinals were getting -223 before they suited up to take on the +190 Miami Dolphins yesterday. More than few sports gamblers who decided to back the underdog and rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are enjoying fatter wallets today, as Tag went on to throw for 248 yards and picked up two touchdowns to give the Fins a 34-31 win that also included a Miami defensive touchdown. The Cardinals had a chance to come from behind with just under four minutes on the clock, but the offense couldn’t move the ball far enough and a 49-yard field goal attempt came up empty.

Wakayama and Yokohama continue to face IR problems

We have a new date for the earliest a Japanese Integrated Resort (IR) might open. Wakayama Prefecture has postponed the earliest their IR offering could open to spring of 2026. Meanwhile, Yokohama’s IR dreams look increasingly in doubt thanks to a prospective referendum.

Wakayama was forced into announcing their new potential opening date due to Japan’s Central Government, which has extended the application period for IR licenses. The prefecture is working on a proposal for a casino resort for Wakayama Marina city, and hoped to be open in time for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka. Tatsunobu Yokoyama, director of the prefecture’s planning and policy bureau, admitted: “It may not come in time for the Expo, but I would like to proceed with our goal of opening the first IR in Japan.”

Wakayama is also extending the deadline to receive proposal documents, now accepting them up until January 15, 2021. Currently, Canada’s Clairvest Neem Ventures Co., Ltd. and Hong Kong’s Suncity Group Holdings Japan Co., Ltd. have submitted applications, but this delay could open up space for another operator to apply.

Meanwhile in Yokohama, public opposition to an IR is becoming clear. The “Yokohama Citizens’ Group to Decide on a Casino” has doubled the necessary signatures required to call for a referendum on an IR. They needed 62,500 signatures, but received 156,000. If Mayor Fumiko Hayashi confirms they have enough valid signatures, the city council will vote on moving ahead with a referendum.

iGaming NEXT welcomes new shareholders Tim Heath, Robin Reed and Lahcene Merzoug

November 9, 2020 – Disruptive events and media platform iGaming NEXT has welcomed three new equity holders, with Tim Heath’s Venture Capital fund, Yolo Investments, as well as industry veterans Robin Eirik Reed and Lahcene Merzoug assuming holdings in the quickly expanding company.

The new funding will power the next stage of iGaming NEXT, which has established itself as a modern alternative on the iGaming events circuit. Its content-driven 2019 event hosted in Malta, attended by more than 1,200 delegates, focused upon providing world-class learning opportunities. 

It will host a flagship digital version of the conference between November 10-12, with more than 5,000 delegates expected to attend and keynote speakers including Jason Ader and Todd Haushalter.

iGaming NEXT has also expanded into the media sector, hosting what has already become the iGaming industry’s most popular podcast.

Could you become a poker pro during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost all industries and occupations around the world, and that includes the professional poker player. From playing live tournaments to crushing online, the poker pro has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. 

All action went from being live and at the felt for real to on a laptop, mobile device or tablet. For poker pros, life got tougher, but what if you aren’t currently a professional poker and want to become one? What could you do to put this pandemic to good use? 

Train Hard

Poker begins and ends in your own mind. Training, therefore, is as important to a poker player as anything else. From training videos to strategy articles, building a solid base of knowledge to be a poker player is the most important way to start. 

Ryan Leng wins WSOP Circuit online event for $113,040 after a very late registration

Playing a World Series of Poker event is a lot of fun, regardless of whether its online or at a live venue. It’s even more fun, of course, if you win, but imagine for a moment that you win the whole tournament and a WSOP Circuit event after registering for the event just seconds before late registration closes. 

If you don’t have to imagine, then you’re Ryan Leng and you just became $113,040 richer overnight. 

Leng has previous with the World Series of Poker (WSOP), having won the $1,500-entry Bounty event just a couple of years ago. 

This time around, Leng played online, of course, with much of this year’s poker schedule forced behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WSOP Circuit event he would eventually win was one that he registered for after playing pickleball and signing up on his mobile phone in the car park for $525, according to this interview with PokerNews.