NEWS
Casino developers work to bring local authorities onboard
British planners approve a new super-casino, while a US tribe makes the case for partnership
Britain’s Genting has received crucial local government approval for its plans to open a £120m ($190m) “super casino” at the NEC, a large exhibition and trade fair venue near Birmingham. And its experience shows the importance of getting local authorities on-side
with the details of new casino developments, as well as the broad concepts. The 50,000 square-foot casino and associated facilities including hotel, retail
and dining will, says Genting, create the equivalent of 1100 full-time jobs and contribute more than £25m ($40m) annually in added value to the local economy when it opens at the end of next year. But final approval was only given after the NEC agreed to help fund public
transportation to and from the site, for all those new employees. In Minnesota, meanwhile, the White Earth tribe is also striving to see things
from government’s point of view. It is proposing a partnership with the state to develop a casino in the St. Paul/Minneapolis conurbation that would fund a new home for the Vikings football team. The tribe and state would split revenue 50-50, and it’s claimed that the government could fund its entire share of a new stadium from that revenue. The tribe is calling the project MinnesotaWins. “Minnesotans are growing frustrated with the
Some hopes for expanding the casino industry could be too ambitious
many ill-conceived schemes to fund the stadium,” said Erma J. Vizenor, Tribal Chairwoman of the White Earth Tribe. “All the money from a White Earth-state casino would stay in Minnesota. The tribe’s share would be invested in housing, education, healthcare and
economic opportunities, benefiting not just the tribe but all of northwestern Minnesota. The state could use its share for a Vikings stadium, to pay back schools, for economic development or for any purpose – and all of it with no new taxes.” White Earth already has a reservation casino, Shooting Star, but its distance
from major centres means it often earns less than $10m annually. The proposed development would create 2000 new jobs as well as a fillip for
the construction sector, proponents say, and population growth would ensure that existing casinos’ revenue was not cannibalised. MinnesotaWin-Wins indeed? But sometimes, hopes for the expansion of the casino business may just be
too ambitious. In Michigan, for example, a total of 22 new casinos have been proposed, including eight more in downtown Detroit – which already has three. Their combined annual revenue of $1.4bn last year, and the resultant tax
revenue for the city and state, are said to be inclining some local leaders favourably toward new casino developments, although top state politicians are less convinced. Michigan also has a further 22 tribal casinos. Possible locations for the new entrants include Grand Rapids, Lansing,
Cadillac, Romulus, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. However, tribes and the existing Detroit casinos are gearing up to mount a major lobbying offensive against the schemes.
8 APRIL 2012 GAMINGPEOPLE
32RED Online operator 32Red has appointed David Bowen, a former Development Director of Ladbrokes, as a Non-Executive Director.
888 Online operator 888 has confirmed Interim CEO Brian Mattingley as permanent CEO. Mattingley, who took over the role a year ago after the departure of Gigi Levy, has also been Deputy Chairman of 888 for six years and a board member since 2005.
BODOGUK Adam Joseph has joined BodogUK as Head of Casino from Betfair, where he held a similar role.
CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT Gary Loveman, Chairman, President and CEO of Caesars Entertainment, has been appointed to the President’s Export Council. Along with others from the travel and hospitality sectors, he will advise the White House on developing international tourism to the US.
DRGT Joost van Egeraat has been named Sales Director at DRGT, a new position created to develop international sales. He previously held international positions at Orion Gaming and the Suzo Happ Group. Van Egeraat will work alongside Senior Business Development Director Georg Steiner. Said CEO Jurgen de Munck: “We have great respect for Joost. The way he works fits in ideally with our customer-centric, flexible approach. With Joost we are bringing even more direction to the sales team.”
GLI Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has appointed Alojz Zdjelar as Technical Manager of its Sydney lab. Zdjelar, who has worked with regulators and suppliers in both Australia and Europe for more than a decade, will lead all New South Wales engineering teams for GLI.
GSA Adrian Marcu, Vice President of Global Technical Architecture at International Game Technology (IGT), has been elected as Chairman of the Gaming Standards Association (GSA). The new Vice Chair is Walt Eisele, Vice President Technology at Bally Technologies; the Treasurer is Mark Pace, VP Network Gaming Engineering & Operations for WMS Gaming; and the Secretary is Rick Gilhuly, Chief Information Officer for Manitoba Lotteries.
JPM GROUP Paul Bursnell is the new Chief Operating Officer of JPM Group, joining from Inspired Gaming Group, where he was Sales Director UK and International. JPM’s Simon Herbert said the appointment “mirrors perfectly JPM’s strategy of support and commitment to its home territory coupled with an aggressive expansion into new overseas markets”.
MERKUR GAMING Daniel van Marissing, Sales and Marketing Director with EGT for the past three-and-a-half years, has left the company to join Merkur Gaming as Managing Director.
MOUNT AIRY Randie Carlson has been appointed Player Development Executive for Mount Airy Casino Resort.
PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT Desiree Rogers and Jaynie Miller Studenmund have joined the board of Pinnacle Entertainment. Rogers is CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, which publishes titles including Ebony, and previously worked in the White House. Studenmund sits on a number of boards including that of Orbitz, and was previously COO of Overture Services,
SPIELO INTERNATIONAL Spielo International has made two key appointments to strengthen its Asian presence. Lai Fatt Chiang becomes General Manager of Casino Systems for Asia Pacific, based in Malaysia, while Maria Garcia becomes Director of Sales for Asia (Casino Games). Based in Macau, she has worked in the region for slot manufacturers since 2006, and was most recently Sales and Marketing Director for Asia Pioneer Entertainment.
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