Wire NORTH AMERICA
Pope Casino up for Grabs Again?
A decision to award a casino licence to Cherokee Nation and Legends Resort and Casino in Pope County has been annulled.
Tree out of the four casinos earmarked for Arkansas as part of a constitutional amendment approved in 2018 have already opened.
ARKANSAS CASINO NEWS
NEVADA - BattleBots, a robot combat competition, provides the theme for the first official BattleBots casino slot games installed at Silverton Casino Hotel.
Developed by Konami Gaming, the industry’s first BattleBots slot machine debuts as Las Vegas gears up for the opening of the new hit live Las Vegas show: “BATTLEBOTS: DESTRUCT-A-THON,” which will open at the BattleBox arena on Friday, 3 February. Also, on view alongside the gaming machine are several real BattleBots robots, including Tombstone, Skorpios, Jackpot and Ginsu.
COLORADO – SIS has launched its esports Competitive Gaming product in a second US state. The non-tournament esports solution is now live in Colorado through long-term operator partner, bet365, following the successful product release in New Jersey in late 2022.
Developed specifically for betting, SIS’ H2H Global Gaming League hosts over 180,000 events per year, providing a full end-to-end solution with integrity at its core to deliver superior margins around the clock.
NEVADA - Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino, a portfolio company of Affinity Interactive, has reopened following a multimillion-dollar renovation.
Redesigned hotel rooms, a refreshed casino floor
with a new “Tree Bar” featuring 85″ TVs, and additional slot machines with the latest game themes and progressives are among the renovations designed to provide guests with an upgraded and enhanced experience.
“We’ve been eagerly anticipating the reopening of Buffalo Bill’s for quite some time,” said Jerry West, Vice President and General Manager of Primm Valley Casino Resorts. “We’re excited to show guests the many upgrades we’ve made, and we are confident they will undoubtedly walk away with a new impression of this property.
OHIO –International Game Technology’s IGT PlaySports technology is now live in Ohio. Through an agreement with Green Bear Gaming Development, LLC, operating as UBetOhio, IGT’s PlaySports QuickBet Kiosks have been deployed at restaurants and bars across Ohio, allowing the operator to deliver a fun betting experience to players in a compact footprint. “As a Type C Sports Gaming provider, UBetOhio is able to offer betting on popular sports via IGT’s sophisticated technology in social settings where fans are already watching games on TV,” said Joe Asher, IGT President of Sports Betting.
P32 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Pulaski County Circuit Judge, Tim Fox, has annulled a decision by the Arkansas Racing Commission to award a casino licence for the Cherokee Nation and Legends Resort and Casino to build a casino in Pope County, saying it violated the state’s constitution. Cherokee Nation Businesses and Legends Resort and Casino confirmed they will appeal the ruling.
Judge Fox ruled that Legends should not have been allowed as part of a joint bid as it had no previous experience in the casino sector. He said: “Te Racing Commission abused its regulatory agency discretion in allowing ‘good cause shown’ for the Legends’ casino licence application to be tendered over seven months, after the May 2019 licence period closed, as Legends did not even exist at the time of the May 2019 application period. Te Cherokee Nation licence was issued unconstitutionally, in violation of the clear and unambiguous language of Amendment 100. Such licence is a legal nullity, void and of no effect.”
Te Cherokee Nation bid won out in a 3-2 Racing Commission vote after the Arkansas Supreme
Court said the Gulfside Casino Partnership project was ineligible in late October 2021. Its $225m Legends casino would have included a 50,000sq.ft casino with 1,200 slots and 32 table games, a sportsbook, a luxury hotel with 200 rooms with a resort-style pool, spa and fitness center, 15,000sq.ft of mixed-use conference and entertainment space for 1,000 people, and an outdoor water park and music venue.
Tree out of the four casinos earmarked for Arkansas as part of a constitutional amendment approved in 2018 have already opened. Tese are Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis and Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff. Cherokee Nation Businesses has already bought more than 180 acres of land for the project.
Chuck Garrett, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, commented: “While the circuit court’s ruling is disappointing, in the interest of forward progress, we are pleased to have a decision. We remain confident in our legal position and will move quickly to have our appeal heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court.”
Texas Texas State Senator hopeful of casino bill
Texas State Senator, Carol Alvarado, has filed bill SJR 17, which aims to authorise and regulate casino gambling at a limited number of destination resorts and facilities in Texas, including San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston, with facilities licensed by a Texas Gaming Commission to regulate casino gambling and require the imposition of a special state tax.
“Tis would have to be a casino that has a four- or five-star hotel, shops and restaurants. Tis is something I’ve been pushing for quite some time because I believe it diversifies our economy. It makes Texas a destination place with resorts and all sorts of amenities,” said Alvarado.
“Te regulations and everything for a licensee to even bid will be pretty strict. You’ll have to go through extensive background checks and everything else. So
these would be very specific,” stated Alvarado. “Casinos would operate in four- or five-star hotels, in a complex with shops and restaurants.”
Alvarado remains optimistic of receiving bipartisan support for the casino bill. “It gives others that maybe were hesitant a second look and say, ‘we’re not exactly approving gaming, we’re just going to allow Texans to vote on it. Last session was the first time that we had a Democrat and Republican sponsoring the bill in the House and the Senate,” she said.
Alvarado said the bill would create thousands of jobs and bring millions in tax. “Tis is not putting a slot machine or blackjack table in a restaurant, a bar or convenience store. Tis is will spur job growth, add value to our economy,” she explained. “First, we have to pass a constitutional amendment.”
California
Simplebet has shared details of an historic performance on the College Football (CFB) National Championship Game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Georgia Bulldogs.
Simplebet’s handle of nearly $4m came across operator partners such as bet365, DraftKings, Caesars and Betr, during the event which saw Georgia win back-to-back titles - a notable increase on the $1.7m in 2022.
Te National Championship alone saw 158,000 wagers placed during the duration of the game which marked an 226 per cent increase on the previous year.
Te most bet on market by the provider was drive result exact – which allows bettors to bet on whether a drive will result in a touchdown, field goal attempt, punt or turnover.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162
