Gov. Kenny Guinn Friday named John Moran Jr. to the Nevada Gaming Commission, replacing three-term commissioner Augie Gurrola. Moran will join the commission July 26 when he resigns from the state Board of Wildlife Commissioners, where he has served since July 2000 and is in his second term.

Providence, Rhode Island - A proposed West Warwick casino moved closer to a place on the November ballot with House approval Friday. The 52-19 vote came a day after Senate support, amid a flurry of 11th-hour business as state lawmakers raced toward an annual recess.

Las Vegas gambling mogul Steve Wynn broke ground Thursday on his first Macau casino, a 705 million USD mega resort that will bring fresh competition to the enclave's top industry. Wynn Macau, which will include 600 hotel rooms and 100,000 square feet (9,000 square meters) of gambling space, is to open by the end of 2006.

Providence, Rhode Island - Voters would decide whether a casino should be built in West Warwick, under a bill approved by the Senate Thursday night. The 23-11 vote moves the bill to the House, which is expected to consider it on Friday. The proposal has advanced quickly through the General Assembly this week, after Harrah's Entertainment sweetened its offer to the state. The company agreed to a higher maximum tax rate and to paying a $ 100 million licensing fee over three years, instead of 10.

The nation's gaming giants are expected to lose their fight to prevent offshore internet gambling, with the Howard Government tipped to allow international competitors. The decision could revolutionise the industry by allowing offshore betting exchanges to become licensed in Australia.

Albany - The state Legislature has the same message for Gov. George Pataki that it had in 2003: Collect state taxes on sales by Indian vendors to non-Native Americans. The state Assembly Wednesday approved a bill ordering the Pataki administration to start collecting the taxes on sales of tobacco, motor fuel and other items on Indian lands to non-Indians starting Jan. 1, 2005. The Senate passed the measure last week.

Atlantic City - The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which has hit the jackpot with gamblers since its opening nearly a year ago, had its license renewed Wednesday. The casino hotel, which began taking bets July 2, was granted a one-year license renewal by the state Casino Control Commission. As is customary with Atlantic City casinos, one-year licenses are issued for the first three years.

Las Vegas - Mandalay Resort Group today announced that it has postponed its annual meeting of stockholders in order to include for consideration at the annual meeting the Merger Agreement among Mandalay, MGM Mirage and a subsidiary of MGM Mirage. The annual meeting was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, July 6, 2004. Mandalay will set a new record date and provide additional information with respect to the annual meeting in a revised proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and distributed to stockholders.

Commerces, California - Proving that his poker skills are just as accomplished as his acting talents, Ben Affleck became the first film star to win a major poker open last night when he captured Commerce Casino's California State Poker Championship's 10,000 USD-buy in event that netted him a cool 356,400 USD for first place, and a seat at the World Poker Tour Championship next April.

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. said it plans to appeal a recent decision by the United States District Court for the District of Nevada granting a Station Casinos, Inc. motion for summary judgment in patent litigation between the two companies. Harrah's sued Station in July 2001 over infringement of Harrah's national customer-recognition system and methods patents (U.S. patent Nos. 5,761,647 and 6,183,362) (the "Customer Recognition Patents") and its patent involving the activation of physical instrumentalities through the use of a customer reward card (U.S. patent No. 6,003,013) -- the "013 Patent".

Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho's gambling empire would consider investing in a proposed casino in Singapore, but sees Thailand as a better bet, a senior official from the company said yesterday. Thailand and Singapore are debating whether to legalise casinos – moves that would intensify Asia’s 14 billion USD gambling industry and give the southeast Asian nations new avenues for tapping the rising wealth of Chinese tourists and local taxes. "Thailand would be more attractive," said Ambrose So of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), which enjoyed a 40-year monopoly on casinos in Macau until US magnate Sheldon Adelson opened a casino in the Chinese enclave in May.

Moscow, June 22 – Unicum Group of Companies, the leading distributor of slot machines and equipment for gaming industry in Russia, announces the debut of Bluebird slot machine from WMS Gaming in Russia and the CIS countries.