Sacramento - California stands to make a lot of money from Indian casinos now that Governor Schwarzenegger has signed deals with five tribes to bring in billions of dollars. In return for the new fees, the tribes can increase their number of slot machines.
Mandalay Resort Group Inc. has negotiated a ironclad merger agreement with MGM Mirage Inc., virtually ensuring that the 7.9 billion USD all cash deal will close. Experts said MGM Mirage has zero wiggle room to get out of the deal even if antitrust enforcers or gaming regulators demand the divestiture of major assets, including the Luxor or Excalibur resort facilities. "It seems they would have to divest anything" the FTC demanded, said Linda Varoli, a senior analyst at Merger Insight LLC, a unit of Wall Street Access.
1 Million GBP fruit machine jackpots are on their way - but Swansea could miss out. The Government is relaxing strict gaming laws to allow the Las Vegas-style big money machines to be installed. But they will only be allowed in large "resort casinos" with a floor space of more than 750 square metres. Swansea is set to have two new casinos in the near future, one as part of the second phase of the Salubrious Place development in Wind Street and another at a 50 million GBP Las Vegas-style leisure development for the SA1 zone.
Sky City Entertainment managing director Evan Davies has hinted at ambitions to join the board of Christchurch Casino after the company cleared the final hurdle to buy into the landmark gambling business. Sky City yesterday won clearance from the Casino Control Authority to take a 40.5 per cent stake in Christchurch Casinos Ltd (CCL) for 93.75 million USD, despite bitter opposition from CCL chairman Barry Thomas.
During the recall campaign, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he'd get Indian gaming casinos to pay "their fair share." On Monday, the governor and five major California tribes will sign a compact that will bring the state a billion dollars in revenue. The agreement includes two Sacramento-area tribes, the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians which owns the Cache Creek Casino in Yolo County, and the United Auburn Indian Community, which owns the Thunder Valley Casino north of Roseville.
Las Vegas - Caesars Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of the Las Vegas Hilton to an affiliate of Colony Capital, LLC, a Los Angeles-based international private investment firm, for approximately 280 million USD.
SKYCITY Entertainment Group advises that all conditions have now been met for its proposed acquisition of Aspinall (NZ) Limited which in turn owns a 40.5% shareholding in Christchurch Casino. The Casino Control Authority gave licencing approval to SKYCITY today, which follows the Commerce Commission's and the Overseas Investment Commission's approvals for the purchase of the 40.5% minority shareholding in Christchurch Casino.
Las Vegas - The 4.8 billion USD buyout of Mandalay Resort Group Inc. by MGM Mirage will have global implications for the gambling and convention markets, according to company executives who yesterday previewed an aggressive growth plan stretching from Las Vegas to Singapore. Hours after the boards of both companies unanimously approved the biggest casino deal in history, Terri Lanni, chairman and chief executive officer of MGM Mirage Inc., put competitors on notice that the gambling giant would not let the merger slow efforts to build new casinos around the world.
MGM Mirage's 7.9bn USD (4.4bn GBP) bid for rival casino firm Mandalay Resort has been accepted, paving the way for the creation of a new dominant operator. The new company would own 28 casinos in Nevada, Mississippi, Michigan and Illinois, and half the Borgata hotel-casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
MGM Mirage said yesterday that it planned to sell a casino in Detroit to try to win regulatory approval for its 4.8 billion USD purchase of the Mandalay Resort Group, which would create the world's largest casino company. Mandalay accepted the offer of 71 USD a share late Tuesday from MGM Mirage, which will also assume 2.5 billion USD in debt, the companies said in a joint statement yesterday.
Buffalo, New York - A judge halted the Seneca Indian Nation's plans to build a casino in suburban Buffalo, ruling Wednesday that the tribe may not put its third casino outside of the city. The ruling is a victory for Buffalo, Mayor Anthony Masiello and some downtown business owners who challenged the Senecas' plans to build in Cheektowaga, insisting the casino and its economic benefits were meant for struggling Buffalo.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Indian gambling tribes are close to completing a much anticipated agreement that could provide the state 1 billion USD in new revenue this year. Schwarzenegger said Tuesday the agreement is imminent between four tribes, and he expects several others will join soon. Although he declined to provide further details, legislative sources familiar with the negotiations say the arrangement calls for the tribes to put up an initial cash contribution to the state that will likely be financed through the sale of bonds.
