Pittsburgh - Don H. Barden could have scheduled the groundbreaking for his USD 450 million casino on his 64th birthday, Dec. 20, if he wanted. After all, he owns what is projected to be the most lucrative of Pennsylvania’s 14 slots casino licenses. But already irritated by a year’s worth of delays, Mr. Barden, the country’s only African-American owner of a national gambling company, decided against that.
Last week, Groupe Lucien Barriere officially opened its new establishment in Toulouse, the biggest casino in France. Located on Ile du Ramier, by the Garonne, this 14.300 m2 building spread over three levels, was designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, architect for Cardète & Huet, a firm in Toulouse. This casino replaced the temporary one which opened last year on the Cepiere racecourse.
Auckland's SkyCity Casino has been forced to tighten controls on potential problem gamblers in a move which the Problem Gambling Foundation says should cut the casino's profits. SkyCity, the country's fifth-biggest listed company, invited bids for the company in September after its net profit dropped 18 per cent to NZD 98 million in the year to June, but failed to find a buyer before its annual meeting last week.
The Chilean gambling regulator, the Casino Superintendence (SCJ), has formally approved the participation of South African operator Sun International in Chile’s new casino project, the hotel and resorts company said on Monday. Sun International would now acquire a 40 percent equity interest in local entity San Francisco Investment, which holds a 15-year casino license in Region Six, the premier casino opportunity in Chile.
International Leisure Development (ILD), a pool of companies which promote the games of chance park as well as Gran Scala theme parks, in Spain, compete with other firms that boost similar ideas, as well as Euro Vegas in Hungary. Euro Vegas is boosted by a group of US investors and will be located in Bezenye, a small Hungarian town located 80 kilometres from Vienna, 40 from Bratislava and 160 from Budapest.
New Jersey’s casino enforcement agency recommended only a one-year license renewal for Tropicana Casino and Resort, citing mass layoffs and a litany of customer complaints under the troubled ownership of Columbia Sussex Corp. The recommendation by the Division of Gaming Enforcement will be considered by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission when it meets December 12 to make a final ruling on Tropicana’s license and the suitability of Columbia Sussex and CEO William J. Yung III as owners.
The UK’s first fully-equipped specialist casino school has opened in Cardiff, Wales. The independent accredited training school, set up by Professional Croupier Training (PCT), aims to provide intensive instruction for people aiming to work in the gaming sector according to training officer Janet Miller. "The new National Occupational Standards are part of a move to professionalise the sector and encourage more talented people, including graduates, to pursue careers in casinos," Miller commented.
Miami -South Florida's gaming scene has taken some big strides since the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino kick-started things with its opulent digs in 2004. Las Vegas-style slots arrived in Broward County last November and cued a glitzy transformation for its fading parimutuels. This past summer, Florida law expanded gambling even further: Casinos can stay open 18 hours a day during the week and 24 hours on weekends, up from 16 hours every day.
Dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino say they are going ahead with union preparations after the Nov. 24 vote regardless of objections management has filed with the National Labor Relations Board. "When I got started, I said to myself, 'I will see this to the end. I will not waiver from this.' ...We deserve it and we need it," 15-year dealer Bill Shea of Westerly said.
Gambling opponents are emerging from months of relative inactivity and mobilizing against Governor Deval Patrick's casino plan, hoping to capitalize on a tepid effort by the governor to secure its passage. Church leaders, local political groups, preservationists, and the League of Women Voters are sponsoring antigambling forums across the state and actively building a network that will attempt to persuade legislators to vote against casinos.
After the authorization granted by Casino Superintendence (SCJ) to Canadian bank Clairvest Group in order to enter the society Marina del Sol, a firm which develops a gambling center in the 8th region, foreign investment grew 54.3%. The US firm which will enter the society Marina del Sol (connected to family Imschenetzky) with a participation of 50%, will bring the new group USD 38 million.
Wyandotte County’s Unified Board of Commissioners approved this week two planning and zoning applications from development teams vying to become the manager of a state-owned casino. The board upheld last month’s recommendations from the Unified Government’s Planning Commission. The board approved one proposal from the Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment and one from KS&F Development.
