James Packer's Asian casino partner Lawrence Ho says its PBL joint venture made some early mistakes with its first casino project, Crown Macau. Mr Ho, son of casino billionaire Stanley Ho, said "Melco PBL didn't get off to a good start." "We went away from my original vision - which was a high-roller, six-star, VIP property - and tried to squeeze in too many slot machines", in order to boost profit margins.

The fiscal year 2006-2007, which just ended on October 3, was similar to the previous ones, that is, quite miserable and stagnant, according to a new article published by Casinos de France. The professional union interviewed 190 French casinos (out of 197) and found out that their GGR increased globally by 2.8%, amounting to 2.8 billion euros.

Shares of Isle of Capri Casinos slumped to a new 52-week low Tuesday after the casino operator reported it swung to a fiscal second-quarter loss, but some analysts remained upbeat on the company’s potential. Late Monday, Isle reported a quarterly loss of USD 24.6 million, or 80 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss of 45 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 4 cents per share.

Taipei (Asia Pulse) - The Executive Yuan approved Wednesday a raft of amendments to the Outlying Islands Development Act during its weekly meeting, but a measure permitting the opening of casinos was not included in the package. Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey said the government has no plans at present to legalize the gambling industry, due to a lack of social consensus on the issue.

A retired Hollywood movie mogul now living in Johnson County is hoping to spin a hit TV show and more from his patent-pending casino game invention, BlackJack Extreme. The card game - a blend of blackjack and poker strategies - is as intriguing as its inventor, David C. Thomas. Thomas’ lengthy resume as a producer, director and location manager includes such films as “Kansas City,” “The Howling,” “Mask,”...

Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, who recently launched the world's biggest gambling complex, may have given up on hopes of establishing a casino in Israel, but Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Monday said he plans to push hard for a legal gambling house in the southern city of Eilat. Aharonovitch made the announcement Monday at a meeting of the Knesset Economics Committee where he presented the ministry's work plan for 2008.

Koronadal City (MindaNews) -- Officials in Sarawak, Malaysia have agreed with their Philippine counterparts to touch base with Ekran Berhad for the possible reopening of the mothballed multi-billion peso Samal Casino Resort. South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance Fuentes, chair of the recently concluded 2nd BIMP-EAGA Chief of Ministers, Governors and Heads of Local Government Forum here...

Yarmouth's Pleasure Beach boss Albert Jones is to lay down what he hopes will be a winning hand in the battle to bring gaming on a Las Vegas scale to the resort. Residents will be given their first real glimpse of his bold plans for a GBP 35m casino and leisure complex, creating about 1,000 jobs, at a public exhibition in the town next week. The centre, to be called The Edge, would revitalise a strip of wasteland on South Denes between the Pleasure Beach and the outer harbour site.

Macau/New DelhiI: Goa will soon have a new addition to its list of attractions. And it could be no bigger than a casino spread over 20,000 sq ft, thanks to the Rs 3,400-crore Playwin, the country’s largest online lottery company and gaming brand of Pan India Infravest. The company believes that this offshore casino will be by far the biggest casino operation in the state.

Atlantic City (AP) -- State casino regulators extended the Tropicana Casino and Resort's license until next week, when a final decision on whether it should be renewed can be made. The state Casino Control Commission has heard two weeks of testimony on whether to relicense the casino in light of concerns about cleanliness, staffing levels and compliance with state regulations.

The Communist Party and the state think that it is now not the right time to allow open casinos, because opinions still vary about this. Deputy Prime Minister said so during the National Assembly deputies about whether the country should allow open casinos at the latest legislative session. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said: “It is not because we still cannot keep control over casinos.

Seniat, the Venezuelan tax administration agency, has planned the verification of other bingo halls and casinos in the region of Guayana for the following days, where they will proceed to the confiscation of equipments in case the contributor does not fit in with the regulation of the public administration. Within the transformation of the plans “Evasion and Smuggling Zero”,...