The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa’s second hotel tower will open in June, its parent company said this week. The Water Club, a USD 400 million 800-room hotel, had been delayed by a fire last year that damaged portions of its exterior. Before the September blaze, the Water Club was scheduled to be the first in a wave of hotel expansion projects to be completed in Atlantic City. That honor went to Harrah’s similarly named Waterfront Tower, which has already started admitting guests on one floor within the past 10 days.

A GBP 5m casino has opened its doors to gamblers in east Kent, amid criticism from church leaders. The G Casino, at the Westwood Cross Retail Park, near Broadstairs, has created 100 jobs and replaces another casino elsewhere in the town. It is equipped with 12 gaming tables, 20 slot machines and a poker room, and will have weekly live entertainment. ut Bishop of Dover Rev Stephen Venner said he feared for society if it relied on casinos to regenerate areas.

Las Vegas (AP) -- Billionaire Sheldon Adelson flipped the switch "on" for his newest creation, the USD 1.9 billion Palazzo hotel-casino, with a modest fireworks display and champagne toast in the brisk January air. The gigantic hotel-casino -- Palazzo means "palace" in Italian -- officially debuted Thursday as the biggest resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip in three years.

International Leisure Development (ILD), the group of companies that promotes the casino mega complex and theme parks Gran Scala, aims to sign agreements with operators during the second and third stage of the project, once it starts operating the first one, whose construction is planned to start at the beginning of 2009. Sources of the company explained that contacts to start the first phase are in advanced stages.

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.

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.

Casino developer MGM Mirage (MGM) said it would open its debut property in the Chinese gambling destination of Macau on December 18. The USD 1.25 billion project is a joint venture with Pansy Ho, daughter of Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho, a gambling industry veteran. The resort will feature 600 rooms, suites and villas; 375 table games; 900 slot machines; and 16 high-end private gambling salons.

Presenting the newest hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in nearly three years, Las Vegas Sands announced that The Palazzo Las Vegas will soft-open on December 20 followed by a series of espectacular grand opening celebratory events from January 17-19, 2008. According to President of The Palazzo Las Vegas Rob Goldstein, the property will become a new resort-hotel-casino of unparalleled luxury, sophistication, and contemporary chic on the Las Vegas Strip.

Gamblers can bet until 6am after councillors agreed to extend two casinos' opening hours. Stanley Casinos had applied for extended licences at casinos on Dundee Street and Ocean Drive. The licensing board dismissed several complaints from residents living nearby. Licensing agent Archie McIvor, acting on behalf of the Leith casino, said: "The casino has been there for many years.

The Taiwan-backed operator of Vietnam's biggest casino, Royal International Corp (RIC), said Monday that its first Sheraton hotel casino would be delayed several months because of design changes. "We aim to complete interior work by the end of this year and open the hotel to guests early next year," said Tran Trong Nghia, head of the company's equity department. RIC had said in August that the 200-room hotel, the first five-star accommodation in UNESCO-recognized Ha Long Bay in northeastern Vietnam, would open this month.

A giant casino set to open in Glasgow has been hit by another delay, but at least it now has a name. The gambling mecca which was due to open in summer 2006, will be called “Alea”, after an ancient Roman term for a game of chance. Bosses of the complex, which will have floor space bigger than a football pitch and be Scotland’s biggest casino, are now recruiting. They want experienced or trainee card dealers, roulette wheel operators and cashiers to fill some of the 250 jobs the venue could bring to the city.

Detroit -- The beds are made. The tables are set. And the poker chips are stacked. But as the USD 800 million MGM Grand Detroit casino, hotel and entertainment complex readies for its gala opening Tuesday, workers spent the weekend scurrying about the massive property, attending to last-minute details. On Sunday, workers checked ceiling lights, installed televisions, adjusted the hood over a grill at the restaurant Palette, and folded shirts at Essentials, a women's boutique.