Entering this year, it was widely expected that the Federal Reserve would pare interest rates from 20-year highs, potentially unleashing a wave of mergers and acquisitions activity in the casino gaming industry, but that scenario hasn’t materialized. The Las Vegas Strip. High interest rates are weighing on gaming industry mergers and acquisitions activity, says an analyst. (Image: Las Vegas Sun) Following a string of stubbornly high readings of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to start 2024, expectations that the Fed could lower rates anywhere from three to six times this year are all but erased ..read more

Clark County has approved a permit filed by Bally’s Corp. to implode the historic Tropicana Las Vegas. The Rhode Island-based company has until Oct. 20 to drop the Trop. The Boardwalk Hotel & Casino meets its maker on May 9, 2006. Las Vegas has a long history of staging implosions as public spectacles. (Image: Associated Press) The approval was granted on April 20, nine days after the permit was filed, but still requires a payment of $48,000 in application fees to activate, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the application, the implosion will cost Bally’s $15 million ..read more

Shares of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) jumped 2.41% today on volume that was 55.7% above the daily average after David Einhorn disclosed that his Greenlight Capital took a “medium sized” stake in the regional casino operator in the first quarter. Greenlight Capital founder David Einhorn at the World Series of Poker. His hedge announced a new stake in Penn Entertainment. (Image: Institutional Investor) In a letter to the hedge fund’s clients, Einhorn said Greenlight established a position in Penn at an average price of $22.69 — well above the stock’s closing price of $17.84. The shares are ..read more

Online gaming software giant Evolution AB will have to wait to discover the identity of the author of a report that it claims was defamatory and wiped $3 billion off its market cap. Judge John C Porto, above, has determined that the veracity of the Evolution report – or lack of — must be better established before its author can be revealed in order to protect the attorney-client relationship. (Image: POAC) Evolution is suing the unknown entity for libel, along with the unknown investigative firm that compiled the report, and Calcagni & Kanefsky (C&K). That’s the New Jersey law firm tha ..read more

Australian casino giant Crown Resorts has been deemed suitable to continue possessing a gaming license in New South Wales (NSW) after the embattled organization underwent a corporate overhaul in recent years. Crown Sydney has been found suitable to continue holding a casino license in New South Wales. The regulatory inquiry outcome is a major win for Crown Resorts, which last month received a similar suitability finding in Victoria for Crown Melbourne. (Image: Crown Resorts) On Tuesday, gaming regulators in NSW said Crown’s governance revamp has brought the organization into regulatory complia ..read more

Legislation in Pennsylvania seeking to amend rules regarding how players fund their online gaming accounts has been filed in the Harrisburg capital. Online gamblers in Pennsylvania can use their credit cards to fund their internet wagering accounts. Several state senators, however, are concerned online gambling on credit is only worsening the state’s consumer credit card debt problem. (Image: Shutterstock) Casino.org reported last month on state Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) drafting legislation to change regulatory conditions for online gambling. Fontana, citing piling credit card debt amo ..read more

The NFL has reinstated Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers after the 26-year-old served a one-year suspension for violating the league’s sports betting rules. Isaiah Rodgers has been reinstated by the NFL after serving a yearlong suspension for violating the pro football league’s sports betting policy. Rodgers was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles last summer after he was released by the Indianapolis Colts amid the gambling scandal. (Image: AP) Rodgers was banned from pro football a year ago after a league probe found that the then-Indianapolis Colts player placed bets through a l ..read more

The development group behind MGM Osaka this week secured its final financing component to bring the integrated casino resort to reality. MGM Resorts International and Orix Corporation have their financing strategy finalized for MGM Osaka, a more than $8 billion development on Yumeshima Island. The partners this week secured the final $3.42 billion in financing needed to complete the project scheduled to open in 2030. (Image: MGM Resorts International) MGM Osaka is a more than $8 billion development on the city’s Yumeshima Island, an artificial man-made plot of land spanning about 700 acres. Th ..read more

The defense attorney representing the accused murderer of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur said on Wednesday that his client, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, repeatedly lied about his involvement in the 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Duane “Keffe D” Davis is led into a Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday. (Image: Associated Press) “He himself is giving different stories,” attorney Carl Arnold told reporters outside the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, following a brief meeting with a Nevada judge. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 4. Davis, a former Los Angeles gang kingpin, stands accused ..read more

A man who lost a poker game at Delaware Park Casino recently wound up getting arrested after he got into a fight with another player, according to Delaware State Police. Delaware Park Casino gaming floor, pictured above. A man was arrested at the property after a fight. (Image: Delaware Park Casino) Tavon White, 28, of Newark, Del., was charged with second-degree assault and criminal mischief last Friday morning at Delaware Park Casino in Wilmington, Del. He and the victim got into a struggle at about 2:30 a.m. White allegedly punched the other man in the face after an argument escalated into ..read more