2008 June archive | Casino blog

New casino begins operations near Indianapolis

♠ June 20th, 2008 by ♣ admin

New casino begins operations near Indianapolis New casino begins operations near Indianapolis –> << Back Indiana [Enlarge Image] By Gene Koprowski The Indiana Live Casino, near Indianapolis, received approved from the state Gaming Commission to operate, and will officially open today.
More than 1,900 high-tech slot machines and upscale delicacies from Café Live by Wolfgang Puck await gamers inside Indiana Live Casino’s pavilion, a 70,000-square-foot pavilion that may be staffed 350 employees.
“This has been an exciting process for everyone involved,” said Mark Hemmerle, general manager of Indiana Live Casino. “We are elated that this day has finally arrived and that we have gained approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission to welcome everyone throughout central Indiana and beyond to experience the latest, greatest and most exciting Vegas-style casino Indiana has to offer.”

The casino completed a comprehensive gaming commission auditing process that scrutinized operations and ensured internal policies and procedures met state-enforced industry regulations before receiving regulatory approval this week.
“Indiana Live Casino’s reality has been a day-and-night effort between East Coast and Midwest teams dedicated to a mutual business venture, the rules and regulations of the state’s industry regulators and the interests of those throughout central Indiana who seek the thrills of challenging gaming, fine dining and excellent nightlife,” Hemmerle said.
Six months from now, the facility, billed as a temporary casino, will be replaced by a 233,000-square-foot permanent Indiana Live Casino at the Indiana Downs clubhouse. The locale will feature not only the slots and electronic gaming devices but also upscale dining and nightlife destinations, including Maker’s Mark Steakhouse, NASCAR Sports Grille, Live Market featuring international foods in a fresh-market atmosphere and both the Angels Rock Bar and Mosaic Center Bar.
“All of that — combined with both live and simulcasting horse racing at Indiana Downs, you just can’t ask for more,” Hemmerle said.

The casino is located just 20 minutes from downtown Indianapolis off Interstate 74 at Exit 109 in Shelbyville, Indiana Live Casino is central Indiana’s newest destination for the best in exciting casino action and entertainment.
Indiana Live Casino is owned by Indiana Downs LLC. The project is being developed and managed by Baltimore, Md.-based developer The Cordish Company. The Cordish Company’s Gaming Operations are headed by CEO and partner Dennis Gomes. For more, visit www.indianalivecasino.com.

Many of the Cordish Company’s projects involve public/private partnerships and are of unique significance to the cities in which they are located. Prime examples are the company’s prominent role in the redevelopment of projects in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor; Atlantic City, N.J.; Hollywood, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.;
Houston, Texas; Louisville, Ky.; and Tampa, Fla.

The company currently has over $1 billion in construction focusing primarily on Sports Anchored Districts.

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Louisiana casinos report 10.4 percent in revenues

♠ June 20th, 2008 by ♣ admin

Louisiana casinos report 10.4 percent in revenues Louisiana casinos report 10.4 percent in revenues –> << Back Louisiana [Enlarge Image] By Gene Koprowski Powered by the local delivery of federal tax rebate checks, Louisiana's casinos reported a 10.4 percent increase in revenue from gambling in May.

The state’s 13 riverboat casinos, as well as Harrah’s New Orleans land casino and four racetrack casinos, reported winnings of $235.2 million, up from $213.1 million in April, state police reported this week. A year ago, the casinos reported $220.5 million in winnings.

The increase reverses a 7.2 percent drop in revenue from gambling from March to April.
Louisiana State University economist Loren Scott said the casinos had five weekends of operation in May 2008 compared with four a year ago. What’s more, gamblers took part of their tax rebates to the casinos . “Surveys showed people were going to spend about half of it and stash the other half. So, there’s some discretionary income there,” Scott said.
According to Wade Duty, executive director of the Casino Association of Louisiana, revenues went down after Hurricane Katrina. “You want to grow about four percent a year. We’ve only grown about 2 percent a year,” he said.

The strongest performance was recorded in markets that attract gamblers from nearby Texas, including:
* Shreveport-Bossier City, which serves gamblers from Dallas-Fort Worth, recorded $76.3 million in winnings, up from $69.1 million in April and $69.5 million in May 2007.

* Casinos in Lake Charles, a favorite of Houston-area players, won just over $60 million in May, up from $53.4 million in April and $55 million in May 2007.

Other strong performers included:

* The New Orleans market won $64.2 million last month, up from $59.4 million in April and $63.4 million in May 2007.

* The Baton Rouge market took in $19.8 million in May, up from the April figure of $18.3 million and $20.1 million in May 2007.

* In Opelousas, the Evangeline Downs track casino took in $9.8 million in May, compared with $8.7 million in April and $9.3 million in May 2007.

* The sole riverboat casino in the Morgan City market won $5 million in May, up from $4 million in April. Opening in the middle of May 2007, that boat won $2.8 million for about two weeks of operation.

The massive sales increase report did not include the state’s three Indian reservation casinos, which are not required to publicly report their winnings.

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Bermuda to allow gambling on cruise ships

♠ June 20th, 2008 by ♣ admin

Bermuda to allow gambling on cruise ships Bermuda to allow gambling on cruise ships –> << Back Bermuda [Enlarge Image] By Gene Koprowski Bermuda is making some major changes to the rules controlling cruise ships visiting the country. The nation's legislature this week approved a plan to let ships operate shops, bars, casinos and other entertainment venues...

…every night while they are in port at Bermuda’s — a major relaxation of long-term rules that have restricted on-board games.

The change is designed to make Bermuda more “competitive” with other cruise destinations, experts said.
Most of the cruise ships that visit Bermuda spend multiple nights in port, and some legislators fear the existing rules restricting casino gambling and other entertainment options on ships have diminished the attraction of a cruise to the destination.

“The common practice of prohibiting on-board revenue from shops, professional entertainment and casinos while ships are docked in Bermuda is . . . contributing to Bermuda’s loss of competitive advantage,” Bermuda’s Premier Ewart Brown said.

The new policy to allow gambling on the ships is controversial in a country where casino gambling is outlawed, and opposition party members fought the change on the grounds that it would open the door to casinos on land, too.
Legislators also agreed to waive the $14 per cabin tax the country charges cruise ships docking in Hamilton and St. George’s for three years, starting in 2009. The country hopes to lure smaller, premium ships back to the ports.

Premier Brown announced the decision in the House of Assembly on Friday.

The politician said that the restrictions would be removed after 10 p.m. every night, and said cruise lines would in return, for the concession, be required to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to on-Island activities such as the Bermuda Music Festival and Harbour Nights.

Opinion over gambling has been somewhat controversial on the Island, with the AME Church recently condemning the controversial casino ship Niobe Corinthian which came to Bermuda and the Seventh-day Adventist Church hitting out against poker games which were being played in bars.

Pro-gambling groups hoped Dr. Brown would bring a more relaxed attitude, and have pointed to the Premier’s participation in overseas poker tournaments, including a recent appearance at a gambling tournament at the notorious Los Angeles Playboy Mansion .

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New Michigan casino attracting tourists from around U.S.

♠ June 5th, 2008 by ♣ admin

New Michigan casino attracting tourists from around U.S. New Michigan casino attracting tourists from around U.S. –> << Back casino [Enlarge Image] By Gene Koprowski Southern Michigan's first new casino is remarking its region into a vacation destination. Many Chicagoans have enjoyed holiday weekends and summertime vacations in or near the quaint harbor town of

New Buffalo for generations. But with the opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort, the luxurious gambling complex near Lake Michigan and the Indiana border, the general public now knows about the area as well.

“It gives people more options at the gateway of Michigan to enjoy themselves even more when they come to the New Buffalo area,” said Jerry Welsh, owner of Garden Grove Bed and Breakfast.

The new 3,000- slot casino , in Berrien County’s New Buffalo Township, has 165 hotel rooms and suites starting at $299 per night. That contrasts with the $114 basic room rate at the Blue Chip Casino Hotel in nearby Michigan City, Ind., and the $129 rate at the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, about a three-hour drive up the coast of Lake Michigan.

Four Winds also features six restaurants and 3,400 parking spaces, said John Miller, tribal chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Dowagiac-based tribe that owns the casino.

The casino is the first in southwestern Michigan, but it is not without competition, with Blue Chip only about 10 miles away. Still, during Welsh’s eight years as owner of Garden Grove, he doesn’t recall many of his lodgers expressing an interest in going to the Michigan City casino.

Conversely, an increasing number in recent months have mentioned plans to visit Four Winds, he said.

“It’s something else to do on a rainy day for our clientele,” Welsh said. “They’re here mostly just to decompress from corporate America.”

Travelers have many options to get to the casino . Amtrak recently reached an agreement with the city of New Buffalo to build a passenger station beside the railroad’s high-speed line at the lakefront. Starting sometime this summer, riders will be offered four daily nonstop hourlong trips to and from downtown Chicago.

Starlight Tours and Travel in Battle Creek offers weekly bus tours to Four Winds since it opened Aug. 2, said owner Denise Kendall.

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Asia now set to surpass U.S. in total gambling revenues, study says

♠ June 5th, 2008 by ♣ admin

Asia now set to surpass U.S. in total gambling revenues, study says Asia after this set to surpass U.S. in total gambling revenues, study says –> << Back revenue [Enlarge Image] By Gene Koprowski The thriving gambling resorts in Asia are set to supplant the U.S. in casino gaming revenue by 2012, according to a global industry survey released this week.

Booming resorts in Singapore, Macau and other Asian countries, are driving growth. Of 23 industry executives, analysts and academics polled, more than 80 percent said Asia’s dominance was “very likely” or at the least, likely.

“The results foretell a remarkable future for the Asian gaming market,” said Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association , which conducted the survey. “There is no doubt this is an exciting time in Asia for the gaming industry.” Fahrenkopf is a former head of the Republican National Committee, the fund raising arm of the Republican Party in the U.S.

American casinos earned $34.1 billion in 2007, according to the association. Asia’s cache was estimated between $15 billion and $20 billion, the gaming association said.

The report was released ahead of a regional gambling conference in Macau, called The Global Gaming Expo Asia. That conference is set to run through this week.

Among other items of interest, a majority of the surveyed experts expect Macau to remain Asia’s market leader. The southern Chinese gambling colony reported that revenues grew at an annualized rate of 41 percent from 2005 and 2007.
Last year, Macau casinos took in $10.3 billion, according to the government. In 2006, the former Portuguese colony surpassed the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s top gambling center.

Government officials, and some industry leaders, in Macau, are now trying to control growth there. They want to limit the number of new licenses granted for the next few years, so as to ensure a solid revenue stream for casinos that are now under construction, and that will be coming online in 2010 or so.

Stanley Ho, the Macau gaming wizard, is said to be leading the move to limit expansion of Macau casinos for the time being. Authorities in Beijing are conferring with the billionaire entrepreneur, as are local government officials.

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