Author - Ben Blaschke

Lifestyle See and do

China sets all-time patent record

China has set a new world record for the number of patent applications recorded in a single year, lodging more than 1 million in 2015 according to figures from the World Intellectual Property Organization. Taking both filings made by Chinese...

Poker The poker industry

WSOP Sydney underway at The Star

The world’s most iconic poker brand, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), has returned to Asia-Pacific for the first time in two years with the WSOP Circuit Sydney kicking off in the new Star Poker Room this week. Boasting a full schedule of 12...

Gaming Gaming insights

Crown Resorts employees “in good health”

The Crown Resorts employees officially arrested in China last Friday on suspicion of committing gambling crimes are in good health, according to Australian consular officials. Three Australians who were among the 18 Crown Resorts staff detained by...

Lifestyle See and do

Songcheng announces Australian theme park

Chinese theme park operator Songcheng Performance Development has revealed plans for an AU$400 million theme park on Australia’s Gold Coast. In what signals a first overseas move for China’s theme park giant, the project has been...

Gaming Gaming insights

Queensland government looking into new IR

Queensland government officials have begun preliminary discussions over the possible approval of a new integrated resort in one of the state’s regional hubs. Just three months after Tony Fung’s proposed Aquis development near Cairns was...

Poker The poker industry

Legendary WPT commentator wins title

No matter what the game or sport, it’s rare that a commentator can claim to have experienced the same glory as the players he is commentating on. But not so Mike Sexton after the legendary World Poker Tour (WPT) announcer won his first WPT...

Football Sport

China signs huge Premier League TV deal

China’s digital broadcaster PPTV has signed a three-year, US$650 million deal to show the English Premier League from 2019. According to Bloomberg, PPTV will take over the rights in a deal worth more than 12 times the US$18 million current...

Gaming Gaming insights

SJM re-activates Casino Taipa

Macau has a new casino – or perhaps we should call it an old one – after SJM re-opened its Casino Taipa in the Regency Art Hotel last week for the first time in eight years. Located across the road from Altira Macau, Casino Taipa is about as...

Lifestyle See and do

Study reveals why taxis refuse fares

If you’ve ever wondered why Macau taxi drivers seem so reluctant to take passengers to more remote locations like Coloane, a Chinese study has found the answer. As revealed in Science magazine, Sihai Zhang and Zhiyang Wang from the University...

Baccarat Gaming

LT Game adds EZ Baccarat to Live Multi-Game stable

  Macau electronic gaming machine leader LT Game has announced the addition of no-commission baccarat variant EZ Baccarat to its Live Multi-Game systems. Having originally partnered together in April 2015, when an agreement was signed for LT...

Motor sport Sport

Gunther eyes career highlight at Macau Grand Prix

Theodore Racing Team newcomer Max Gunther says he will fulfil a lifelong dream when he races in the Macau Grand Prix for the very first time this weekend. Fresh from finishing second in the 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Gunther will...

Gaming Gaming insights

Macau mass market stronger than reported

Macau’s mass market gaming revenue grew by a staggering 11 percent year-on-year in the three months to September 30 2016, an indication of just how strong the sector is becoming in Asia’s gaming hub. Official figures released by the DICJ...

Gaming Gaming insights

Sportsbooks clean up on US election

UK sportsbook Sporting Index has reported a six figure profit on the US Presidential election thanks to Donald Trump’s stunning and largely unexpected victory. Echoing similar results across the board – with the vast majority of money being...

Eat Lifestyle

Macau awarded record number of Michelin stars

A record 68 Macau restaurants – including 19 with at least one coveted Michelin stars – have been featured in this year’s Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau 2017. Launched in the swanky surrounds of Hong Kong’s Ritz-Carlton this week...

Lifestyle See and do

Global markets respond to Trump victory

The world’s financial markets endured some massive swings in the hours after Donald Trump pulled off his great Presidential swoop. According to Bloomberg, the hardest hit was the Mexican peso, which fell as much as 12 percent before finishing...

Famous faces Lifestyle

You’re hired! Trump stuns the world

Depending on who you listen to, either America is about to be great again or the world is about to end after Donald Trump defied all odds to win the US Presidential election. Listed as a $5 outsider in the final days before America cast its vote...

Motor sport Sport

Back on track

This article first appeared in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of WGM. After an eventful summer that saw long-time organizer Barry Bland walk away from the Macau Grand Prix, the famous race is ready to roar again with defending champion Felix Rosenqvist...

Gaming Gaming insights

Macau flexes eSports muscle

This article first appeared in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of WGM. With the help of Grow uP eSports Association, Macau sent a team of young eSports players to the World Championships for the very first time in October and performed well above...

Gaming Gaming insights

US election to break wagering records

The US Presidential election is set to surpass Britain’s recent Brexit vote and become the most wagered-upon political event of all time. According to a report by Reuters as Americans prepared to go to the polls this week, UK-based betting...

Gaming Gaming insights

MGM China announces strong revenue growth

MGM China Holdings Ltd saw its quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA rise significantly in the three months to September 30, it has revealed. In an announcement by the company and posted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it saw total revenue increase...