Naga Travel, the fully owned subsidiary of Nagacorp, has signed an agreement with Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism aimed at boosting Chinese tourism to the company’s NagaWorld resort in Phnom Penh. Nagacorp said it would actively support the...
Author - Ben Blaschke
Reigning champions in real trouble
After losing to Swansea 2-0 last weekend, the reigning English champions Leicester City are now in real trouble. The Foxes sit just one position above the relegation zone, leading bottom club Sunderland by only two points. Relegation is now a real...
Macau on track for solid February growth
Macau’s gross gaming revenue for February is on track to grow by between 8 and 12 percent year-on-year, according to analysts. Early indications for the first 12 days of the month have average daily rate (ADR) up to MOP$1 billion – a 61 percent...
Chinese themed Las Vegas casino to expand VIP gaming
Las Vegas’ Chinese themed Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino, which only opened its doors for the first time in November, is already planning to expand its VIP gaming facilities. Citing a rapidly expanding clientele base – particularly Chinese...
Duterte’s illegal gambling order comes into effect
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No 13, which sets out clear definitions as to what constitutes illegal online gambling, has officially come into effect. The document essentially deems all online gambling sites to be...
NBA to launch eSports league
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced its involvement in a new eSports league expected to field 30 teams – each representing one of the NBA’s 30 franchises. In a decision that promises to have significant implications for both...
Macau to hit 40 million visitors by 2020
Macau’s annual visitation numbers are expected to grow by around 30 percent to 40 million visitors per year by 2020, according to a report by brokerage Sanford C Bernstein. Citing the increasing availability and decreasing costs of hotel rooms in...
Macau Poker Cup attracting big numbers
The popular Baby Dragon – one of the flagship events of the series – has attracted a record field to the PokerStars LIVE Macau room in what shapes as a hugely positive sign for this week’s Macau Poker Cup Main Event. The HK$8,000 Baby...
Online gaming firm Bodog first to welcome Bitcoin
Bodog, which operates Asian-facing website Bodog88.com, has become the first major online gaming company to accept Bitcoin for deposits and withdrawals. Citing the fact that Bitcoin is now being accepted by major companies in other sectors around...
SkyCity sees VIP play tumble
SkyCity Entertainment Group, which operates five casinos in Australia and New Zealand, has reported a 5.8 percent decline in revenues for the second half of 2016 on the back of a huge fall in Chinese VIP visitation. VIP turnover fell a whopping 38.7...
Super Bowl sets Nevada betting record
It will be remembered as the greatest Super Bowl comeback of all time, but Sunday’s incredible victory by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots also set a new mark for Nevada betting turnover. According to early figures from the Nevada Gaming...
NetEnt goes VR as technology steals ICE show
ICE Totally Gaming – the world’s number one gaming trade show – is underway this week at London’s ExCel and it is fitting that online platform provider NetEnt has been at the heart of the action with the launch of its first...
AGEM Index continues upwards trend
The AGEM Index – study of the stock prices of global gaming equipment manufacturers – has reported a strong start to 2017 with a year-on year composite index increase of 75.2 percent in January to 330.14 points. It included a 2.8 percent...
Artificial intelligence defeats poker pros
An artificial intelligence program has seemingly mastered the art of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em after defeating four of the world’s best professional players last month. Liberatus, developed by Carnegie Mellon University, played a total...
ICE Totally Gaming starts today
The world’s largest gaming industry trade show, ICE Totally Gaming, gets underway in London today. Covering a massive 40,925 square feet of exhibition space and with almost 500 companies exhibiting the latest land-based and iGaming products...
Tak Chun issues generous staff bonuses
Tak Chun Group has paid its staff a series of annual bonuses worth up to 19 months’ salary for some employees. In a statement, CEO Levo Chan said Tak Chun was carrying out the concept of “Sharing the fruits with the staff”...
Gaming Standards Association announces 2017 board
The Gaming Standards Association (GSA) has elected its new Board of Directors and officers for 2017. The new eight-man Board is to be Chaired by IGT’s Adrian Marcu, with Roman Czubak from Novomatic Gaming Industries elected Vice Chairman...
More visitors good but luck bad for Macau
A seven percent year-on-year rise in Chinese visitation during the second half of January suggests that Macau’s recovery is still well underway, despite gross gaming revenue falling below expectations for the month. Macau’s GGR grew 3.1...
China rocks football transfer window
Neither Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur nor Liverpool made any attempt to bring in more players to rescue their title hopes during the January transfer window, despite Chelsea taking a stranglehold on the Premier League this season – leading...
WSOP releases full 2017 schedule
Poker’s most prestigious tournament series, the World Series of Poker, has released its full 2017 schedule with a record 74 events to be played at the Rio in Las Vegas between 30 May and 18 July. The schedule includes eight brand new events...
Sydney to host world’s richest turf race
Sydney is set to play host to the richest turf race in the world with the announcement of “The Everest.” The 1,200-metre sprint will be held at Royal Randwick in October and will boast a huge AU$10 million prize pool. The winner would...
Macau January GGR up 3.1 percent
Macau’s gross gaming revenue rose 3.1 percent in January to MOP$19.26 billion, representing the sixth straight month of year-on-year growth. However, it fell below expectations of a rise between 8 and 10 percent and was significantly lower than...
Former Sands China boss Ed Tracy to head up Hard Rock Japan
Former Sands China Chief Executive Officer Ed Tracy has been appointed CEO of newly launched Hard Rock Japan LLC in a strong sign of the company’s intent to pursue a Japan casino license. Boasting a long history within the gaming industry...
Macau management quota can’t be rushed
A respected Macau gaming industry academic has warned against rushing locals into upper and middle management positions after the city’s Labor Affairs Bureau announced last week that it would not renew work permits for some high-ranking...
Shun Tak expands Singapore interests
Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, the Hong Kong conglomerate whose interests include VIP gaming in Macau, has expanded its Asian property portfolio by acquiring a 70 percent stake in a premium commercial development in Singapore. In an announcement, the...
New year boxing bonanza
If you’re looking for some thrilling sporting action during Chinese New Year holiday, the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena will host the 5th CCTV Chinese Lunar New Year Cup IBF World Championship on Sunday 29 and Monday 30 January. Jointly...
Brand new Star Poker Festival on its way to Sydney
Sydney’s Star Poker has announced the inaugural The Star Poker Festival, featuring the APL Million, from 28 February to 13 March 2017. Following the success of WSOP Sydney in November and December, which broke all previous tournament records...
Chinese New Year to spark record mainland travel
A record 6 million people are expected to leave China and head overseas this week as travel for Chinese New Year hits levels never seen before. China’s growing desire to travel will see them visit an estimated 174 foreign destinations...
Great Firewall of China grows bigger
China is upping the ante in its long-running censorship campaign after it announced a crackdown on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), which are commonly used to access overseas websites blocked by the government’s famed Great...
Macau January revenue slows ahead of CNY
Macau’s average daily rate (ADR) fell 14 percent last week from the first two weeks of the month, but total gross gaming revenue for the month of January is still on track to rise in the vicinity of 10 percent from 2016 levels. ADR is current...