VIGE2018 will include 3 dedicated conferences, iGaming Knowledge Seminar, Innovation Talks Live and Millennial Gaming Forum. VIGE (Vienna International Gaming Expo) is a unique yearly event which brings together the online gaming industry from +60 countries and facilitates networking and learning. The organizers are aware of a fully packed calendar and they encourage operators and service providers of the gambling ...
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The field of this year’s edition of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship was whittled down to just 13 contenders from a 493-strong field. Dennis Blieden, a player with two previous live tournament cashes, will be leading the pack of survivors into the penultimate day of WPT action at the host venue, Commerce Casino.
Blieden is a Los Angeles-based player. As mentioned above, his HendonMob profile shows only two previous in-the-money finishes in live poker events. They were both tournaments on the schedule of the World Series of Poker.
Being one of the 13 finalists, Blieden has already secured a minimum payout of $57,300 from the WPT LAPC Main Event to boost his current poker bankroll of a little less than $22,000. What is more, the player has a real shot to win his first WPT Main Tour Main Event.
Blieden bagged and tagged 2.88 million at the end of Day 4, which was played on Tuesday at the host venue. The player was the only one of all three survivors to pass the two-million mark and is well ahead of his fellow contenders. Toby Lewis had the second largest chip stack when play concluded last night, bagging a total of 1.76 million. Derek Walters rounded out the top three of the chip counts chart last night with 1.501 million.
Former WPT Champions Still in Contention
One-time WPT winner Zachary Smiley is going for his second title from the series. The player ended Day 4 with the shortest stack, but has every chance to improve on Day 5. Anthony Zinno, holder of three WPT titles, is also still in contention.
If he wins the event, he will become the first player in WPT history to hold four Main Event titles from the series. At present, Zinno is tied with Gus Hansen, Carlos Mortensen, Darren Elias, and Chino Rheem, with each of them being winner of three titles. Zinno bagged and tagged 1.024 million last night and is in the middle of the chip counts chart for Day 5.
Here it is also important to note that he can also become the first player ever to win the same WPT Main Event twice. Zinno captured his first LAPC Main Event title in 2015.
Play is set to resume today at noon local time at the host casino. As mentioned above, each of the 13 finalists has locked a minimum cash of $57,300 from the series. The remaining survivors will play down to official six-handed final table. That concluding stage of the tournament will take place on Thursday, March 1, at the host venue. The finalists will play until a winner is determined. The last person standing will receive a first-place prize of $1 million, a seat into the WPT Tournament of Champions, and a fancy Hublot watch.
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If there were any doubts that Winamax was very serious about its expansion across Europe, the French online poker room has been doing its best to clear these completely. It announced on Tuesday that two more non-French poker pros have joined its team of sponsored players to promote its brand across Southwestern Europe.
Portuguese player João “Naza114” Vieira and his Spanish colleague Leo “LeoMargets” Margets have become the latest brand ambassadors of the French operator. The addition of these two particular poker professionals to the team indicates two important things. In the first place, it seems that Winamax is inching closer to entering the Spanish and Portuguese online poker markets. And in the second place, the online poker room also seems to be closer to joining the shared online poker liquidity project.
Winamax first announced its plans to expand its footprint across Spain, Italy, and Portugal early last year, when the shared liquidity was still under consideration by the gambling regulators of the aforementioned three countries as well as by the French gambling regulator.
Vieira is one of Portugal’s most popular and successful poker players. With live tournament earnings of nearly $1.3 million, he is his country’s fourth most profitable player. An eight-place finish in the 2014 PCA $25,500 High Roller secured the player with his best live cash of $157,940. Vieira has been spotted at the tables of a number of other prestigious tournaments over the years.
His online poker career also seems to have been thriving. Last year, the player recorded more than 3,000 final table participations in online tournaments. And last month only, he appeared at 57 online poker final tables.
Based in Barcelona, Leo Margets is one of the stars of Spanish poker. She is her homeland’s 16th most profitable player with live tournament earnings of a little less than $1 million. With her performance on the felt, Margets has been a formidable force for female poker pros.
News about Winamax’s new sponsored players came just days after the online poker room teased about its nearing entry into the Spanish market with the launch of a Winamax.es landing page. The poker room still needs to obtain a license from Spain’s gambling regulator DGOJ, but it seems that it might not be long before it is able to operate in the country.
Portugal Close to Joining PokerStars Europe
According to recent reports from Portuguese media, PokerStars, the only poker operator licensed to operate in Portugal, is set to integrate the Seat Me feature to its .pt website next week. In a message to local players, the poker room has said that it is targeting a March 6 rollout of said feature.
This means that Portugal will be able to join PokerStars’ European network that currently features shared Franco-Spanish poker tables.
Generally speaking, the Seat Me feature prevents players from selecting their tables. It was first introduced in the Spanish poker market and was then rolled out in France, prior to the launch of PokerStars’shared liquidity network in January. The online poker room has previously explained that the feature aimed to protect less experienced players from being targeted by their seasoned peers.
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Officials for labor union UNITE HERE Local 54 and casino operator Hard Rock International have signed a “card count neutrality” agreement, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
The agreement could help the union return at the former Trump Taj Mahal casino resort, which Hard Rock is currently converting into what would be Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. The property is scheduled to be reopened in June.
Under the agreement between Local 54 and Hard Rock, the operator should agree as an employer to recognize the labor union as the official “bargaining agent of the employees” if a third party confirms that the greater number of employees have signed UNITE HERE Local 54 membership cards.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City is currently taking shape at the site of Trump Taj Mahal, once owned by US President Donald Trump. The lavish casino resort closed doors in the fall of 2016 amid a workers’ strike involving Local 54 members. They picketed the property for over a month, asking to have their previous health insurance and pension packages restored. In the early 2010s, workers gave up on certain benefits to save the ailing Trump Taj Mahal from bankruptcy.
The property was owned by New York businessman Carl Icahn back in 2016 when it was shuttered. Mr. Icahn blamed the closure of the hotel and casino complex namely on the strike, arguing that it had hurt Trump Taj Mahal’s profitability beyond repair.
New Job Opportunities
The closure of Trump Taj Mahal left 3,000 people unemployed, including 1,000 Local 54 members. The property was purchased by Hard Rock International in the spring of 2017 for a reported price of $50 million. The Florida-headquartered casino operator pledged a $500-million investment into the India-themed resort, promising to convert it into a typical Hard Rock property, replacing its iconic minarets with rock’n’roll features.
The redevelopment project is expected generate over 1,000 jobs during construction and more than 3,000 jobs once fully operational.
Under the “card count neutrality agreement” Unite 54 local members, who were previously employed at Trump Taj Mahal, could return to the redesigned property.
Under the neutrality clauses of the agreement between the labor union and Hard Rock, the latter has agreed not to prevent its staff members from joining Local 54, if they wish, and the Union and its members have agreed not to disrupt their workplace through strikes and similar initiatives.
In comments to the Press of Atlantic City, both parties have said that they were content with the agreement. Bob McDevitt, President of Local 54, praised the Hard Rock management, saying that the company seemed to understand how Atlantic City’s market worked. Hard Rock officials, in turn, pointed out that their work with the labor union would help them enter Atlantic City successfully.
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William Hill has received four offers from fellow gambling operators for its Australian business, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday. The winning bidder is set to undergo due diligence before the end of the week and is expected to assume control over the Sportingbet brand next month.
William Hill acquired the Australian and Spanish operations of Sportingbet as well as the Centrebet and Tom Waterhouse online wagering brands in 2013 for the total amount of £485 million. Last month, the British bookmaker announced that it was reviewing its Australian business and that its sale was under consideration.
It then became clear that William Hill has hired financial services firm Citi to set up a formal bidding process for its Australian operations and law firm Clifford Chance to guide the operator through the sale process.
It was understood that Paddy Power Betfair’s Australian business Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, and bet365 have all made offers for William Hill’s Australian betting brands, each valuing these at around A$200 million. According to the Australian Financial Review, Australia’s CrownBet was the fourth bidder. The online sports betting business of local casino operator Crown Resorts is itself in the middle of a change of ownership.
Late last year, Crown Resorts agreed to sell its 62% stake in the wagering business to a group of investors that included CrownBet’s CEO Matt Tripp. The deal was expected to be finalized by the end of February.
UPDATE: The Stars Group, parent company of PokerStars and online sports betting operator BetStars announced today that it has partnered Mr. Tripp to buy Crown Resorts’ 62% stake in CrownBet.
What’s Next for Tom Waterhouse?
As mentioned above, William Hill entered Australia in 2013 with the acquisition of the Sportingbet, Tom Waterhouse, and Centrebet brands. All three were led by popular Australian bookmaker Tom Waterhouse at the time. In 2014, Mr. Waterhouse was appointed CEO of William Hill’s Australian business.
His future is still unclear in case a sale takes place. However, many believe that the preferred buyer would likely keep Mr. Waterhouse on board due to his extensive experience and connections within Australia’s betting scene.
Mr. Waterhouse made the headlines a few years ago due to what many considered too aggressive promotion of his Tom Waterhouse online betting business.
According to analysts from Macquarie, William Hill’s Australian business currently represents a 5% share of the nation’s betting market. The company’s Australian operations have underperformed for several years now. It is believed that latest regulatory developments within the country’s gambling landscape have further encouraged the British bookmaker to reconsider its presence in Australia.
Several states have recently introduced or confirmed that they would introduce a 15% point-of-consumption tax that would require bookmakers to contribute tax money to the jurisdictions where they provide their services in and not just in the jurisdictions where they are licensed.
A recently introduced ban on credit betting further restricted operators in their efforts to acquire bettors. Under the latest amendments to Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act, bookmakers can no longer extend credits to betting customers. The click-to-call betting feature introduced by offshore betting operators to circumvent previous gambling regulations has also been banned under the recent amendments.
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BetterBetting, a blockchain-based, decentralised peer-to-peer sports betting system, recently announced its eagerly awaited listing on the HitBTC exchange. HitBTC, a global trading platform with multi-currency support, has been operating as a major exchange since 2013. By trading volume, HitBTC has been consistently among the top 10 exchanges (24 hours trading volume at time of press: $431,266,065 USD). The exchange has ...
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Casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment and its partner Cyprus Phasouri (Zakaki) Limited have begun searching for staff for their €550-million integrated resort, currently under development in the Cypriot city of Limassol.
The developers have recently opened the first job positions for people interested to work at the first casino resort in the Republic of Cyprus. The positions available include slot attendant, dealer, gaming machine supervisor, finance, security, and information technology vacancies. It is also important to note that Melco and its local partner are currently looking for staff for the four satellite casinos in Nicosia, Larnaca, Paphos, and the Famagusta area as well as for the temporary casino in Limassol that are all set to open doors later this year.
Melco has said on the official website of City of Dreams Mediterranean that it is looking for “proactive and passionate talent” to join its team in Cyprus.
The actual resort with the main casino floor is slated to be launched in 2021 in Limassol’s Zakaki area. City of Dreams Mediterranean, as the multi-use complex will be named, will also be located near the My Mall Limassol shopping center, which is known to be the largest property of its kind in the Republic of Cyprus. As mentioned above, a temporary casino will operate in Limassol, until the main gaming floor is finished.
Jobs and Increased Tourist Activity
City of Dreams Mediterranean is expected to generate 4,000 temporary jobs each year during construction. Once fully operational, the resort would employ more than 6,500 people directly and indirectly.
According to analysts, the mixed-use complex could bring an additional of 300,000 tourists each year. Melco has also recently pointed out that it would look to attract visitors all year round and thus turn the tiny Mediterranean nation into a tourist destination that does not rely heavily on seasonality. At present, Cyprus welcomes the greatest portion of international tourists in the period between May and October.
City of Dreams Mediterranean will be the first property of its kind to open doors in this part of Europe. However, it seems that the €550-million complex could face competition from another casino resort in the region shortly after its opening.
It has recently emerged that Greek developer Lamda Development, together with a group of international developers, is planning to build an $8-billion multi-purpose integrated resort near Athens. Among a number of other facilities, the complex will also include a casino floor.
Last week, Greece’s top administrative court gave the green light to the country’s gambling regulator to launch a bidding process for operators that want to run the casino portion of the mega-resort. According to previous reports from Greek media, Las Vegas giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. has been looking to join the scheme.
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After the Greek Council of State gave last week the green light to the Hellenic Gaming Commission to prepare and launch a bidding process for casino operators interested to join the $8-billion plan for an integrated resort near Athens, more details about the gaming portion of the mega-scheme have emerged across local news outlets.
Greek developer Lamda Development, together with a group of investors from Abu Dhabi and China, has previously announced plans to redevelope a 620-hectare site near the capital Athens. The site had been occupied by the Ellinikon International Airport (often referred to as Hellinikon) prior to 2001.
The area will now be converted into a coastal resort with hotel, residential, food and beverage, retail, and entertainment facilities, including a casino.
Late last week, Greece’s top administrative court allowed the country’s casino industry regulator to prepare the necessary paperwork and to launch a call for bids from companies that are interested in obtaining a license for the operation of the gaming portion of the urban development project. According to reports from Greek media, the bidding process is expected to be opened in the fall of 2018.
Las Vegas casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. had been the first to express interest in participating in the major scheme. The company’s main operating unit exited bankruptcy last fall and announced that it would look to extend its geographical presence across new jurisdictions. Caesars operates more than 40 casino venues across the United States and has reportedly been eying opportunities to enter Japan, Brazil, and Australia’s casino industries.
Developers behind the Hellinikon project believe that more casino operators would express interest, once the bidding process is open.
More Details about the Gaming Portion of the Future Resort
According to Greek media outlets, the casino resort will be located in one of the 45-story towers that will be constructed as part of the larger complex. The casino resort will feature a five-star hotel with 1,200 rooms and suits, a conference facility, a thalassotherapy center, and multiple other facilities.
The casino will spread across 15,000 square meters. The gaming portion of the facility will occupy 8,000 square meters. The remaining 7,000 square meters will be used for other, non-gaming, facilities.
The casino resort only is expected to create 7,500 new jobs. According to preliminary forecasts, the casino at the complex could be able to generate €700 million in gross gaming revenue in the long term. The whole Hellinikon complex is expected to create 10,000 new jobs during construction and more than 70,000 during its first five to six years of operations.
Once it opens doors, the major integrated resort will have to compete with the nearby City of Dreams Mediterranean, which is currently under construction in the Republic of Cyprus. The resort is slated to be launched in the early 2020s.
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This week’s poker tournaments overview includes events that are set to take place in Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada, California, and the Czech Republic, all equally exciting destinations and all promising equally exciting opportunities for both poker pros and recreational players. Here is a quick list containing several of this week’s major poker events and details that could be of great help to anyone planning a trip to any of the five casinos featured in this article.
Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania is preparing itself for the 24th edition of the Big Stax. The poker festival is set to begin on February 28 and to run for three weeks. Its schedule includes eight tournaments and a number of other exciting opportunities for players.
A six-day $340 No-Limit Hold’em will be the opening event. The Big Stax schedule includes mainly No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, but players will also be able to enter a $340 mixed Pot-Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold’em one on March 14.
The $1,600 Main Event is slated to begin on March 16. It will feature two starting flights and two more days of play.
WSOP International Circuit – Czech Republic
King’s Casino in the Czech village of Rozvadov has become a popular arena for poker action on European soil. And the gambling venue has become a regular host to WSOP events of different nature. The latest such event is scheduled to begin on March 1.
The schedule of the next WSOP International Circuit event will include 14 gold ring tournaments and a number of other special events. The €5,300 WSOP Circuit High Roller will be the highest buy-in event on the schedule of the upcoming festival. The €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller 8-Handed will be yet another particularly exciting tournament to be featured as part of the WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov festival.
The €1,650 Main Event is scheduled to begin on March 16 and to be played over four days. It will feature a guaranteed prize pool of €1 million.
WPT Rolling Thunder Series
WPT action at The Poker Room at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California is slated to begin later today with satellites to the series’ events. The festival will actually include multiple satellites for players who would like to join the Main Event for less money as well as a number of exciting tournaments, including the $1,100 buy-in event with a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000, the $1,100 Knockout with $500 bounties, and the $560 Action 8.
The $3,500 Main Event will run from March 2 through March 6, when the official six-handed final table will be played.
Aria High Rollers
Aria Resort and Casino has become one of the most popular venues for high roller poker action, and its success could, to some extent, be attributed to its regular high roller tournaments that attract some of the biggest names on the global poker stage.
The popular casino will play host to two $25,000 tournaments this week. One set to take place on March 2 and the other or March 3. Both events are single-day ones.
WPTDeepStacks Jacksonville
One of Florida’s most popular poker venues is set to welcome the WPTDeepStacks series later this week. The festival will run at bestbet Jacksonville all the way through March 12. Its schedule includes 12 different No-Limit Hold’em and Omaha events, including Omaha 8 or Better and Big O 8 or Better.
The festival will be opened with a three-day $360 No-Limit Hold’em with a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000. The $1,500 Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000 is slated for March 9-12.
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The 2018 edition of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship kicked off on Saturday at Commerce Casino. As many as 475 entries registered for the prestigious tournament during its first day, but only 282 of them will progress into Day 2, which will be played later today at the host venue.
Action is scheduled to resume at noon local time and players who failed to join the field on Day 1 will be able to do that until the first break of Day 2 or around 1:45 pm local time. The tournament feature a freezeout format, which means that re-entries are not allowed.
John Misirian will be leading the start-of-the-day pack of contenders. The player assumed the chip lead at some point on Day 1 and cemented his position on the very last hand of the day by eliminating poker pro Sean Winter. Misirian bagged and tagged 234,300 worth in chips for the night.
The player comes fresh from a victory in an event that took place earlier during the ongoing LAPC poker festival. Talking with WPT staff, he said last night that that recent triumph had certainly built his confidence. Yet, he pointed out that one cannot be too confident, particularly in cases where the field is packed with poker professionals.
Feeling Comfortable When Playing with Good Players
Misirian revealed that playing with good poker players makes him feel more comfortable on the felt. The player went on to say that playing in an event that involves so many poker professionals provides opportunity to learn a lot.
According to his Hendon Mob profile, Misirian has a total of $268,377 in live tournament earnings. It can also be said that the player has mainly cashed in three-figure buy-in tournaments over the course of his career.
Day 2 of the $10,000 Championship will see the likes of Andy Frankenberger, Toby Lewis, and Richard Seymour take their seats after surviving the eight levels played on Day 1. However, former WPT Main Event champions Ryan Riess, Darren Elias, and Jared Jaffee did not make it through the day.
Registration will remain open through the first stages of Day 2, as mentioned above, which means that the field will certainly grow. Once registration closes, organizers will be able to calculate the prize pool and to announce the places paid and the first-place prize for the last player standing in the tournament.
Daniel Strelitz won the WPT LAPC Championship last year. The player bested a field of 521 entries to eventually scoop $1 million for his efforts. Streilitz entered this year’s event yesterday and survived through all eight levels to bag and tag 66,200 and secure a seat among the Day 2 participants. It is to be seen whether he will be able to win the exciting tournament for a second consecutive year. The Championship is set to be played through March 1.
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The possibility for the addition of a casino as part of the Maroochydore Central Business District development project is still being discussed by the Sunshine Coast Council, despite recent comments by Mayor Mark Jamieson that a facility of this type was not on their agenda at the time.
In a letter to the editor of local news outlet the Sunshine Coast Daily, City Councilor John Connolly said that the Council still believes a project, including a casino, under Queensland’s Integrated Tourism Development program was the right path to “securing a regional convention centre”.
Cr Connolly went on to say that the Sunshine Coast Council does not have the means to build a convention and exhibition center as soon as it might wish and that they have to consider different ways to fund a project of this kind.
Local media reported earlier this week that the Queensland Government has confirmed it had promoted a visit by Malaysian casino company NagaCorp to Sunshine Coast. The visit took place last fall. Reportedly, NagaCorp executives and an architect, who had previously worked on the company’s existing casino resort in Cambodia, met the Sunshine Coast Mayor to discuss opportunities for a future partnership.
State Tourism Development Minister Kate Jones said earlier that the meeting taking place did not necessarily mean that a casino would be included in the Maroochydore CBD development project.
Boost to Local Tourism
In his letter, Cr Connolly wrote that Sunshine Coast does not have a large convention center that is paid for by the government, unlike other regions around the state. According to the City Councilor, a project that would include a gaming floor as well as different non-gaming facilities could significantly help the city fulfill its plan for a convention and exhibition venue.
He went on to say in his letter that the Maroochydore CBD development, if it includes attractive enough offering, would boost the region’s construction sector significantly and would then boost the region’s and the state’s tourism sector. The official also pointed out that the city should not rule out that quickly the opportunities that a casino could create.
The Queensland Government has not confirmed that the addition of a casino to the Sunshine Coast development project has been debated. On the other hand, Minister Jones has confirmed that she would visit the Sunshine Coast in March to discuss tourism opportunities with Mayor Jamieson.
Federal and state MPs have fired at the Sunshine Coast Mayor for his failure to end the casino debate once and for all by ruling out the construction of a gambling venue in the city. Mr. Jamieson said earlier this week that the decision about a casino is not within his or the City Council’s power and that such a decision can only be made by the state government.
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Last summer, Tyler Groth captured his first WSOP gold bracelet for winning a $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Last night, the player captured his first WSOP Circuit gold ring for winning another Pot-Limit Omaha event, a $365 buy-in one, at the very same casino.
Groth defeated a field of 153 entries over two days of play to win the tournament, the precious gold ring, and the amount of $12,850 in prize money.
Winning two Pot-Limit Omaha events, one of which on the schedule of the legendary WSOP, it very much seems that Groth is a Pot-Limit Omaha specialist. However, the player himself does not think so. He believes that Omaha 8 is the game he actually excels in. After last night’s triumph, Groth told WSOP staff that he has not played Pot-Limit Omaha that much to realize how good he might be in the four-card game.
Two years ago, the player quit his daily job to pursue a career in poker. He moved to Las Vegas and has been playing both cash games and tournament poker at local casinos since then. Groth said that as of lately, he has been more active on the tournament scene. It is also important to note that online poker has been a long-time love of his. He even pointed out last night that he has built the greater portion of his poker bankroll namely online.
The player also said that even though he is planning to go to Los Angeles and participate in the LAPC Main Event, set to take place over the weekend, he might go back to Vegas to join the field of the first ever WSOP Online Circuit event. The online gold ring event is scheduled for February 27.
Groth’s Performance in the $365 Pot-Limit Omaha
As mentioned above, the tournament was played over two days and as part of the WSOP Circuit’s Rio stop. The final day of the event took place on Thursday with nine players left to sit at the final table when cards were thrown in the air.
Groth was the chip leader at that point with significant advantage over his remaining opponents. The eventual winner had nearly 600,000 in chips and was well ahead of his fellow player ranking second in the chip counts chart. That player was Andrew Dennis who had a total of 200,000 at the time.
Groth maintained his lead throughout the day to eventually scoop the title and the first-place prize. He faced Benjamin Thomas heads-up as his final challenge before the sweet victory. Thomas, a WSOP Circuit regular from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, collected $7,944 for his runner-up finish in the Pot-Limit Omaha tournament.
The event attracted 153 entries who generated a prize pool of $45,900. The top 16 finishers received a share of the money.
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Following ICE, Fair Play Bets’ agreement creates stronger entertainment destinations with Quickfire, powered by Microgaming. Fair Play Bets, operator of multiple reputable online casinos, has ramped-up its world-class offering on its VegasPlay.com and DiamondWorldCasino.com casinos by launching the Microgaming portfolio of games via the Quickfire platform. This new agreement underlies Fair Play Bets commitment to offering the most entertaining casino ...
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Sweden’s regulated market was worth SEK17.07 billion (approximately $2.09 billion) in 2017, latest figures released by the Swedish Gambling Authority, Lotteriinspektionen, show. Regulated gambling operations recorded a 1% decrease from a year earlier.
Svenska Spel, the state-run gambling operator tasked with the operation of most regulated gaming and betting services in the country, generated revenue of SEK8.98 billion last year, about the same amount as it generated in 2016. It accounted for 40% of the country’s gambling market (both regulated and unregulated).
Revenue from Svenska Spel’s land-based operations dropped 5% year-on-year to SEK6.715 billion. While accounting for a quarter of Svenska Spel’s 2017 revenue, online services recorded a double-digit (18%) revenue growth to SEK2.265 billion.
Combined revenue from Sweden’s regulated and unregulated markets amounted to SEK22.604 billion (approximately $2.77 billion), reflecting an increase of 3% from 2016. The country’s unregulated market was actually the main driver of growth last year. According to Lotteriinspektionen, unregulated operations generated revenue of SEK5.534 billion (approximately $678.5 million) last year, up 13% year-on-year.
Here it is important to note that the Scandinavian nation’s unregulated market is represented by foreign online gaming and betting operators that hold licenses from other EU and non-EU jurisdictions. At present, Sweden’s gambling law does not allow for such foreign operators to obtain licenses from the country’s Gambling Authority and regulated operations are only provided by several state-owned entities.
The growth of Sweden’s unregulated market could be attributed to several factors. In the first place, the tech-savvy population of the country has been looking for diversity that local operators may have failed to provide. And in the second place, foreign gambling companies have increased their brand exposure across Swedish media significantly over the past several years.
According to a recent report by local measurement firm Kantar Sifo, three gambling companies were among the country’s top 20 advertisers in 2017. Aside from the state-run Svenska Spel, Kindred Group (previously Unibet Group) and LeoVegas were found to have invested the most in advertising their products and services to Swedish consumers. What is more, LeoVegas was the company to record the biggest rise in annual ad spending last year.
Market Re-Regulation
According to a recent report by Swedish media research firm Mediavision, one in eight Swedes gambled on foreign gambling websites on a monthly basis in 2017. The reported figure represented a 25% increase from 2016.
Information about the popularity of international gambling websites among Swedish players emerges as the country is preparing for the upcoming re-regulation of the local market. Sweden’s new gambling law is set to come into effect on January 1, 2019. It will open the Swedish market for foreign companies, which means that these will be able to apply for and be issued operational licenses from Lotteriinspektionen.
Earlier this week, the Swedish Gambling Authority announced that it has been preparing the necessary documentation to open a license application process for interested gambling operators on July 1, 2018. The regulatory body said that it plans to release more details about the application process in mid-March and during a meeting schedule for May.
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With the ink barely dry on the final dates for SiGMA 2018, the available expo space is going fast. Even at a glance, the floor plan is filling up fast. As things stand, 80% of the available space has already been assigned. This already makes the show, scheduled for 28-30 November, an essential calendar entry for the international iGaming community. ...
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Following the success of Crypto Affiliate & Marketing Conference (CRAC) 2017, the event is to gather ad networks, crypto trading brokers, gambling operators, ICO founders, exchanges, cryptocurrency developers and affiliates in Prague once more. Prague, Czech Republic, 23rd-24th of April 2018 – Crypto Affiliate & Marketing Conference 2018 will give the recently created community of marketers and digital currency enthusiasts ...
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Former WSOP Main Event Champions will be the stars of the Live at the Bike! poker web show next Thursday and Friday, it has been announced. They will clash in cash games at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California and action will be streamed live on the Twitch and YouTube channels of Live at the Bike!
On Thursday, March 1, players will compete in a $10,000-worth Sit’n’Go. On Friday, they will sit around the poker tables of the Bicycle Casino for a $25/$50 cash game.
Johnny Chan, Jonathan Duhamel, Ryan Riess, Joe McKeehen, and Scott Blumstein were confirmed for next week’s live stream. It is yet to be seen whether more WSOP Championship winners are to join.
Originally launched back in 2005, Live at the Bike! takes pride in being the first live streamed poker web show and the first such show to stream live cash game action from the Bicycle Casino. Its episodes feature raw and unedited poker-related poker.
A Little Bit More about Next Week’s Participants
Johnny Chan
The player has won ten WSOP gold bracelets over the course of his poker career. He captured two of his gold pieces for winning the WSOP Main Event. Here it is interesting to note that the player won the Championship event in two consecutive years – 1987 and 1988, and nearly won it in 1989, but eventually finished runner-up to Phil Hellmuth. Chan was also actually the first non-US player to win the WSOP Main Event.
Johnathan Duhamel
The Canadian poker pro captured his WSOP Main Event title in 2010. He won the event after a heads-up battle against John Racener. Duhamel’s share of the tournament’s prize pool amounted to $8.944 million. He has two more gold bracelets from WSOP events. He won them both in 2015, one from the $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP, and the other from the WSOP Europe €25,600 High Roller.
Ryan Riess
Riess claimed the title in 2013. Jay Farber was his final opponent in the tournament. Riess won $8,361,570 for his performance. The player has not won any other WSOP gold bracelets after the 2013 $10,000 Championship, but captured another important title last spring. The player topped the field of the WPT $10,000 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Finale for a cash prize of $716,088.
Joe McKeehen
The player took down the WSOP Main Event in 2015. He played heads-up against Joshua Beckley to capture the important title. The player won the amount of $7,683,346 from the world’s most prestigious No-Limit Hold’em tournament. Last summer, McKeehen won his second gold bracelet from the series. He topped the field of the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for $311,817.
Scott Blumstein
Blumstein is the reigning WSOP Main Event Champion. The player won the tournament last summer. His share of the gigantic prize pool totaled $8.15 million. The player navigated the tournament’s large field easily to enter the nine-handed final table as the chip leader and to further extend his advantage until he remained the last man standing.
Live streaming from the Bicycle Casino with the former Main Event Champs is set to begin at 6 pm local time on Thursday and Friday (March 1 and 2).
The post WSOP Main Event Champions to Clash at the Bicycle Casino Next Week appeared first on Casino News Daily.
Jeju Shinhwa World, an integrated resort recently built and launched on South Korea’s Jeju Island, is set to open a foreigners-only casino on February 25 after multiple previous delays, developer Landing International revealed in a Wednesday filing.
Earlier that day, the company received a conditional approval from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province to relocate its existing casino at Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel to its new resort. At present, Landing operates 28 gaming tables and 16 slot machines and electronic table games at its older property.
The casino at Jeju Shinhwa World will occupy 5,500 square meters and will feature 155 gaming tables with popular table games such as baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and poker, as well as 239 slot machines and electronically operated table games. As already mentioned, the casino will only admit foreign visitors. Under South Korea’s current gambling laws, Korean nationals are banned from gambling at all but one of the country’s many casinos.
Landing has said previously that it would expect its gaming revenue to account for a half of its overall revenue, once the casino portion of its Jeju Island resort opened.
Multi-Phase Launch
Jeju Shinhwa World has been gradually opening its diverse facilities since the spring of 2017. The resort has already launched hotels, food and beverage facilities, and a theme park, which will soon be joined by the casino.
As mentioned above, Landing is set to relocate its existing casino. The developer said in its Wednesday statement that the new gambling facility is almost ready to host a soft opening on February 25. A grand opening ceremony will be staged at a later date.
The opening of the casino has been postponed several times since last spring. The gaming floor was first expected to be launched on December 8, then by the end of the year. Landing then said that the opening ceremony would take place on January 19, but failed to open it on that date, too. The eventual launch of the casino will mark the complete roll-out of Phase One of the $1.8-plus-billion integrated resort. All its facilities are expected to be gradually launched by the end of 2019.
Facilities currently running as part of the resort include two resorts – Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort and Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Resort, a convention center, a dedicated area for K-pop fans, a theme par, and a retail area.
A G-Dragon café is expected to have its ribbon cut next month. Previously released images of the café showed that its building would be shaped as an overlap of the letters G and D. The earlier stages of Phase Two of the integrated resort project will also include the launch of the AC.III.T Bowling & Pub. Exact dates for the opening of the two facilities are yet to be announced.
The post Jeju Shinhwa World to Open Casino on February 25 appeared first on Casino News Daily.
The Queensland government confirmed that it had promoted the recent visit to the site of the Maroochydore Central Business District by executives of Malaysian casino operator NagaCorp, local news outlet the Sunshine Coast Daily reported earlier today.
The Maroochydore CBD, currently under development in the central part of Sunshine Coast (in the small town of Maroochydore), is planned to be a multi-million, mixed-use complex that will spread over 53 hectares of land. When finished, it will feature accommodation buildings of different types, food and beverage facilities, retail space, a number of office buildings, and a new city hall building.
Queensland’s Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones has confirmed that the November 2017 visit to the CBD’s site had been promoted by the state’s Special Projects Unit, which had been part of the Department of State Development prior to the latest Queensland election. She has also told local media that members of the unit have met and will be meeting with international investors to promote and encourage tourism development in the state.
The Queensland MP has further explained that NagaCorp’s visit was too part of their initiative to attract foreign investors to potentially invest into the state’s tourism industry. The Malaysian hotel and casino operator was provided with information about Queensland’s tourism sector as well as about the state’s Global Tourism Hubs scheme and the requirements an investor must meet in order to participate in said scheme.
Generally speaking, the Global Tourism Hubs were defined by state politicians as mixed-use properties with hotel, food and beverage, entertainment, and casino facilities. One such hub is set to be developed in Cairns. Under initial estimates, the project will cost A$1 billion and will include a casino. According to recent information released by the government, 12 investors, both local and international, have registered interest in participating the project. It has also been revealed that major casino companies have been among those 12.
Growing Pressure against Maroochydore CasinoWhile the addition of a casino to the Maroochydore CBD development has never been confirmed, local media had previously reported that the idea had been pitched by Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson.
Over the past several months, the city official has faced pressure both from state and federal politicians to nix any plans for a gambling venue as part of the CBD construction project.
Mr. Jamieson has told local media that there was nothing wrong with NagaCorp visiting Sunshine Coast and being interested in what development opportunities the region presented. The Mayor further pointed out that the casino company’s visit had been promoted by the state government and not by Sunshine Coast, and that any potential addition of a casino as part of the Maroochydore development project could only be decided upon by the Queensland Government and not by the city council.
The post Casino Company’s Visit to Sunshine Coast Promoted by Queensland Government appeared first on Casino News Daily.
The following infographic includes information about the state of Las Vegas and Macau’s casino industries between 2007-2017. The decade in question included periods of sharp economic downturn in both cities that were followed by what are believed to be periods of stabilization.
Last year, both cities recorded gaming revenue increases but, as it can be seen, are still far from their all-time revenue peak. Diversification, expansion, and renovation are the three main factors that are hoped to help Las Vegas and Macau eventually reach and surpass their record results from previous years, but both cities need to be careful not to repeat the mistakes that somewhat defined and intensified their struggles.
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/2018/02/21/las-vegas-macau-casino-revenue-comparison-report-infographic/"><img src="http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/lasvegas_vs_macau_2007_2017.png" alt="Las Vegas, Macau Casino Revenue Comparison Report" /></a><br />© 2018 <a href="http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/">CasinoNewsDaily.com</a></p>
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<textarea style="width:90%; height:120px;"><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/2018/02/21/las-vegas-macau-casino-revenue-comparison-report-infographic/"><img src="http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/lasvegas_vs_macau_2007_2017.png" alt="Las Vegas, Macau Casino Revenue Comparison Report" /></a><br />© 2018 <a href="http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/">CasinoNewsDaily.com</a></p>
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In late 2007, a financial crisis of epic proportions covered the world with a thick layer of economic uncertainty. The United States took a terrible hit. But of all places across the United States, Las Vegas was among those to suffer the most severe downturn.
The city was (and still is) heavily reliant on industries that were anything but recession-proof. And when the recession hit, tourism, leisure, and hospitality were the first to throw in the towel. Thousands of jobs were shed, a number of construction projects on the Strip were stalled, and tourist numbers tumbled.
Ten years after the recession, Las Vegas seems to have recovered in a number of ways. However, the city still carries the scars from the unmatched global financial crisis and cringes from the memory of how badly it suffered.
Some 7,300 miles westwards, a city in Southeast China quietly turned into the world’s biggest hub for casino gambling. In 2004, Macau’s casino industry generated gaming revenue of around $7 billion. The city was lagging behind the $10 billion generated by casinos in Las Vegas and Clark County. By 2012, the Macau-based casinos of US gambling giants Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts generated more than a half of these companies’ revenues.
However, Macau has long been criticized for allegedly building a gambling industry on vice, organized crime ties, and corruption. In addition to that, the special administrative region was repeatedly warned against making itself too dependent on VIP customers from Mainland China, as this could destroy or at least weaken its whole economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared war on corruption when he assumed office in 2013 and made that war a cornerstone of his reign. The campaign resulted in hundreds of thousands “tigers and flies” – referring to both high- and low-ranking Chinese politicians – being punished for too lavish lifestyle and suspiciously frequent trips to Macau’s casinos.
The corruption crackdown quickly took its toll on Macau. Gaming revenue at the tiny Chinese enclave dropped to $43.9 billion in 2014, down 2.5% from an all-time high of $45.1 billion in 2013. The next year was even worse for Macau’s casino industry, as President Xi’s clampdown scared away high rollers and gaming revenue tumbled to $28.9 billion. In 2017, the city recorded its first full-year revenue increase since 2013, and many believe that it has taken the right path to recovery.
Las Vegas
By most accounts, Las Vegas was thriving right before the Great Recession hit. In 2007, Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, recorded all-time high gaming revenue of nearly $11 billion. Average daily hotel room rate also hit its highest at $132.09. With more and more cities around US opening casinos, Las Vegas was urged to and successfully upped the ante to outshine emerging competitors.
It was not difficult for the city to lead the charge as its hotels became even more dazzling, its night-time entertainment facilities became even more opulent, and its signature restaurants became braver and artsier in their approach to food. Combined with its older casinos and newly opened integrated resorts and Las Vegas’ growing popularity of a convention destination, the city seemed to have found the recipe for success.
However, the Great Recession stomped into the city in 2008 to tear its economy into pieces. And that was when Las Vegas realized that its leading industries were actually the first to suffer at a time of a severe economic downfall.
Jobs took the biggest hit. Unemployment rate peaked at around 14% in the first years after the beginning of the financial crisis. In comparison, unemployment rate in the Las Vegas metro area stood at just 4.1% in March 2007.
Prior to the recession, casino jobs in Clark County accounted for around 18.8% of the total. Leisure and hospitality jobs in the county comprised nearly 30%. Construction workers fared the worst, according to recession figures. The number of construction jobs plummeted from 102,700 in 2007 to a little over 37,500 in 2011.
During the recession, the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada housing market saw an unprecedented crash with housing prices dropping 62%. Thus, the city became the poster child of the housing bubble and its 2007-08 bust as well as of how rotten loans shattered the American dream overnight.
The onset of the recession also saw an all-time high increase of oil prices, which resulted in decreased travel frequency. When the Great Recession sunk its teeth into the US and the rest of the world, when the mortgage crisis struck, and when unemployment rates jumped, people seem to have decided that they did not really need to travel to Las Vegas and to gamble that much. As a result, gaming revenue in Las Vegas began to plummet.
Revenue at Strip and Downtown casinos dropped to $6.7 billion in 2008 and to $6.074 billion in 2009. Discouraged by the revenue figures, casino developers stalled multi-million projects out of fear that given the general economic instability, their demise was predestined.
Construction on the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a 4,000-room, $2.9-million casino resort, began in 2007, right before things went downhill. The project was 70% complete when work was halted.
Echelon Place, the nearly $5-billion hotel and casino resort pitched by Boyd Gaming, became another victim of the Great Recession. The project was announced in 2006, but construction was suspended two years later as owners dreaded failure.
Casino giant MGM Resorts International was on the verge of halting construction of its $8.5-billion CityCenter complex, which was the largest private investment project in the Las Vegas history at the time.
Ten years later, things seem to have moved far from the depths of the crisis in the late 2000s. However, while the Great Recession did not manage to destroy the Las Vegas dream completely, it certainly mangled it almost beyond recognition.
The city has been trying to reinvent itself and has succeeded to an extent, but some of the scars are still there and it will probably take several more years for these to be completely erased.
Macau
Macau’s contemporary casino industry was formed in the early 2000s when the government of the tiny Chinese enclave offered Chinese businessmen and a select group of foreign gambling companies the opportunity to apply for permits to operate casinos in the city. Billionaire Stanley Ho had long been the single owner of gambling venues in Macau prior to that.
Six concessions and sub-concessions were given out to interested companies and the creation of what would turn into Asia’s most exciting playground and the world’s winningest casino hub began.
At first, Macau’s casinos generated only a fraction of the revenue of their counterparts in Las Vegas. However, the Chinese territory caught up quickly and eventually outstripped Las Vegas. By 2007, when Vegas had its best year in terms of gaming revenue, Macau had already become the world’s highest grossing casino city.
And while its American counterpart was struggling with the aftermaths of the Great Recession in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the Chinese special administrative region was thriving and recording stable revenue growth with each year passing by. Macau reached an all-time gaming revenue high in 2013, when its casinos generated $45.093 billion. At that time, the city’s casino industry was six times larger than that of Las Vegas.
And while 2013 was Macau’s best year, it was also the year when President Xi showed that he intended to keep his promise to bulldoze corruption. The city has long been described as an easy target for money laundering, another place in China largely controlled by the triads – the Chinese mafia – and a favorite outlet for corrupt Chinese politicians and thriving businessmen with shady operations to gamble away the proceeds of their crimes.
The far-reaching anti-graft campaign took its toll on Macau and showed exactly how dependent the city was on proceeds from VIP clients. Here it is important to note that unlike the Las Vegas Strip where slot machines generate almost as much revenue as table games, VIP baccarat at Macau’s casinos accounts for more than a half of the city’s annual gross gaming revenue.
Following the launch of the anti-corruption campaign under the aegis of President Xi, wealthy high rollers from Mainland China lessened their spending on gambling activities and disappeared from Macau. They were trying to keep low profile in order to avoid drawing attention amid the anti-graft drive.
As a result, the city’s casino revenue dropped to $43.94 billion in 2014 from the record high of $45.093 billion in 2013. It kept falling for 26 straight month. It dropped 34.3% in 2015 to a five-year low of $28.9 billion, failing to crack the $30-billion mark for the first time since 2010. The speed at which revenue decreased slowed in 2016, and while the amount of $27.9 billion was generated in gross gaming revenue by the end of that year, only a single-digit drop was recorded.
July 2016 was the last month when Macau’s monthly revenue dropped. It then began climbing at a modest rate in the months between August 2016 and January 2017. During that period, the month of November was the only to record a double-digit growth. From February 2017 onwards, monthly casino revenue has been climbing at a double-digit rate. Macau’s six casino operators generated a total of $3.3 billion in gross gaming revenue in January 2018, up 36.4% year-on-year.
Macau’s downfall helped the city realize something important – relying heavily on a single visitors group could put its economic model at serious risk. However, it is yet to be seen whether it has learned a lesson.
Gross Gaming Revenue Data (2014-2016)
| Year | Million $ | Million MOP | Million $ |
| 2014 | 6884 | 351521 | 43940 |
| 2015 | 6890 | 230840 | 28855 |
| 2016 | 6923 | 223210 | 27901 |
Las Vegas
A decade after the Great Recession, the American economy seems to have put the worst behind and Las Vegas seems to be humming along quite nicely. The city has once again become one of the hottest real estate markets in the United States. According to November 2017 data, property prices went up 10.6% from a year earlier.
Last spring, unemployment rate approached pre-recession levels at 4.7%. Many construction jobs that had disappeared during the crisis were brought back over the past several years with the introduction of massive construction projects, including the stadium that the Oakland Raiders are to call home in a couple of years.
However, according to a report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, underemployment in Nevada was still standing at much higher levels than pre-recession ones. In 2016, underemployment accounted for 12.2% of the state’s labor force. Generally speaking, the metric includes people who are forced to work part-time because of poor business conditions.
It can be said that the Great Recession spurred reinvention in Las Vegas. According to data by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, more people are coming to the city than ever. A total of 42.9 million visitors flocked to Las Vegas in 2016, an all-time high surpassing even the 39.1 million peak recorded in 2007. In 2017, the number of visits dropped slightly to 42.2 million, but still beat pre-recession numbers.
Diversity was and will be at the core of Las Vegas’ recovery. More and more people have been traveling to the city not only for the plethora of gambling options, but also for the even greater plethora of non-gambling options offered.
In other words, record numbers of visitors have been spending record amounts of money. However, as analysts have pointed out, people have been spending their money differently.
Hotel occupancy, food and beverage services, night-time entertainments, convention activity, and other revenue areas have been at their all-time best over the past two or three years. However, compared to these, gaming revenue has been growing slowly.
Gross gaming revenue at Las Vegas’ Strip and Downtown casinos totaled $7.092 billion in 2017, surpassing the $7-billion mark for the first time since 2013. However, given the fact that the city has already embraced diversity, it is believed that its path to recovery could be the right one.
Here it is important to note that gaming revenue could have been a bit higher last year, if it had not been for the October 1 mass shooting that killed 58 people and left injured more than 500 others. The night after a gambler and retired accountant opened fire on concert-goers from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay raised multiple questions over the levels of security maintained in the city and its ability to prevent deadly incidents from taking place.
Las Vegas will certainly need some time to drown out its October 1 demons, but hopefully the right measures are taken in due course.
The record number of visitors and the constantly growing hotel occupancy rates both on and off the Strip have encouraged developers to renew construction activity and to renovate their existing properties.
Earlier this month, it became clear that New York real estate firm Witkoff had partnered hospitality giant Marriott International to complete the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas and open it as The Drew Las Vegas in 2020. The property is located in a portion of the Strip that has previously been neglected by developers. The northern end of the legendary Strip will see yet another giant resort spring up in 2020 – the $4-billion-plus Resorts World Las Vegas, currently under development at the site of what was planned to be Boyd Gaming’s Echelon Place before the recession.
Several existing properties have undertaken multi-million renovation projects, including The Palazzo, Palms Casino, and Monte Carlo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, which MGM Resorts is splitting into two resorts – Park MGM and NoMad Las Vegas.
It is yet to be seen how and whether the renewed construction and renovation activity will help Las Vegas mend, boost, and diversify its main industries. The city now needs to fight competition both from within and outside the US, to draw a new generation of customers, and to respond to that new generation’s demands properly. However, the massive investment in the city’s recovery provides for a certain amount of optimism that it could succeed in its endeavor.
Macau
Diversification and refocus became Macau’s two main goals after President Xi’s crackdown. The city government urged the six concessionaires to avert their attention from the withdrawing VIP customers to recreational casino players and to non-gambling customers.
And the city’s casinos were quick to respond to the changing environment properly. Both launched in 2016, Wynn Palace and The Parisian Macao epitomized the change of Macau’s focus to non-gambling entertainment and to mass-market casino players. And the owners of the properties – Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, respectively – reported robust 2017 results from their Macau operations.
While non-gaming revenue increased after the opening of the two resorts (it accounted for 20% of the revenue generated by Macau’s casino resorts in 2016), VIP gaming revenue reassumed its status of the main driver of growth in the city.
Macau’s casinos generated gross gaming revenue of $33 billion last year. Of that, revenue from VIP baccarat totaled $18.6 billion and accounted for more than a half of the gaming revenue bulk. It also increased from $14.7 billion generated in 2016.
Visitors from Mainland China were more comfortable to travel to Macau in 2017, as Beijing’s anti-graft drive appeared to have lost some of its intensity.
According to analysts, Macau’s VIP sector will continue growing in the next few years and will remain the main driver of growth within the city’s gambling industry. It is believed that unlike Las Vegas, where many of the visitors go there for its non-gambling entertainment, the average Macau casino player is not that interested in the city’s nightlife and its variety of state-of-art food and beverage facilities. In other words, gaming revenue is poised to remain the main contributor to the region’s economy for the time being, unless any overnight change in visitors’ attitude occurs.
As for forecasts for 2018, analysts have mixed views. They all agree that Macau will record gross gaming revenue growth at the end of the year. However, while some are bullish that the recent opening of MGM Cotai and the upcoming opening of a new hotel at Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s City of Dreams would drive a double-digit rise in full-year revenue, others are more modest in their forecasts.
However, the 19.1% increase in gross gaming revenue in 2017 beat many analysts’ expectations, so Macau could be brewing up a new surprise. It is also important to note that first traffic is expected to cross the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau at some point in 2018, which means that the casino hub could receive and additional boost in visitation.
For 2019 and beyond, some analysts are bullish that Macau will see a considerable increase in gross gaming revenue and in the number of visitors from Mainland China. According to a recent note by Morgan Stanley, revenue in Macau could reach $43 billion in 2019. The investment bank also believes that more and more people from smaller Chinese cities will be traveling to Macau in the next several years due to improved economic conditions.
In other words, the tiny Chinese enclave has the chance to nearly reach its 2013 peak in the next few years, if it takes the best possible advantage of the ongoing expansion of its casino industry and the rapid improvements in surrounding infrastructure.
Gross Gaming Revenue Data (2007-2017)
| Year | Million $ | Million MOP | Million $ |
| 2007 | 7461 | 83022 | 10378 |
| 2008 | 6709 | 108772 | 13597 |
| 2009 | 6074 | 119369 | 14921 |
| 2010 | 6270 | 188343 | 23542 |
| 2011 | 6566 | 267867 | 33483 |
| 2012 | 6716 | 304139 | 38017 |
| 2013 | 7006 | 360749 | 45093 |
| 2014 | 6884 | 351521 | 43940 |
| 2015 | 6890 | 230840 | 28855 |
| 2016 | 6923 | 223210 | 27901 |
| 2017 | 7092 | 265743 | 33217 |
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