08.31.2007 | 1:31 pm | News, casinos
There have been a number of examples of criminal gangs targeting casinos for high tech scams over the last couple of years. While there have been some high profile arrests, has anyone ever succeeded in scamming the casinos or is all just a myth?
Since the early days of the casino, when Joseph Jagger spotted that one of the roulette tables at a Monte Carlo casino was uneven, it has been a constant battle for the casino owners to stay one step ahead. When you consider that gamblers can, and have, walked away with million of dollars from a night in the casino, you can appreciate that amounts are at stake. Where this kind of money is readily available, this will attract a certain element of the criminal fraternity. So who is winning the battle now?
Despite all of the hype and press coverage about the recent attempted scams, the casino owners are definitely one step ahead of the criminal gangs. This is not an easy operation though, and requires constant surveillance, circulation of suspected gang member identities and a whole range of in house technology both to monitor and block scams - without upsetting the actual gambling element of the “sport”.
When you consider that a new casino complex these days could cost an owner many billions of dollars, it is easy to see what is actually at risk in the industry, both on and off the tables. There have been numerous online casinos who have been slaughtered by the change in US laws, many losing hundreds of millions of dollars in value and lost revenue.
Unfortunately, with big investments come bigger risks and it is certain that the casino operators will invest heavily to ensure that everyone plays the game by the rules. Long jail sentences and large fines have scared off some of the criminal gangs, but there are still those willing to take big risks for potentially big gains. The battle between the two is ongoing!
08.30.2007 | 6:00 pm | News, casinos
In an announcement which will shock many casino operators to the core, William Weidner, the Chief Executive Officer of Las Vegas Sands has announced that their Singapore project is struggling to stay within budget. He estimates that the final price will be between 20 and 40 per cent higher than originally thought, adding a massive US$1.44 billion to the original US$3.6 billion budget!
When you consider that this is the first such casino development in Singapore, it does not exactly bode well for other investments in the area. Apparently their have been problems importing sufficient sand for the project, after neighbouring Indonesia banned all exports of sand to Singapore. Granite and sand are the core ingredients for the concrete which is required to build the complex. There have also been a number of significant alterations to the original design, which have added further expense.
While there is no doubt that Singapore has the potential to become a haven for the casino industry, now that various restrictions have been lifted, this increase in cost is something which the Singapore authorities had hoped to avoid. Even though there are very few projects which actually come in at or under the original budget, the significant rise and the reasons for this are concerning.
The project itself will be one of the most modern in the world, with three 50 story hotels under construction, although not normal hotel designs. These hotels will actually curve upwards from the base in a unique design, which is probably where some of the latest adjustments have been made.
There is a growing concern that Las Vegas Sands are starting to over stretch their investment budget, bearing in mind their massive project in Macau which is yet to be completed. They can ill afford any more cost increases, when you consider the current money market turmoil and ongoing credit crunch. While hopes are high, there is still a degree of risk attached to the expansion plans of the company.
08.29.2007 | 6:29 pm | News, casinos, gambling
While there have been a couple of casino projects which have been put on the back burner after the recent money market turmoil, it seems as though the worldwide thirst for more and more casinos, more and more web sites and more gambling arenas continues unabated. Is the casino industry really recession proof, or will it suffer at some point?
This is a question which has puzzled many for years and it will always attracting differing views and opinions. While the shrinking of the worldwide economy will obvious restrict the overall size of any market, the casino industry has been fairly resilient. New markets in areas such as the Far East - with Singapore due to open its first casino complex - and the emergence of Macau as a real king pin of the industry offers new and exciting challenges to the major players. Many government around the world are seeing the massive investment and income from the industry, and many have decided that they want their share.
So long as there is a logical argument for investing in a certain area, and the money markets calm down, there is no reason why the investment growth of the last few years should not continue. The only real threat to the industry is over crowding, and changes in regulation (as seen in the US online market), which are often unforeseen and sudden.
Despite the troubles of the US stock market of late, it is interesting to see that many of the major casino companies are within touching distance of their all time share price highs. This at a time when many industries around them are fearing the worst and showing signs of a slowdown.
It also appears that changes in US gambling laws may not be too far away, boosting the online industry again and allowing entry back into the US market. Recession proof? Not quite, but the sector does have defensive qualities.
08.28.2007 | 6:50 pm | News, casinos, gambling
For many years there have arguments and counter arguments about the strength of the various US regulators and gaming boards, and their treatment of various casino establishments. Some believe that industry is allowed to dictate its own rules, in exchange for massive investment programs, while operators complain of being stifled and over run by regulations. Who is right?
For those who believe that gaming commission are not hard enough on the gaming industry, they will be warmed to hear about fines totalling some $150,000 handed out to 5 casinos in the state of Missouri. The reasons for the fines range from under paying an advertised slot machine jackpot, to serving alcohol to minors, to lapses in security. This has shown many that the gaming commissions do mean business, and they do strongly regulate the industry.
Gambling and casinos in particular for many years existed in the shadows until the introduction of various rules and regulations brought it into the main stream. Due to the massive amounts of money at stake, both in the casinos and the cost of the developments, they have always attracted controversy. The fact that so many countries around the world are actually “importing” the gaming and casino culture suggests that there is an acceptance that regulations are sufficient to control the industry and protect the customer.
While the example of the $150,000 in fines recently handed out by the Missouri Gaming Commission is only one of many rulings, it does show that regular monitoring and censorship is happening. To the outside world the industry maybe looks to have a mind of its own, but for those operating in the actual industry itself, the rules and regulations are becoming more stringent in many instances.
As the industry continues to build other power bases in areas such as the Far East, it will interesting to see if foreign regulations are as strict as their US counterparts.
08.27.2007 | 7:42 pm | News, casinos
While casinos continue to come online every where around the world, the market is crying out for something a little different, something which will catch the public’s imagination. It may be that the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel may just be the answer……
The $2.4 billion complex is due to open on Tuesday 28th August, and boasts a massive 3,000 rooms, sports hall, shopping complex with space for 350 shops, and floating gondolier casino “tables”. While the area itself has so far made great strides from day trip visitors, this is the first real play for the long stay gambler, but will it work?
The Macau market is a reflection of many other casino markets around the world, where demand is still very strong but there are concerns that supply may soon overtake demand, and some of the smaller casinos will suffer. The industry itself has never been slow in coming forward with new attention grabbing ideas, such as the show halls in Las Vegas, but the gondolier is one of the newer introductions!
The new casinos of today are only the centre piece of massive complexes, which take in shops, restaurants, entertainment palaces, sports arenas, basically, you name it and their will be a casino associated with it. This type of diversification also allows the complex owners (who usually own the casino as well) to open up other income streams aside from the casino.
It will be interesting to see which area of the world is next targeted by an industry which has spread it’s arms to every corner of the globe. Those who are able to predict the next “hot spot” would be on to a major winner, but it is never quite as easy as that. Gambling, and especially casinos, travel well and there may be one due to open near you!
08.24.2007 | 5:48 am | News, casinos
While gambling, and especially casinos, have been around for many many years, have they finally received universal acceptance?
For many years the casino was never really allowed out of the shadows in places such as the UK, while countries such as the US were happy to push them to the forefront of the entertainment industry, but it seems that the tides have really begun to turn. In the UK we have seen plans to expand the industry, and while these have been delayed in the short term (due in the main to government indifference and confusion), it seems only a matter of time.
In a major development, casino’s and gambling businesses / web sites will be able to advertise on prime time UK TV from September - something which will surely open up the UK market yet further.
While the Far East has always been a hot bed for gambling and casinos, the emergence of Macau as a major casino centre of the world (soon to be confirmed as THE casino capital of the world) has seen the industry move onto a different level. We have seen plans announced to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into new ventures around the world, so surely the casino industry must have received universal acceptance?
In the main yes, the industry is now cemented into many social scenes with a visit to the casino as common as a visit to a night club for many people. Membership restrictions are soon to be lifted and the doors will truly open to the masses, but there are still reservations in some areas of society.
There are a number of groups who believe that gambling is about to spiral out of control, and they have forcefully put their arguments forward. While the industry is here to stay, bigger and bolder than ever before, the gambling sector will always be under the microscope.
The truth is that if casinos were not legal, then the gambling industry would move under ground - as we have seen in the past - which would be really bad news.
08.23.2007 | 9:04 pm | casinos
While the show first appeared on UK screens in 1999, “Late Night Poker” has been off air for some time, but is set to make a comeback in October this year. The show has gone down in history as the show which really brought the game to the masses, although there was a special twist to keep the audience intrigued……
The show saw the first appearance of Henry Orenstein’s camera, which effectively sat under each player’s hand, offering the audience a glimpse as to what hand the player had. It made great viewing for those interested in the game, watching the so called professionals attempt to out think, out guess and out bluff their opponents for the big bucks on offer.
The first winner on the show was David “Devilfish” Ulliott who went on to bigger and better things, in what was at that time a sport very much in its infancy. The show has been revamped for the 2007 run, offering insights into the make up of each player, their habits and strategies they have used in the past. While the additional information will not be on show to the players, it offers the watching public yet another insight into the mind of a professional Poker player.
There have been many attempts to change the core style of programs such as “Late Night Poker”, the public have showed on more than one occasion that they are only really interested in the game, the hands and trying to guess who will crack first. As the popularity of the game has picked up, so has the prize money and while the show’s £125,000 winners prize is fairly small compared to some tournaments, it is still a sizeable amount to bring home on the turn of a few cards!
08.22.2007 | 9:05 pm | News, casinos
In a move not seen anywhere in the world, a self confessed gambling addict is taking Crown Casino to court after losing $30 million in a 14 month gambling spree. Multi millionaire Harry Kakavas and his legal team have been called to a 2 day hearing with representatives of Crown Casino, in order to see if the claim needs a full court hearing. While Crown Casino are staying tight lipped, they believe the case will be thrown out of court. So what exactly happened?
Multi millionaire Harry Kakavas is claiming that despite a self imposed life time ban from the Crown Casino, the owners of the establishment carried out a sustained charm offensive towards Mr Kakavas in the hope of tempting him back to the casino. He claims that he was regularly flown around the country in the casino’s private jet, handed boxes of cash containing up to $50,000 and basically encouraged to spend spend spend.
While he had earlier attempted to kick his habit, it is claimed that his stakes rose yet again with up to $300,000 changing hands during private card games in the casino’s private gaming suites on the 29th floor of their Crown Towers Hotel. While Crown have not yet filed a defence, as they believe the case will never get to court, it is also alleged that Harry Kakavas was booked into a number of hotels for private gambling, after being tagged with the cover name “Harry Kay”.
While the industry has seen very few similar cases in recent time, the industry leaders will all be monitoring the situation carefully. A decision in favour of Harry Kakavas could spell disaster for an industry which has for so long depended on the big gamblers to recoup their often heavy investments.
08.21.2007 | 8:43 pm | News, casinos
At a time when corporate funding for the casino sector has all but disappeared in the wake of the US credit crisis, up step Dubai World (a Dubai government owned investment vehicle) to invest up to $5 billion in MGM Mirage, the second largest casino group in the world. So what will the extra funds be used for?
It has been common knowledge that the MGM Mirage board, under the leadership of Kirk Kerkorian, have been looking to expand their empire and introduce more hotels, housing and general entertainment complexes in order to reduce the group’s exposure to the gambling arena. Initially Dubai World will take a 9.5% stake in MGM Mirage, with an option to take this up to 20% in due course. They will also be taking a 50% stake in CityCentre - a separate hotel and casino complex which MGM Mirage are planing for the iconic Las Vegas Strip.
While the move has been welcomed by many in the industry, it is quite ironic that the Dubai government have sanctioned such an investment when gambling of any kind is prohibited in their own country. It appears that the government are in the process of arranging a number of high profile investments after the recent oil price boom swelled the government coffers, allowing them to put aside a staggering $13 billion for future investments.
MGM Mirage have been one of the major success stories of an industry which has often been difficult to predict. Under the stewardship of 54% owner Kirk Kerkorian, the group have been able to sail safely through a number of choppy waters and look well set for the future. To be able to attract this kind of investment from the likes of the Dubai government is no mean feat, and demonstrates what a great financial position the company must be in.
08.20.2007 | 8:54 pm | News, casinos
While we saw some light relief in credit markets towards the end of last week, with the US Federal Bank reducing interest rates by half of one percent, it seems that the turmoil in the markets has brought a halt to many funding plans, including those of James Packer’s casino joint venture business in Macau.
The joint venture, Melco PBL Entertainment, had plans in place to raise US$2.75 billion to fund the expansion of the their operations in the casino mecca of Macau. Unfortunately news of the finance problems could not have come at a worse time with the joint venture reporting further loses of US$69.2 for the three months to June, on top of earlier losses of US$27.2 million. While these losses included start up costs of some US$21 million, and were not unexpected, the fact that the size of the operations in the district will not be increased in the near future is causing some concern.
In the hot spot of Macau, size is everything and while the Crown Macau casino is seeing a steady growth in business after the May launch, the billion dollar City of Dreams venture is still under construction and the Peninsula project is still on the negotiating table. Even though there is no doubt among experts that Macau is the place to be, the lack of funding opportunities in the current environment is a cause for concern, and may well squeeze existing credit lines.
While the market reacted badly to the news, with the shares falling to around half of the their float value from last December, there is hope for the future once credit markets have calmed down. However, it does demonstrate that while it is important to have a presence in markets such as Macau, size does matter and there is a need to keep on expanding the company’s presence in the area.
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