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Louisiana casinos have been through some tough times over the past six years. First, there was Hurricane Katrina that closed down casinos, and then the economic recession of 2008 sent the gaming facilities back into a revenue funk.

In July, Louisiana casinos took another step towards coming out of the cloud they had been under in recent years. Revenue at the eighteen state-licensed casinos was 4.3 million. That represented an increase of 2.2% over the 9.4 million the casinos won in July of 2010.

The revenue figures also displayed an increase from June to July this year. In June, revenue was 7.2 million. The summer months have been a welcomed relief for casino executives that had started to wonder whether or not the revenue would ever fully rebound to pre-recession figures.

“I felt like there has been a bigger buzz in the casinos over the past couple of months,” said Mark Granger, who frequents several Louisiana casinos a week. “People seem to have a little extra money these days, and that is leading to more people going back to the casinos. One casino I was at last week was filled to the max, it was fun to see.”

Riverboat casinos make up a large portion of the gaming revenue in Louisiana. The thirteen riverboat casinos took in 9 million in July. The four racetrack casinos that are licensed in the state brought in .9 million, and Harrah’s in New Orleans, a land-based casino, won .4 million. L’Auberge Du Lac was the top revenue-producing casinos in July, winning .8 million.

The state may soon be getting a boost in gaming revenue after the Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved a plan Thursday for a new Margaritaville casino resort in Bossier City. If everything goes according to plan, the new 1 million facility could be opened in the next couple of years, further entrenching Louisiana as one of the top gaming destinations in the US.

Louisiana, Nevada, Mississippi, and New Jersey have long been considered the top gaming markets in the country, but recent competition has muddied the casino waters. Pennsylvania, Florida, California, and even Iowa have now become major gaming destinations for gamblers.

August 20, 2011
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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The Major League Baseball season has just six weeks left, and the gambling world will be keeping a close eye on games going down the stretch. Even teams that have long been eliminated from playoff contention will play meaningful games for gamblers looking to cash in on future bets.

Before the season starts, thousands of gamblers make their way to Las Vegas sports books, some come annually and make a vacation out of the trip, while other simply fly in for a weekend to place their bets. In most cases, the bets center around team win totals, and World Series winners.

The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Giants, and Rangers were all among the favorites to win the World Series when the season began, and none have disappointed. While every year there seems to be a favored team that comes up short, this season it looks as though all the favorites will make the playoffs.

The Phillies have the biggest division lead, and are cruising towards the playoffs since acquiring Hunter Pence at the trade deadline. The Rangers have a comfortable lead in the American league West, but the Angels are staying close enough that it could become a race down the stretch.

Boston and New York are battling for the American league East crown, and the two teams will be close to their season win totals set by odds makers before the year started. No matter which team falls short of the division title, the odds are strong that they both will make the playoffs.

Of the aforementioned teams, only San Francisco looks like they have a legitimate chance of missing out on the playoffs. The defending champion Giants trail Arizona by 2.5 games in the NL West. The Giants have recently placed Carlos Beltran on the disabled list, dealing a major blow to their offense, and making gamblers sweat out a repeat division title.

The two other teams that appear headed for post season play are Detroit and Atlanta, with the Braves holding a seven game lead over the Giants in the wild card chase. The Tigers are clinging to a 2.5 game lead over the pesky Indians. Cleveland has played much better since they traded for former Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez.

August 20, 2011
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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From the outside looking in it appears as though the Macau casino gambling industry is indestructible. Casinos in Macau have experienced never-before-seen revenue increases over the past year, with each month turning out even more insane revenue figures than the past.

The majority of the gaming increase has come from the Chinese government easing their visa restrictions to Macau. With gamblers able to gain visas, high rollers have been flocking to the new gambling capital of the world, and millions of dollars are being lost in the process.

Now, analysts are fearful that the trend of revenue increases cannot continue. At some point, says Deutsche Bank analysts, the high rollers will be unable to sustain the level of losing they have endured over the past year. At that time, Macau casinos could experience their first slump.

Highlighting the revenue boom has been the fact that it has occurred during one of the worst global meltdowns in decades. Many within the gaming industry have asserted that the Macau casinos are immune to the economic conditions of the world. It is a suggestion that comes from how Las Vegas had endured recession’s in the past in the US. Not everyone, however, is a believer.

“We disagree with the consensus view that Macau is immune to a recession,” said Deutsche Bank, in a note to clients on Friday morning, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company’s claim is backed up by the recent slide of gaming stocks in the Asian market.

Sands China, Wynn Macau, and SJM Holdings, the three largest gaming stocks on the Asian market, all experienced a sharp decline in stock price on Friday. Sands closed down eleven percent, while Wynn and SJM both fell just over eight percent. The stock drops have not been a direct relation to casino earnings, as all of the Macau casinos continue to prosper during the economic crisis.

Wynn, Sands, and MGM are three companies that jumped into the Macau market when their US-based casinos started to struggle. LVS CEO Sheldon Adelson was the leader, investing billions of his own money in the Macau operations. The three US-based companies have been paid off nicely, with stock in both Asia and the US rebounding since the 2008 global economic recession.

August 20, 2011
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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The Budget Control Act of 2011 was signed by President Barack Obama earlier this month, and the result of that legislation is that a super committee has been formed. The committee will be responsible for coming up with ways to trim over one trillion dollars from the national debt over a ten year period.

There are very few ideas that exist that can cut largely into the debt. Analysts believe there is one major flaw in the US system that could account for trimming millions off the budget shortcomings. Online poker is still unregulated, but many lawmakers believe this could be the key to turning the country’s finances around.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, from Nevada, is all but assuring that online poker legislation will pass in the US. What Reid left out of his statement, however, is when that bill would make its way through Congress. Several analysts believe the bill could come to the House and Senate floor by the end of the year.

The online gambling issue is one that has been creeping up in Congressional discussions over the past couple of years. With each year that has passed since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was created in 2006, the cries have become louder from constituents who want the law eliminated.

The most obvious display of support for online poker regulations has come in recent months. When the US Department of Justice handed down indictments on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, millions of Americans were left without a place to play their favorite online hobby. The calls began to pour into the office’s of US Representatives.

The aftermath of Black Friday has been swift and effective. Legislators such as Senator Jon Kyl, who has long opposed online gambling, and once compared the activity to “crack cocaine,” has softened his stance. If Kyl comes on board with online poker regulations, it is likely many of his Conservative allies will fall into line behind the legislative leader.

Sen. Kyl happens to be on the super committee in charge of the debt savings. Kyl is joined on the committee by eleven other members of Congress. In the coming months, Kyl and Reid will be in a series of negotiations that could finally lead poker players to the promise land of being protected by the US government moving forward.

August 20, 2011
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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Alabama residents have woken up almost every day for the past year and a half with the same headlines in their local newspapers. The gambling corruption case that involved lobbyists, gaming hall owners, and state senators has been the center of attention since the scandal broke last summer.

In July, residents thought that the end was near when the jury in the case started deliberating. By the end of the deliberations, however, there was no verdict in many of the charges. That led to US District Judge Myron Thompson declaring a mistrial. Two defendants were found not guilty of all charges, while the other seven will have to face a retrial.

Judge Thompson set that retrial start date for October 3rd, but defense attorneys have since asked that the date be delayed. The prosecution has also requested that the group be separated into three groups, in order to expedite the process during the retrial.

The main defendant in the case is VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, who is accused of bribing senators with cash in exchange for positive votes on a gambling bill that came up for a vote last year. The bill passed the Senate, but was defeated in the House, and soon after indictments were brought against McGregor, Country Crossings owner Ronnie Gilley, several of their lobbyists, and state senators.

Gilley has pleaded guilty to the charges and has been the key witness in the case against McGregor. Gilley testified of how he and McGregor worked together to push the gaming bill through the Senate, but McGregor’s layers have disputed Gilley’s claims, admitting only to giving campaign contributions that were legal.

The attorneys on Wednesday told Judge Thompson during a conference call that October would be too soon for a retrial. The defense lawyers claimed they had much work to do to prepare for a retrial, but time was more of the essence. During the ten week trial the first time around, the lawyers had fallen behind on work they had with other clients.

The defense teams have argued that splitting up the defendants at this point in the case should not be an option after the prosecution failed to gain convictions during the first trial. Originally, the defendants attempted to gain separate trials, and were denied the opportunity, and lawyers asserted that the same rules should apply to the prosecution in the retrial.

The issue of electronic bingo machines has not yet been solved in Alabama. No matter the outcome of the retrial, Alabama residents will still be searching for a blanket ruling from the state Supreme Court regarding the legality of electronic bingo machines in the state.

August 20, 2011
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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Sports gambling comes in many different forms and two of the most popular from the old days were horse racing and poker. Breeders’ Cup Ltd. is hoping that the two can come together to join a gambling partnership moving forward in the future.

The racing company announced late this week that they would be bringing in professional poker player Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi as a sponsor. The company is hoping that Mizrachi can bring poker players in for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in November.

“We believe that there is a strong cross-over between poker and horse racing, which has not yet been realized,” said Vice President of Media and Entertainment for Breeders’ Cup. “We’re thrilled to have a relationship with ‘The Grinder’ which will allow for one of poker’s superstars to reach out to the poker world and educate them about the Breeders’ Cup.”

The Breeders’ Cup brings together the best race horses in the world for a series of races over a two-day period in November. The World Championships have seen some of the finest horses in history do battle, and this year is expected to be no different. Mizrachi will be promoting the gambling opportunity on his social media platform.

“It is an honor to be associated with such a well-known name as the Breeders’ Cup,” said Mizrachi. “I’ve long been a huge horse racing fan and I am pleased to have this opportunity to align myself with the richest horse racing event with such large wagering pools.”

The betting on the Breeders’ Cup races is often fast and furious. Along with the best horses in the world comes the best trainers, owners, and jockeys, all of which bring a strong name recognition to gamblers. Bettors often have their horses flagged for wagers before they even arrive for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships weekend.

Mizrachi made a name for himself the past several years on poker’s grandest stage. At last year’s World Series of Poker, Mizrachi won several tournaments, placed in a couple more, and finished fifth in the most prestigious of all poker events, the WSOP main event. Mizrachi has earned over million in tournament prize money over his career.

August 6, 2011
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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Tiger Woods has not won on the PGA Tour in a couple of years, but he is still a favorite of golf fans everywhere. That is why having played only one competitive tournament in months, Woods is considered among the favorites to win this week’s PGA Championship.

Major tournaments is where Woods has made his name over the years, leading many to believe he will pass Jack Nicklaus’ major record before his playing days are done. After running his car into a tree on Thanksgiving two years ago, Woods has not been the same on, or off the court.

A couple of weeks ago, Woods made headlines not for his golf swing, but instead for his firing of longtime caddy Steve Williams. Last week, Woods returned to the tour and had mixed results in his first four rounds back. Woods is listed as a 20/1 choice to win this week.

Rory McIlroy has made quite a name for himself during Woods’ leave of absence. McIlroy has been installed by odds makers as the favorite for the PGA Championship at 10/1. He is the only golfer that is close to having single digit odds, and figures to have a strong showing this weekend.

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald have also experienced a bit of success over the past few years. Westwood and Donald have slightly higher odds that McIlroy, both at 14/1. Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson join Woods at 20/1.

A quartet of golfers have odds of 25/1. Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, and Steve Stricker are in this group, and they are followed by Martin Kaymer and Nick Watney at 28/1. Matt Kuchar is a 33/1 choice. No other golfer in the field has odds of less than 40/1.

This season was supposed to be the year that Woods resumed his chase of Nicklaus’ major record, but it has not turned out to be a victorious comeback for Tiger. If he can capture the PGA Championship it is likely that his betting odds would drop significantly for the rest of the year.

August 11, 2011
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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The World Series of Poker has been gone from Las Vegas for a month, but the game itself is still attracting poker enthusiasts to Sin City. The Women in Poker Hall of Fame is enshrining their latest class on September 2nd at the Golden Nugget Casino.

Margie Heintz, Phyllis Caro, and Kristy Gazes will be the 2011 inductees, and the ceremony will be further evidence that the game has arrived as much for women as it has for men over the past decade. The game itself has never been more popular than it is right now in the US.

The Department of Justice may not have known that their indictments of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker, would have started a poker revolution, but that is what appears to have happened in the country. Players are outraged that they have lost the right to enjoy poker online, and they have responded by badgering lawmakers about the issue.

Women are at the center of the revolution, with professional players Annie Duke and Jennifer Harmon being involved with lobbying efforts in Washington. Duke has also been instrumental in launching the first-ever professional poker league. The Epic Poker League held its inaugural event last week in Las Vegas.

As for the women that will be entering the Hall of Fame this year, Heintz is a long-time poker room manager at the Eldorado Hotel and Casino in Reno. Caro manages the poker room at Hollywood Park, and Gazes is one of the most successful players when it comes to career earnings.

Gazes won the World Poker Tour Ladies Night event back in 2007, and has accumulated nearly million in career earnings. The three women joining the Hall this year will bring the total number of women to thirteen.

Harmon was an inductee last year, along with Kathy Liebert and Billie Brown. Jen Fisher, June Field, Cyndy Violette, Marsha Waggoner, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson, and Barbara Enright are the other ladies that have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

While the women are taking center stage, the men will be the main attraction when November rolls around. The nine players remaining in the World Series of Poker main event will return to Sin City to battle it out for the over million in first place prize money. All nine players will make at least 0,000, regardless of where they are knocked out when the main event resumes.

August 10, 2011
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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The Florida State Seminoles were the darlings of college football bettors for over a decade in the nineties and the new millennium, but FSU fell on hard times towards the end of the decade. Now it appears as though the Seminoles will once again be a favorite of gamblers this season.

After having the hype surrounding them the past few years with analysts predicting they were back, Florida State proved not up to the task. The team fell short of expectations last year after starting the season ranked in the top fifteen. The four losses the Seminoles had in 2010 showed they still had some growing to do.

This year, the expectations are even higher than the previous two seasons. FSU is ranked in the preseason top five for the first time in a decade, and the team appears to be stacked both on offense and defense. Jimbo Fisher took over the program after Bobby Bowden retired at the end of 2009.

Bowden wanted one more season with the Seminoles, but after thirty years of coaching, the school administration pushed out the coach that started the Seminoles football program. Fisher started out his tenure on a mission to bring the best talent to Tallahassee. The new coach’s first couple of classes have been considered among the best in the nation.

Gamblers took a liking to FSU back in the nineties when the school won two national championships. The program would have won several more titles and made gamblers much more money had they had a kicker that could have avoided the wide right syndrome against their rivals from South Beach.

The Seminoles survived those tough defeats and the troubling years that followed, and now they are back to being close to a championship team. Analysts believe that if the Seminoles can beat the Hurricanes in Tallahassee and take care of rival Florida, they may make that championship jump this season, something that bettors are starting to believe.

August 12, 2011
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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Casino resorts in Las Vegas are built around the premise that if they lure travelers in with low cost amenities, the vacationers will spend their days and nights in the casino. That has not been the case so far for the Cosmopolitan, the facility developed with the expectations of saving Sin City’s gaming industry.

The Cosmopolitan was built at a time when the economic recession was doing severe damage to casinos in Nevada. The casino industry had always been immune to the economic conditions in the US, but this time around the recession made a big dent in revenue at Las Vegas casinos.

The Cosmopolitan, along with CityCenter, were supposed to be the saviors. The new facilities would lure gamblers back, and the industry would return to prominence in 2011. That has not been the case as gambling revenue at the Cosmo was lower in the second quarter than the revenue brought in from the resorts hotel rooms and restaurants.

For the second quarter of 2011, the Cosmopolitan lost .3 million. The 100,000 square-foot casino brought in .1 million during the quarter, while .1 million in revenue was made at the restaurants and bars. It is a percentage difference that owners Deutche Bank would like to see reversed.

This year has not been kind to the Cosmo. In the first quarter, the casino resort experienced a loss of .8 million. Restaurants and nightclubs were the driving force behind the 5 million revenue the Cosmopolitan had in the first quarter, leading analysts to wonder whether the plan all along was to make the Cosmo more of a social facility.

CityCenter has not done much better in their short period of being pen. MGM Mirage and Dubai World are co-owners of CityCenter, yet the facility has not gained the type of popularity that was expected. The two mega-resorts were being counted on to breathe life into the slumping Las Vegas casino market.

Adding to Nevada’s troubles after the recession was expansion that has taken place almost all across the country. Lawmakers have turned to casino gambling as a way of increasing funds for struggling budgets. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and California are all states that have expanded their casino options in the past two years.

August 19, 2011
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com


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