Morgan Stanley Research Asia recently completed a detailed study of the VIP casino players, and our industry in Macau. That study concluded that the significant decline in revenue is directly linked to the drop in Macau’s VIP clientele. Macau used to bring in five times the revenue of Las Vegas but does not have a large customer basis like Las Vegas. The report was compiled by analysts Thomas Allen, Alex Poon and Praveen Choudhary and revealed that Macau derived as much as eighty percent of its gambling revenue from these VIP casino players. Initially analysts believed that VIP customers contributed…

Las Vegas Sun – With the 2014 World Series of Poker returning this week to the Rio, Las Vegas will be flush with poker fever. For those looking to try their luck at the tables just like their favorite poker professionals, there is Bravo Poker. The app helps users track and find live poker tables and tournaments at casinos throughout Las Vegas. The app features a live stream from the casinos so users can get up-to-date information about tables, and it shows which games are being played. It also lists casino deals and promotions to help users get the most…

QZ – Last week, the casinos of Macau, the world’s largest center for gambling in terms of revenues, got some bad news: smoking will be banned at all casino tables as of October, a move to protect workers’ health. That’s a problem for the island’s massive casino industry—which generated $45 billion last year, several times that of Las Vegas. Macau depends overwhelmingly on gamblers from the world’s largest nation of smokers—China. The mainland is home to about a third of the world’s smokers. About a quarter of the Chinese population smokes, compared to the global average of a little under…

North Jersey – State Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, on Monday announced at the East Coast Gaming Conference in Atlantic City that he is preparing a bill to allow for private operation of sports betting at the state’s racetracks and casinos – threatening to call the bluff of the federal government regarding sports betting, . Lesniak spearheaded legalization of online gaming in the state as well as its challenge of a federal law now negating the state’s sports betting law. He said he will move forward on the bill in the Legislature should the U.S. Supreme Court decline to hear the…

CNN – While Japan’s economy continues to falter, lawmakers are betting big that the casino industry can swoop in and lift it out of the doldrums. Gambling is currently illegal in Japan, though many play pachinko, a quintessentially Japanese game often likened to pinball. While cash prizes are forbidden, many pachinko parlors work on a gray economy where prizes are exchanged — off-premises — for hard currency. This week, a major conference focusing on the future of the industry opened in Tokyo. It comes at a time when key legislation is being pushed through Japan’s parliament that could pave the…