ABC News – Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has lost a defamation lawsuit against the National Jewish Democratic Council. Adelson asked for $60 million in damages, arguing the council libeled him by saying his political contributions were sullied by links to prostitution. On Monday, a federal judge in Manhattan found that the council’s speech was protected. Adelson, whom Forbes ranks as the ninth-richest American, is chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a major Republican donor. The lawsuit accused the council of “assassinating” Adelson’s character by suggesting he personally approved of prostitution in resorts owned by Sands…

Gambling 911 – One of the main characters from the long-running Fox animated series “The Simpsons” is about to be killed off and leave it to Irish bookmaker Paddy Power to offer odds on who it might be. Executive producer Al Jean revealed the plans during a conference call, saying, “We’re actually working on a script where a character will pass away.  I’ll give a clue that the actor playing the character won an Emmy for playing that character, but I won’t say who it is.” “The Simpsons” just entered its 25th season with most of the primary voice actors…

iGaming Business – Technology solutions provider BetTech Gaming has moved to strengthen its position in the South African market by appointing Mike Shea as head of trading. According to the Casinocitytimes.com website, the move comes after the firm acquired a South African National Manufacturers Licence in February of this year. Having previously been restricted to operations in the Western Cape province, the licence now enables BetTech to work with operators across the country. To bolster these operations further, Shea has joined the firm’s trading team from online operator Sportingbet. Having served as horse racing trading supervisor at Sportingbet, Shea has…

Gambling 911 – The Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation has come out swinging against the Nevada lobbying group, American Gaming Association (AGA), for its advertisements suggesting the new film “Runner, Runner” is a cautionary tale depicting the ills of an unregulated online gambling industry. The AGA draws parallels with the film and the current offshore betting environment as a means of educating the public and policyholders to the importance of regulation within the US. SPGF says “not so fast”. WATCH OUR FULL INTERVIEWWITH AGA PRESIDENT “Casino operators now hope to expand another key demographic to their base: young people, especially those…

Gulf News – A new zip line connecting two towers at Las Vegas’s Rio casino is set to open in early November. The VooDoo Skyline at the off-the-Strip casino will start at the patio of the VooDoo Steakhouse on the 50th floor of the Masquerade Tower. Riders will glide to the 20-storey Ipanema Tower and then return to their starting point. The ride covers half a kilometre in 70 seconds. Tickets are $25 (Dh92). Sin City is expecting two more zip lines in the future. A popular ride at downtown’s Fremont Street Experience is being reinvented under the name “Slotzilla,”…

iGaming Business – Nick Batram, leisure analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, has told iGaming Business that investors should “tread warily” in the social gaming sector. Speaking after news emerged that mobile games developer King had filed documents for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, Batram cited the examples of mobile games developers Zynga and Zatikka in explaining why the sector does not guarantee a positive return on investment. “There is a lot of money being invested in social gaming and there is no guarantee of success. Indeed the investment that ‘hard’ gaming companies have made has not delivered…

Salon – The 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event opened to a pastiche of landmark tournament moments from the last decade starting with, of course, Chris Moneymaker’s serendipitous Main Event win in 2003.  Moneymaker – a then 27-year-old poker hobbyist with an easy going  countenance – won an online satellite tournament for a $10,000 entry fee to the Main Event, then navigated an 839 person field, “eliminating” various heady professional players on his way to a $2.5 million first place payday. The “Moneymaker Effect” was poker-prozac and ESPN replayed the 2003 Main Event highlights in multiple-hour blocks at all…

Vegas Inc – Las Vegas visitor volume inched upward in August, bringing the total number of travelers to Southern Nevada nearly even with last year over eight months. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported August visitor counts up 0.9 percent to 3.4 million for the month, bringing the 2013 total to 26.7 million. It was the second straight month of monthly percentage increases and the fifth increase in eight months this year. The average daily room rate was up 3.3 percent to $105.47 a night for the month. Strip room rates were up 4.7 percent to $113.70 while…