As members of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee debated and voted (May 28th) on AB 431, one of several California online-poker bills currently being considered, news surfaced that the hardline “Cali 7″ coalition which has roadblocked the process in recent years has retracted its neutrality on the shell bill. AB 431, only the second online-poker bill ever to advance from California’s requisite “GO Committee” initial hearing process, faces difficult sledding in the face of the renewed opposition.  That opposition came in the form of a return to a “no” position on the bill from the hardline tribal group, which is…

Gaming machine manufacturer and casino management systems firm Aristocrat Gaming has agreed a deal to sell its Japanese operation to Japan-based Fields Corporation. Under the agreement, the sale will incorporate Aristocrat’s entire operations in the Asian country, including KK Aristocrat Technologies and KK Spiky. News of the sale comes after Aristocrat in April announced that it was to exit the Japanese market in order to focus its effort on operations elsewhere. The decision to withdraw from the country led to the agreement with Fields, which itself identified an opportunity to utilize Aristocrat’s operations in Japan. More at iGaming Business

Scientific Games Corporation today announced that Penn National Gaming’s new Plainridge Park Casino, Massachusetts’ first casino, located in Plainville, Massachusetts on the site of Plainridge Racecourse, will open with a broad suite of the Company’s systems and games solutions to drive casino revenue and operating efficiencies and empower an exceptional gaming experience for players. Scientific Games hit several significant milestones with the Penn National Gaming agreement. The Company’s Bally, WMS, and Shuffle Master-branded games will account for 44 percent floor share of new gaming devices, and Plainridge will be the first casino in the country to implement a Bally play-management…

Churchill Downs has entered into an agreement with card rooms Oceans 11 and Crystal Casino to partner for online poker should a bill pass to legalize and regulate the activity in California, OPR has learned. Terms and details of the deal are not available. The news comes as momentum continues to build for a regulated online poker bill in California, even as the larger political picture remains murky. Churchill, home to one of the few truly iconic brands in gaming – the Kentucky Derby – currently operates one of the leading online horse racing wagering sites in TwinSpires.com. The company…

A California online poker bill will clear the Assembly Appropriations Committee Thursday but be held on the Assembly floor until after upcoming hearings on web poker are complete, according to sources. The one-page shell bill, AB431, is sponsored by Democrat Adam Gray. It states in part that any future Internet poker measure adopted by the legislature must protect consumers and comply with applicable state and federal law. The Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, which handles gaming issues, unanimously approved the bill last month. Its next stop is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over fiscal matters. Sources said the Appropriations…

Gov. Chris Christie says he’d be in favor of approving partnerships of the kind soon to be announced between the Florida-based Hard Rock gaming company and the Meadowlands Racetrack for a casino in north Jersey — as long as tax revenues from such ventures would help pay to revitalize ailing Atlantic City. Speaking on his monthly radio show, Christie said that while no one had presented the proposal to him, he had heard “rumblings” that the state Legislature planned to place the idea on the November ballot for a statewide referendum on expanding gaming to the northern part of the…