RGJ.com – Time was, gamblers didn’t even want credit card companies maintaining a record of their time in Las Vegas. Now, visitors want loyalty points from mainstream hotel chains for the days they spend holed up in Strip casinos. Casino corporations MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp. have both announced loyalty program partnerships with major hotel chains (Hyatt and Starwood, respectively). The independent Strip casino the Cosmopolitan is also partnering with a hotel chain, striking a deal with Marriott. The deals enable customers to earn and redeem loyalty points with both the hotel and casino chains, and also hold…

The Province – A businessman who lost $500,000 on table games at a Las Vegas casino on Super Bowl weekend is arguing that he shouldn’t have to pay because he was blackout drunk. Southern California gambler Mark Johnston, 52, is suing the Downtown Grand for loaning him money and serving him drinks when he was visibly intoxicated. Nevada law bars casinos from allowing obviously drunk patrons to gamble and from serving them comped drinks. Johnston’s attorney, Sean Lyttle, says the Grand, which opened last November in the old part of Las Vegas, intends to pursue Johnston for trying to shirk…

CBS – Bookmakers and organized crime members have long profited in the high-stakes world of illegal sports gambling. New Jersey is now appealing to the Supreme Court to legalize betting on games. The state hopes to collect millions. However, as CBS News’ legal analyst Jack Ford reports on “60 Minutes Sports,” the ruling won’t put the mob out of business. If it becomes legal, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has said there would be strict state oversight, much like the way it works at his state’s Atlantic City’s casinos. But Angelo Lutz, who is a legitimate businessman and restaurateur, told…

iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Betfred has agreed to become a sponsor of the Grand National Festival UK horseracing event. The three-year deal will run from 2014 through to 2017, according to The Drum website. Betfred will sponsor three races at the Festival, which is held at Aintree Racecourse on an annual basis. The races included in the deal comprise the Betfred Bowl Steeple Chase on opening day, the Betfred Mobile Mildmay Novices’ Steeple Chase on Ladies Day and the Betfred TV Handicap Steeple Chase on Grand National Day. John Baker, Aintree and north-west regional director for Jockey Club Racecourses,…

Well, you can add Boyd Gaming Corp. to the race to operate a casino in Japan. CEO Keith Smith used a fourth-quarter conference call Wednesday to express Boyd Gaming’s interest in the potential Japanese casino market. The country is exploring casino legalization as a way to pay for infrastructure associated with being host of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. “We’re always looking for ways to grow the business,” Smith said, adding that he and a development executive recently traveled to Tokyo to initially view the market. “We’re investigating … to see if it’s a good fit for us,”…

Las Vegas Review Journal – A legislative committee tasked with looking at technology’s effect on the casino industry launched a debate Thursday on whether Nevada’s more than 2,000 restricted gaming locations rely too heavily on slot machines as a revenue source. The issue — whether funds gleaned from gaming in bars, taverns, restaurants and other businesses with 15 or fewer slot machines incidental to the location’s overall revenue stream — has been argued over the past few years by lawmakers, gaming regulators, the casino industry, restricted licensees and others. Various changes have been made to state and local ordinances, regulations…

Courier Journal -A third constitutional amendment that could allow Kentucky casinos was filed on Tuesday by House Speaker Greg Stumbo. The Prestonsburg Democrat’s House Bill 584 would add a line to the constitution that says “nothing in this section shall preclude the General Assembly from authorizing other forms of gaming by general law.” If three-fifths of both chambers approve, the question that would be sent to voters for ratification would be: “Are you in favor of allowing the General Assembly to pass laws authorizing other forms of gaming?” The bill puts into writing Stumbo’s long-held position that the current constitutional…

BND.com – Participants at a hearing Monday in the south Chicago suburbs on whether to expand gambling in Illinois raised similar issues to the ones raised during a previous hearing in East St. Louis. Namely: * Would an expansion harm existing casinos? * Will horse-racing tracks be able to survive without it? But at the hearing in Tinley Park, there were a couple of other questions that overshadowed those: Which south-Chicago suburb should get a license for a brand new casino? And how would the revenue from that casino be shared? State Rep. Robert Rita, D-Blue Island, who is shepherding…