Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung is one step closer to his dream of building an Aussie casino. And not just any casino, but the country’s most lavish resort after winning approval to purchase a neighboring casino. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission this week decided it would not oppose a planned $269 million takeover of the existing Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns by Fung’s Aquis Group. Aquis also plans to build Australia’s biggest tourist attraction — Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort — at Yorkeys Knob. The fact that the two casinos are only 15km apart from each other initially drew concerns from the…

Columbus Dispatch – Despite a multitude of legal gambling opportunities — four casinos, five racinos and lottery games — Ohioans continue to find places to gamble illegally. But state investigators increasingly are finding those illegal gambling hot spots, many of which masquerade as parlors for “skill games.” Matt Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, said yesterday that his agency is investigating at least three dozen such locations. He said there could be hundreds more in storefronts and strip malls around the state. They are not limited to large urban areas; many thrive in smaller cities and towns….

Las Vegas Review Journal – Mike Dreitzer credits his success to the mentors he has had in 20 years as an attorney and gaming executive in Nevada. Folks such as former Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, ex-Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, former Gov. Mike O’Callaghan and gaming executive and gaming lawyer Shannon Bybee helped Dreitzer early in his career. So it was natural that Dreitzer had an interest when he was contacted more than a year ago by the CEO of an Australian-based slot machine developer that bears the name of a gaming industry pioneer. Dreitzer, 42, joined Ainsworth…

The Day – A man flagged by casino security officials as a “known card cheat” pleaded guilty Wednesday in New London Superior Court to using invisible ink to mark cards at Mohegan Sun on Sept. 15, 2013. Bruce Koloshi, 55, of Summit, N.J., who is also known as Jeffrey William Elliot, pleaded guilty to attempted cheating at gambling and received a 10-month prison sentence followed by three years conditional discharge. As a condition of the plea bargain, Koloshi is banned from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos. “You are not welcome at any casinos in Connecticut,” Judge Hillary B. Strackbein…

The idea of Las Vegas Strip real estate carrying a value of $30 million an acre or more has come and gone. This month’s sale of the former New Frontier site — once the Strip’s most expensive piece of real estate — is giving market speculators new hope that resort corridor land transactions could again become active. “It’s good to have something to talk about once again,” John Knott, executive vice president of CBRE and head of its Global Gaming Group, said Wednesday. The consulting and real estate division, which was part of several Strip land transactions in the 2000s,…

iGaming Business – The Santa Ysabel Tribal Development Corporation has announced that it will launch its real-money online poker service in the US state of California next week, according to various reports. Dave Vialpando, chairman of the commission, said that the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel would be “flipping the switch on for real-money sometime between [August] 26 and 28”. The real-money service will be open to players over the age of 18 that are located within California’s borders. The launch will come despite online poker legislation having stalled in the state. Earlier this month, iGaming Business reported that a…