Online Poker News – Sheldon Adelson’s stance against online poker is no secret by now, and his strong and very rich opinion has some people nervous. Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, makes it very clear just how far he’s willing to go to “protect” the US from online gambling. He’s threatened to “spend whatever it takes” on his anti-Internet gambling cause and in January of this year, he formed the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling. Adelson’s argument against online poker and online gambling is that it is morally wrong, preying on underage gamblers and other vulnerable sectors of society,…

Reuters – Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe on Friday said developing a casino was not a priority for the city and urged more debate about potential problems like money laundering that could arise should casinos be legalised in Japan. The governor has said little about the issue and investors, lobbyists and global casino operators have been waiting for him to clarify his stance, as Japanese lawmakers prepare to consider a bill to open up the country to casino gambling. “This is not at the top of my agenda. I don’t believe that you must have casinos to improve the economy,” Masuzoe…

Sacramento Bee –  Major California tribes with casinos announced Tuesday that they had reached agreement on legislation that would legalize online poker in the nation’s largest state. In a letter to state Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, and Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles – the authors of online poker bills that had each attracted support from various members of the state’s influential tribal casino industry – 13 tribal leaders said they had come to terms. “As you know, this journey has been long and difficult, but the challenges posed by the Internet demand that we harness rather than cede the…

Las Vegas Review Journal – Officials with high-flying Las Vegas Sands Corp. raved about last year’s financial results and were giddy about potential expansion in Asia during an annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. Sands is on track to add thousands of hotel rooms by the end of next year after it completes a St. Regis Tower and a Paris-themed casino in the lucrative Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, according to CEO Sheldon Adelson. The company also has its eyes on Japan and South Korea. “They present the most promising and meaningful development opportunities in the world,” Adelson said of the Asian…

Reuters – Philippine leisure and gaming firm Bloomberry Resorts Corp is in talks with a potential Japanese partner for what could be the company’s maiden overseas venture, its chief executive officer said on Thursday. The talks are in preparation for bidding for a gaming license if and when a Japanese gambling law is passed, Enrique Razon, Bloomberry CEO and the Philippines’ fourth-richest man, said at a stockholders meeting. He did not name the Japanese firm. “We’re now working on Japan,” Razon said. “If the integrated resort law passes in Japan this year, we will contend for a license.” Japan is…

Macau Business Daily – Japanese pachinko hall operator Dynam Japan Holdings Co Ltd is still waiting for the government here to approve an application to operate ‘next generation pachinko machines’. The plan, according to Dynam’s chairman Yogi Sato, who was quoted by Hong Kong financial wires and media, is to place up to 100 of these new machines in a new hotel that is scheduled to open in September. While Mr. Sato did not name the property to open in September, Dynam said previously that it belongs to Macau Legend Development Ltd. The group’s Prague Harbourview hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf…