Bangkok Post – As a former supervisor of an underground casino, M promised he would make me some profit. My stake was 3,000 baht. Some 50 people were playing at a townhouse-turned-casino in a district on the outskirts of Bangkok. The place is one of an estimated 1,500 illegal casinos nationwide, dozens of which operate on a franchise basis under the tycoons known as “Gold Dragon Teu” and “S Sommai”. With only one table divided into two, it was so crowded that players had to ask those in the front line to place bets for them. On very crowded days,…

USA Today – Ask a mathematician or a casino owner if you can win gambling in a casino, and the truthful answer is yes, but almost always only in the short run. Unless you’re a professional player who only plays with the long-term edge on your side, the longer you play, the more certain it is that you will lose. People get funny ideas about the way gambling works. In casinos there are games of chance (roulette, craps, keno, bingo, slots, baccarat) and games of chance and skill (poker, blackjack, video poker). A game of chance is like flipping a…

Daily Finance – Japanese gaming is getting everyone excited. With a summer vote pending to legalize casino building in the country, casino CEOs are already fighting over bids and locations. Neil Bluhm, the Chicago man who has built a real estate empire with casinos around the U.S. and Canada, is preparing to place his bid on the southern city of Osaka. Las Vegas Sands CEO and gaming entrepreneur Sheldon Adelson is putting his bet, a very large bet, on the capital city of Tokyo. Other companies, such as Wynn Resorts and Melco Crown are preparing their bets as well. So…

Naples News – Like Lucy does with Charlie Brown, the Legislature keeps promising Floridians an overhaul of gambling in the state — then pulls the ball away. This year was no different, with a grand run-up starting months before the legislative session. Lawmakers spent nearly $400,000 on a 700-page study. The takeaway? Expanding gambling would offer “at least a mildly positive impact on the state.” Then a group of senators led by Naples Republican Garrett Richter took to the road, holding a series of public workshops around the state. One telling, early sign: The Orlando-based No Casinos in Florida group…

Ekathimerini – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP, one of Europe’s biggest betting firms, said it expected revenue to grow by a double-digit percentage this year, thanks to the planned launch of new games. The forecast was included in a presentation released on Wednesday, a day after the company announced higher-than-expected first-quarter profit due to cost cuts and the robust performance of its sports betting game Pame Stoichima. OPAP, whose sales reached 3.7 billion euros last year, launched a scratchcard game on May 1. Chief Executive Kamil Ziegler said on Wednesday that the company would also expand into online sports betting by…

Reuters – Japanese gaming company Konami Corp said it was planning to invest in casinos in anticipation of legislation to legalise gambling and help create an entertainment and resort market some estimate to be worth over $40 billion. Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are trying to pass legislation allowing the development of casino resorts in Japan, although time is running out for a bill to be approved in the current parliamentary session ending next month. Konami said it would set up a subsidiary, once a casino bill is passed, through which it would take a minority stake in casinos in partnership…