North Jersey – State Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, on Monday announced at the East Coast Gaming Conference in Atlantic City that he is preparing a bill to allow for private operation of sports betting at the state’s racetracks and casinos – threatening to call the bluff of the federal government regarding sports betting, . Lesniak spearheaded legalization of online gaming in the state as well as its challenge of a federal law now negating the state’s sports betting law. He said he will move forward on the bill in the Legislature should the U.S. Supreme Court decline to hear the…

Yahoo – Evidence of Jan Stewart’s contribution to the WA community can be found in every corner of the State. From a kindergarten playground in Albany, to the spectacular treetop walk in Kings Park, a Men’s Shed in Gingin and a youth centre in Midland, the Lotterywest chief executive has overseen the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of community grants in her 22 years in the role. At the same time, she has had the rewarding job of handing over millions in winnings to lucky Lotto players. This week, 27 years after the former Princess Margaret Hospital…

According to a report from KTRH.com, there has been “growing pressure” on lawmakers for Texas casino gambling. For years, the state has been home to efforts at such legalization, but nothing has ever passed thanks to fierce opposition from opponents. There is really no indication that 2015 will have any better chances than in the past. The Texas Legislature doesn’t meet in 2014. According to the report, among the biggest advocates of legalized casino gaming in Texas is the horse racing industry, which says money is being lost to other states. In 2013, some Texas lawmakers were trying to pass…

Reuters – The western Japanese city of Osaka could have a casino resort up and running by 2019, in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, if a bill to legalize casinos is approved by parliament this year, executives of MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) said on Saturday. “If the first bill passes in the fall of this year, you could have something up and ready to go in Osaka by the end of 2019,” Ed Bowers, MGM’s senior vice president for global gaming development, said in an interview for the Reuters Japan Summit. Lawmakers have said they would like to see…

Deutsche Bank AG is cutting itself free of The Cosmopolitan Casino of Las Vegas, a resort and casino, saying it’s selling the swanky but unprofitable high-rise complex on the Strip to Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII for $1.73 billion. The German investment bank said in a statement Thursday that the cash deal remains subject to regulatory approvals. The bank had intended to sell the property from before it even opened in 2010 and had placed The Cosmopolitan in a separate bank division devoted to winding down or selling unwanted investments. The last major Las Vegas resort approved before the Great…

Vegas Inc – In an abrupt reversal, Bally Technologies CEO Ramesh Srinivasan is being replaced at the helm by the man he replaced less than a year and a half ago — the same one who recruited Srinivasan to the company, no less. The Las Vegas slot-machine maker said today that Srinivasan, a nine-year company veteran, is leaving Bally and that Dick Haddrill would assume the CEO’s spot May 23. Haddrill was Bally’s chief executive from 2004 to 2012 and has been chairman of the board since Srinivasan was promoted to CEO. Haddrill will give up the chairman’s seat next…