Deutsche Bank agreed on Thursday to sell Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas, which is one of the town’s most expensive resorts. The property will be sold to the Blackstone Group for about $1.73 billion in cash. The deal will finally end a long and painful foray by Deutsche Bank into the casino business, after it foreclosed on the resort’s developer, Bruce Eichner, in January 2008. It was one of many, as banks moved to take over troubled gambling properties at the onset of the financial crisis. Since then, the firm has tried to make the best of its new property,…

Las Vegas Sun – They’re buying into Las Vegas like never before. They’re pumping cash into major resort projects and big stage productions on the Strip and they’re purchasing single-family homes in quiet neighborhoods. Who are they? Chinese investors. And they’re propelling Las Vegas’ recovery from the recession. They are quietly helping to bankroll the $415-million SLS Las Vegas, a nightclub-themed resort set to replace the Rat Pack stomping grounds of the Sahara and shake up the struggling north end of the Strip. A quarter of the investment came from foreign bank accounts, mostly in China. Money from China is…

Bloomberg – Japanese lawmakers supporting a bill to legalize casinos said it would be tough to pass the law by next month, a sign that the opportunity to link approval with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo is diminishing. “Passing the casino bill in the current session of parliament will be tough,” Sakihito Ozawa, a lower house member, said today at a forum in Tokyo. Japan’s parliament, or Diet, meets until June 22 and the bill must be sent to the upper house at least 20 days before the session ends, he said. The country’s ruling party and business leaders including…

New casino games are being invented today by students at UNLV, with many of them too young to even gamble. They’re enrolled in the class “Gaming Innovation Program” at the university, and in in its first year the class has been able to produced more than twelve new offerings for casinos. Those games include “888 Baccarat,” a non-commission version of baccarat which incorporates elements of Chinese culture. “Color War,” which is an easy-to-play table game based on the color of the cards dealt. Plus, “Flip Card Blackjack” where a card is dealt face down under the side-bet when the player…

Press of Atlantic City –  An Atlantic City man has hired an attorney to clarify whether registered medical marijuana users must be accommodated in casino smoking sections after he was told he could not take his prescription at Revel Casino Hotel. Daniel Price, a 23-year-old medical marijuana card holder, said he was turned away from Revel and directed to the Boardwalk when he asked a security guard if he could use the substance in late April. A registered medical marijuana patient since February, Price is prescribed the drug to treat both seizures and irritable bowel disease. “I asked the security…

One of the most recognizable names in horse racing is joining the field in New York’s sprint into big-time gambling. The company that owns Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, is teaming up with a track to pursue a full-fledged casino just outside the state capital. The project is one of nearly two dozen coming into focus as the state moves to issue up to four casino licenses. Final bids are due on June 30, with a decision on locations expected in the fall. On Monday, a state gambling panel assigned to choose casino locations said that bidders in…