Australia police fine billionaire Packer over brawl

BBC – Billionaire James Packer and David Gyngell were cited for “offensive behaviour”, which carries a fine of A$500 ($467, £276) if uncontested. Police had launched an investigation into the incident on Sunday although no official complaint was filed. The cause of the brawl between the two friends still remains unclear. “Police today issued a 46-year-old man and a 48-year-old man with a Criminal Infringement Notice for offensive behaviour,” the New South Wales police statement said, without identifying the men by name. The brawl has been widely reported in Australian media, with photos reportedly selling for a six-figure sum. Photographs…

Genting to start building $4 billion Las Vegas gaming resort later this year

Reuters – Genting Bhd, Southeast Asia’s biggest gaming group, will begin construction of a $4 billion gaming resort on the Las Vegas strip in the second half of this year, it said in a statement on Thursday. The Resorts World Las Vegas, expected to create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for South Nevada, will be built in four phases and take between 24-36 months to complete, Genting said. “Our themed resort will cater to the high-end visitor as well as the budget-minded tourist,” said Genting Chairman Lim Kok Thay. “We will give first-time…

MGM’s Park and the Future of the Vegas Strip

With the MGM’s Park, Jim Murren is playing the long game on the Strip. “We have a very strong feeling of what Las Vegas is going to look like five to 10 years from now,” the MGM Resorts International chairman said recently when describing the details of the Park, an entertainment and retail complex between the company’s New York-New York and Monte Carlo properties. “It’s very different from today—and when this is done in 2016 we’ll see if we’re right.” The Park is a bet on both the great outdoors (the kind of urban walking experience we’ve seen at Caesars’…

GTECH awarded 10-year National Lottery of Belgium contract

iGaming Business – Interactive gaming software and services provider GTECH has been awarded a 10-year online gaming, systems, terminals and integration contract to provide end-to-end services for the National Lottery of Belgium (NLB). Under the contract, which is due to begin this month, GTECH will provide the NLB with various gaming technology, performance-driven systems and an integrated business environment. GTECH will supply its Enterprise Series central system solutions to replace NLBs existing terminal base with 5,500 Altura GT100 terminals. In addition, GTECH will also deploy mobile and handheld terminals as well as self-service ticket machines. GTECH will additionally provide various…

Finnish national lottery launches daily geolottery game

iGaming Business – Finnish national lottery operator Veikkaus has announced the launch of a new daily geolottery game. Created and licensed by Swedish lottery supplier Genera Networks, the game is officially known as Nabor, but has been given the local name of Naapurit (The Neighbours) for Veikkaus. Finnish players can take part in the game by using their home address, with winners drawn in a raffle and secondary prizes distributed among ticket holders who live closest to the main winner. The Naapurit lottery will also be accompanied by a primetime television programme that will be broadcast on two channels. Tickets…

Cyprus moves forward with casino legislation

Cyprus Mail – Casino licenses should be expected by Spring 2015, the government said on Thursday, as legislation on the matter was scheduled to be ready at the end of the month. “We have completed the policy document and legislation is being prepared at this moment to be submitted to parliament by the end of May,” Tourism Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said. He added that the government expected to issue the licences eight months after the law was passed, through open tender procedures. Chairman of the House Trade Committee, ruling DISY MP, Lefteris Christoforou voiced his satisfaction over the development, which…