Fiorente, Gai Waterhouse’s 2013 Melbourne Cup-winning superstar, is the favorite for the 2013/14 Australian Horse of the Year, but faces stiff competition to take home the crown after a recent drop in form. Fiorente had a disappointing performance in last Saturday’s Ranvet Stakes, re-igniting debate over which horse should win the prestigious award. Sportingbet Australia has installed Fiorente as the marginal $2.50 favorite, but unlike previous years, there’s a number of other strong contenders. Boban ($2.70), Buffering ($6.00) and Lankan Rupee ($8) all have genuine claims with the Sydney Autumn Carnival likely to determine the front-runner. Earthquake is a $10…

Las Vegas Review Journal – Slot machine giant International Game Technology announced a new multiyear licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Monday that allows the Las Vegas-based company to use the “Wheel of Fortune” brand on its product lines through 2024. The deal covers traditional slot machines, online games, mobile devices and free-play social games. IGT said the contract also lets IGT place the “Jeopardy!” brand on slot games on IGT’s DoubleDown online casino. The company said this will be the first time “Jeopardy!” will be available to an online social casino in the United States. Both IGT’s existing “Wheel of…

The Motley Fool – When you take a step back and look at the gaming industry, you can see that there’s been an incredible shift in power over the past two decades. When Steve Wynn built The Mirage in Las Vegas he was taking a massive risk and had to rely on junk bonds from Wall Street to finance his project. But today, gaming companies not only have better balance sheets, they have the scale and cash flow to pick and choose expansion opportunities, both versus smaller competitors as well as in relation to markets where they operate. That shift…

WKBN Ohio – Casino gambling is about to pay off for some area college students. About 2,500 students statewide will get paid internships and co-ops through a program funded by casino license fees. The Ohio Board of Regents reported that $11 million of those fees is going to 10 community colleges, 15 universities and 11 technical centers over the next two years. Locally, $660,000 is available to Youngstown State University, Eastern Gateway Community College, and career centers in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Schools will use the money to create new or expand existing co-op and internship programs in fields…

Boston.com – There is statewide support for expanded casino gambling and for a contentious power line transmission proposal, a survey conducted for the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce shows. Chamber President Chris Williams said Monday that the poll taken by the University of New Hampshire found 58 percent of people surveyed wanted to expand gambling. Most — 43 percent — said a casino should be located in the southern part of the state, according to the survey that was taken in February, before last week’s House vote against expanding casino gambling. Williams acknowledged that legislative hurdle has been persistent and…

USA Today – Some call it the Lucky Country, but Australia is not so fortunate when it comes to wagers. Eighty percent of its citizens engage in some kind of gambling — the highest rate of any country in the world — and they lose more than anyone else, to the tune of some $21.5 billion a year. Gambling comes in various forms, including lotteries, bingo and sport betting, but the main drivers behind Australia’s epidemic are the electronic gaming machines known as “pokies.” There’s one poker machine for every 108 people — only tiny Monaco can compete — and…