Hospitality Net – As part of its asset management strategy, Accor announces the sale of its participation in the Reef Casino in Australia. This participation includes a 29% stake in Reef Casino Trust (RCT), a listed entity, as well as its 50% stake in the related businesses of RCT, i.e. Casinos Austria Cairns, and Reef Corporate Service. Total proceeds for Accor will amount to AU$85m (c. €55.5m). Reef Casino is a complex located in Cairns (Northern Queensland, Australia), that includes a 128 room Hotel, and a Casino with over 500 gaming machines. The buyer is Aquis, a Hong-Kong based Investment…

The Press Democrat – Rival attempts to legalize Internet poker in California are underway in the Capitol, setting the stage for a lobbying and political showdown over a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Two measures unveiled on Feb. 21, the deadline to introduce new bills for the year, would authorize online poker websites, letting gamblers participate from anywhere they can access the Internet. Similar efforts failed last year after heated negotiations between tribal interests and lawmakers ended without an agreement on the final form of the complex legislation. This year, again, there are divisions. “There are a…

AP – Caesars Entertainment Corp. is selling four properties to a separate unit that it controls for about $1.8 billion as it restructures its debt. The sale of Bally’s Las Vegas and the other three properties is valued by the company at about $2.2 billion, when debt and renovations at the Quad Resort & Casino are included. The other assets include Harrah’s New Orleans, and The Cromwell, which will open later this year and was formerly known as Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon. Caesars Acquisition Co. expects the deal to close in the second quarter. Caesars Entertainment will manage the…

Cincinnati.com – Churchill Downs executives say they remain “heavily engaged” in the pursuit of casino gambling in Kentucky. In a conference call Thursday with stock analysts about the Louisville-based racetrack and casino company’s 2013 fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, Churchill Downs Inc. Chief Operating Officer Bill Carstanjen said that it’s “getting to crunch time of the session. We have some cause to be optimistic, but our issues are wrapped up in other issues that can affect us that are hard to predict.” Representatives of Kentucky thoroughbred tracks and racing commission member Frank Jones met with state House Speaker Pro Tem Larry…

The Tribal Internet Gaming Alliance (TIGA), an alliance of Indian Tribes working collectively to bring Internet gaming to Indian Country within the framework of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and other state and federal laws, has received a letter of recognition and support from the Government of the Isle of Man, a leader in the iGaming industry. The letter, which was written by Peter Greenhill, can be viewed here. It states in part: “The Isle of Man (we) are pleased to recognize the treaty organization that is known as the Tribal Internet Gaming Alliance (TIGA). We recognize TIGA’s mission…

Bloomberg – Macau casino revenue climbed 40 percent to a record in February, beating estimates, after a jump in mainland Chinese visitors to the world’s largest gambling hub during the Chinese New Year. Casino revenue in the Chinese city rose to 38 billion patacas ($4.8 billion), exceeding the 36 billion patacas median of seven analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The previous record was 36.5 billion patacas in October last year. Casino operators such as Sands China Ltd. (1928) and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. (27) have been adding shopping malls, entertainment shows and hotel rooms to draw mainland tourists…