Baltimore Sun – The Northern Virginia couple throwing down $100 tokens at Maryland Live casino last month may have looked like aspiring high-rollers, but police say they were gambling with fake chips. Maryland State Police have charged a husband and wife from Annandale, Va., with conspiracy and theft after determining that they were using counterfeit chips at the Hanover casino. Authorities are looking for two other suspects in a similar, but unrelated, case. According to police, Rosa A. Nguyen, 36, purchased $150,000 worth of counterfeit casino chips — which had been altered to appear to be Maryland Live chips —…

Bloomberg – Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), the world’s largest gambling company by market value, said it’s ready to invest $10 billion in Japan, projected to be Asia’s second-largest casino market. “We will spend whatever it takes,” billionaire Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson said at a media briefing in Tokyo. “We could pay all cash. We don’t have to, but we will borrow money in a typical mortgage-to-value ratio.” Sands is opening offices and hiring in Japan, said Adelson, who’s attending a conference on investing in Japan today. The company would also consider working with a local partner…

Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing was one of the largest in history, reaching a staggering $425 million. It was hit by a single ticket, according to reports. The ticket was sold in Northern California, at Dixon Landing Chevron in Milpitas. There has been no word yet on who the winner is. The gas station will receive $1 million. The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 1, 17, 35, 49, 54 and a Powerball of 34. According to the Associated Press, the nation’s biggest lottery prize was a $656 million dollar Mega Millions jackpot in 2012. The biggest Powerball jackpot was $590.5…

Tampa Bay Times – The Florida Senate on Monday unveiled proposals that would bring casino resorts to Miami-Dade and Broward counties and expand gambling statewide with one new wrinkle: The gaming industry would be subject to new regulations. In addition to the casino resorts, slot machines would be allowed around the state, dog tracks could race fewer dogs, greyhound injuries would be reported — and all of this could happen without voter approval. The Senate proposals, contained in three separate bills, are the product of nearly a year of study and more than $400,000 in taxpayer money spent to review…

South China Morning Post – Flush with cash after hitting the jackpot in Macau and Singapore, international gaming companies are betting on new markets across Asia as governments package economic incentives and rewrite legislation to welcome them. The Philippines, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Japan and most of Southeast Asia are trying to attract the region’s increasingly affluent and mobile consumers with the lure of glitzy casinos and tourism resorts. “[Asia] is a long way off from saturation where, potentially, new supply would eat into existing operator revenues,” said Michael Paladino, a senior director in the corporates department…

Las Vegas Review Journal – Prepaid debit cards — tied to a casino customer’s rewards account — have been approved for wagering on Nevada slot machines following changes in state gaming regulations. The Nevada Gaming Commission voted 4-0 Thursday — Chairman Pete Bernhard was absent — to approve the amendments, which were backed by several gaming companies and recommended by Sightline Payments, a Las Vegas-based payment processing business. Attorney Dennis Neilander, representing Sightline, told the Gaming Commission the changes address concerns raised by the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, which has long fought the use of traditional credit cards on…