Poker News – The 2014 Winter Olympics are underway in Sochi, Russia, but the action might heat up even more in the Eurasia nation come 2018. NagaCorp Ltd. has invested roughly $350 million in Russia, and the casino operator plans to start building a gaming resort in the western part of the country as early as 2015. The company plans to cater to their most popular customers from South Korea, Japan, and Northeast China. The resort property is scheduled to open in 2018, and will resemble the bird-nest national stadium built for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, while the…

QUARTZ – SJM Holdings, the casino company founded by billionaire Stanley Ho, broke ground this week in Macau on a three hotel, 2,500 room casino complex that is modeled after Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles. The Lisboa Palace will have 700 gambling tables, a wedding complex and three hotels, including one designed with Italy’s Gianni Versace fashion house. SJM Holdings managing director Angela Leong, one of Ho’s four wives, was inspired to include a Versace hotel in the complex after staying at a Palazzo Versace in Australia in 2003 (she was there to escape the SARS outbreak). Subtle, it’s not….

Reuters  – Nguyen Van Tuon seems unconcerned that his business driving Vietnamese gamblers across the border to Cambodian casinos is under threat. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Tuon, waiting in the rain in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City for his first fare of the day, when asked about the prospect that Vietnam could soon allow its citizens to gamble at home. “It’ll make everyone even more in debt and create more social problems, so I can’t see it happening.” His confidence may be misplaced. Despite its rigid stance on social order, the communist government and…

Courier Journal – Gov. Steve Beshear acknowledged Wednesday that the effort he supports to pass expanded gambling legislation in this year’s session is challenged, but added it’s not dead yet. “I think it’s premature to say that it is dead at this point,” he said. “It is a work that is in progress.” The Senate Republican majority caucus discussed the issue on Monday and decided not to move forward, with Sen. Dan Seum, R-Louisville and sponsor of the Senate Bill 33 casino amendment, saying he still lacked the 23 votes to pass the amendment in the 38-member Senate. Senate Majority…

247 Wall Street – Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL), one of Macau’s biggest casino operators, said profit doubled in the fourth quarter, thanks to its ability to attract so-called premium mass market gamblers. The company is now even moving toward paying its shareholders a dividend. Melco Crown declared a special dividend of $0.34 per American Depositary Receipt (ADR), or $0.115 a share. The company also proposed a dividend policy of 30% of net income. This dividend news has been floated ahead of time by some analysts, but a 30% payout of income initially is strong. The company earned $0.40…

iGaming Business – Gaming products designer and manufacturer International Game Technology (IGT) has announced the appointment of Jim Veevaert as the new vice-president of games at its DoubleDown Casino. Veevaert has spent 20 years in the gaming industry, having held a number of executive positions at the likes of Zynga, Jerry Bruckheimer Games, Microsoft and Vivendi/Sierra Entertainment. In his new role, Veevaert will oversee the long-term game strategy for DoubleDown Casino on social networking website Facebook and mobile devices, as well as championing product initiatives. “IGT’s DoubleDown Casino is the authentic social casino experience, and I’m excited to be joining…