Bloomberg – Macau casino mogul Lawrence Ho said gambling revenue in the Philippines “could easily” double to $4 billion in a couple of years, setting the stage to challenge Singapore as Asia’s second-biggest gaming hub. To ensure success, the Philippines will have to decide how to tax casino developers and operators, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) co-Chairman Ho said in an interview in Manila yesterday. In April, the nation’s tax bureau ordered all casino operators to pay income tax on their gaming earnings, removing an exemption provided for by the licenses given to four operators developing casinos in the capital….

Raw Story – A lesbian woman from Hawaii is suing the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas, NV after a hostile confrontation in a women’s restroom in which casino personnel nearly made the woman strip to prove that she was female. According to the Courthouse News Service, Susan Ho filed suit in Clark County Court against Coast Casinos and Boyd Gaming alleging false imprisonment. Ho was visiting Las Vegas as part of the Advanced Travel Bowling Tournament in October of 2011 when she took a break from bowling to use the women’s restroom at the Gold Coast Casino. Shortly after…

Las Vegas Informer – Fremont Street Experience will once again transform itself for the Fifth Annual OktoberFrightFest, combining Oktoberfest and Halloween for the ultimate street party, taking place October 7-31. The spooktacular festivities will include free performances from the popular stage production show “Frank & The Steins,” Viva Vision light and sound shows themed to “Time Warp” and “Monster Mash,” and the Fourth Annual Fall Beer Festival at Golden Nugget.   . VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE   . Frank & The Steins: . “Frank & The Steins” is a live musical revue of classic Halloween songs.  The cast is comprised of…

ABC News – A “very street smart” nine-year-old boy managed to pass through a security checkpoint at a Minnesota airport and hop on a flight to Las Vegas without a boarding pass, authorities said. The boy arrived alone at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Thursday morning, airport spokesman Patrick Hogan told ABC News. He was screened by TSA officials and then headed to an airport concourse, where he boarded an 11:15 a.m. flight on Delta to Sin City. The flight crew became suspicious of the nine-year-old’s travel circumstances and called the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, who took the boy into…

Bloomberg – Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) said it will boost its budget for its Manila casino in the Philippines by 10 percent to $680 million after the company received government approval to add more gaming tables. The country’s casino regulator gave the company, a venture between Macau gambling tycoon Lawrence Ho and Australian billionaire James Packer, approval to increase gaming tables to 365 from 242, while slot machines and electronic table games to 1,680 each from original 1,450 combined, the company’s Philippines unit said today in a filing to the country’s stock exchange. Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp., which…

Bangkok Post – A faint odour hovers in the air, cheap perfume laced with sweat and anticipation. And there is no dinner-jacket in sight. It is noon in the casino on Singapore’s entertainment island Sentosa and business is booming. Men and women, all Asians in shorts and T-shirts, are sitting at the machines. Two wheelchairs are in the aisle. A few metres away, at the roulette tables, the evocative order to stop betting – “Rien ne va plus” – is no longer heard, but simply displayed on a sign at the touch of the croupier’s button. Ever since Singapore opened…