Vegas Inc – Las Vegas visitor volume inched upward in August, bringing the total number of travelers to Southern Nevada nearly even with last year over eight months. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported August visitor counts up 0.9 percent to 3.4 million for the month, bringing the 2013 total to 26.7 million. It was the second straight month of monthly percentage increases and the fifth increase in eight months this year. The average daily room rate was up 3.3 percent to $105.47 a night for the month. Strip room rates were up 4.7 percent to $113.70 while…

An increase in Indian gaming revenues in 2012 of almost three percent offers “economic encouragements” for Indian country, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). The commission released data in late July showing revenues generated by the Indian gaming industry in 2012 totaled $27.9 billion—the third consecutive year of increases in gross gaming revenues (GGR) since the recession began in 2007. The Indian gaming industry saw its largest gross gaming revenues ever in 2012, Tracie Stevens, NIGC chairwoman said. “The 2012 Indian gaming industry’s gross gaming revenues of $27.9 billion indicate a strong and mature Indian gaming industry. Additionally,…

Las Vegas Review-Journal – Catch a glimpse of it in a crowded casino and Bally Technologies’ “Michael Jackson Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ ” slot machine is striking. It’s tall and housed in a sleek black case, with stereo speakers placed in the connected high-backed player’s chair and classic video of the late pop star playing on high-resolution screens. Impressive. Now take a look at that same slot machine in the uncrowded lobby of Bally Technologies’ Las Vegas headquarters. There, amid comparatively uncluttered surroundings where the lights and the sounds of the casino are absent and the giant machine can breathe,…

Caesars Entertainment proposed Boston casino would draw elite international gamblers in the same way Las Vegas does, and marks one of the U.S. gaming industry’s best cash-making opportunities, CEO Gary Loveman said on Friday. The company, which is pursuing an aggressive expansion agenda in the United States while wrestling with a mountainous debt burden of over $20 billion, is among a handful of major casino operators vying for licenses in Massachusetts. The State Gaming Commission expects to begin awarding the three available licenses by April 2014. “We think Boston is one of the best opportunities in the United States,” Loveman…

iGaming Business – Horse racing pay-television channel Racing UK has launched a pay per day service on UK digital-terrestrial television service Freeview. Racing UK Pay Per Day will be available to Freeview customers, providing 24-hour access to the channel’s programming at a cost of £4.99 ($7.95/€5.95), with no contract, set-up costs or installation fees. The service is targeting racing fans who pinpoint specific race days. It commences with today’s opening day of the Cambridgeshire meeting, an event exclusive to Racing UK and one of more than 650 live meetings it carries per year. Clive Cottrell, director of marketing at Racing…

iGaming Business – Australian lottery and gambling company Tatts Group is re-examining a deal to pay to race information against the backdrop of an inquiry by the Queensland State Government. The financial agreement between Racing Queensland Limited and Tatts has been the focus of the Queensland Racing Inquiry, which resumed on Monday morning. According to the Courier Mail newspaper, RQL has ­already presented an invoice to Tatts management for more than AUS$100 million (€69 million/$93.3 million), but the matter is likely to end up in court. Counsel Assisting, James Bell, QC, said that the existing deal allows Tatts to offset…