Bloomberg – Echo Entertainment Group Ltd. (EGP), facing a challenge to its exclusive Sydney casino license from billionaire James Packer’s Crown Ltd., wants a bigger site in Queensland’s state capital to target Asian gamblers. Echo’s existing casinos in the state, in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Townsville, are too small to attract overseas tourists, Chief Executive Officer John Redmond said in a phone interview yesterday. Echo is in talks with Queensland’s government about the Brisbane relocation, and the plan is a key priority for the year to June, it said in a presentation. Both Packer and Redmond are banking on…

North Jersey – Atlantic City’s 12 casinos saw their collective earnings fall by nearly 45 percent in the second quarter of 2013, state regulators said Thursday. According to figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, the casinos made just over $65 million in profits during the second quarter, down from nearly $118 million in the same period last year. The biggest gain was posted by the Tropicana Casino and Resort, whose quarterly profits were up nearly 28 percent to $12.6 million. Caesars Atlantic City had a quarterly profit of $24.2 million, up 17.4 percent from last year’s second-quarter…

Will Las Vegas build the world’s largest observation wheel? The Strip is in the middle of a huge makeover of part of its world-famous stretch of urban neon. The project in question is the land that Caesars Entertainment is transforming into The Linq –  once just a back alleyway and a large parking garage, soon to become Las Vegas first pedestrian-only, open-air retail, dining and entertainment district. The new urban space will be crowned with the world’s largest observation wheel, an adroit feat of symmetrical technological and engineering design. Construction on the Linq started in November 2011. To create the…

The Huffington Post – On most trips to Las Vegas, the party starts long before hitting the Strip… and apparently even before hitting the airport landing strip. In May, passengers on Vegas-bound flights spent over twice as much on drinks than the average passenger, a survey found. Technology group GuestLogix reviewed data from six North American airlines to determine spending patterns among travelers. Check out some of the most intoxicating findings: Of all product sales made on flights, 62% were beverage sales. Of those beverages, 55% were liquor, 24% were wine, and 20% were beer. On an average flight, airlines…

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Macau Daily Times – At the end of the second quarter of 2013, the Gaming Sector had 54,554 full-time employees, up by 5.5% year-on-year. The Statistics and Census Service’s (DSEC) analysis by occupation indicated that 24,031 were dealers, up 4.3% year-on-year, while 13,777 were hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floor persons, betting service operators, etc., down slightly by 0.1%. In June 2013, the average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees stood at MOP18,900, up by 6.5% year-on-year. Average earnings were MOP16,720 for dealers, and MOP22,400 for hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers,…