This Week in Gambling

Just how much the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus will affect Las Vegas remains to be seen. But those in the travel industry are already concerned, and rightly so, that the impact could be yet another setback on the path of recovery. In the midst of a fell economic recovery for Las Vegas and Nevada, complete with a seven moth record revenue run, we now find our hopes of 2022 staring directly into the face of the latest rendition of Covid. President Biden has said that Omicron is a “variant of concern” but wants everyone to remain calm. But fears…

The eSports gaming industry and competitive video gaming is being seen by many jurisdictions in the U.S.  as another… and a new, revenue for their state’s coffers. A recent article in Gambling News discussed the new incentive that has just recently came to pass in the state of  New Jersey. It said that apparently, Gov. Phil Murphy is feeling cautiously optimistic about eSports betting in the Garden State. “At least this is what we make from the governor’s decision to sign a bill into law that allows betting operators to start accepting wagers on competitive video gaming.” The bill was signed…

The State Gaming Commission has finally approved the rules for New York mobile betting. And according to one State Senator, bets could be taken as soon as the middle of next month. However, before any bets can be placed, there is an important process to be worked out. That is, the location of the servers which will accept the bets, which must be placed within one of the licensed land-based casinos. State Senator Joseph Addabbo had high praise for the Commission, as the hope had been to accept bets in time for the Super Bowl in February. From all indications,…

It’s been a mystery on The Strip for fifteen years, but finally we have an opening date set for the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The doors of the 67-story luxury resort and casino are now set to open in 2023… late 2023. Located at the north end of The Strip, the building sits 25 acres of prime real estate, and the facilities will consist of nearly nine million square feet. And although the project has been stalled for over a decade, the building is still about 75% complete. It’s close to the popular Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as the…

Both online and retail New Jersey sportsbooks picked up the pace on their record-setting year in November, becoming the first state ever to produce more than $100 million in revenue in a single month from $1.3 billion in bets! This third consecutive month of huge results by sports betting and online gaming pushed the state past even more milestones, including a lifetime sports gambling handle of more than $20 billion! This according to the PlayNJ website, which tracks gaming developments in the state. In total, New Jersey sportsbooks handled $1.26 billion in wagers in November, the third consecutive month with wagering…

Good news for fans of Chicago sports betting! The City Council has at last voted to end their ban on sports bets! And that opens the door for sports book operators to set up shop at sports stadiums! The Sports Wagering Act of 2019 had provisions which would allow sports books to be located at stadiums within Illinois. The city of Chicago, however, was a different story. There a ban on sports betting had to be removed before any books even considered opening at a stadium. And now, that time has come! The Cubs of Major League Baseball have already…