This Week in Gambling

The head-honcho at Wynn Resorts says he wants to see the Las Vegas Strip open in early May… at least partially. Matt Maddox said that some resorts should open next month with “reduced occupancy” and various social distancing and sanitation protocols. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak order all casinos closed for 30 days due to Coronavirus health concerns in mid-March. He later extended the closure end the end of April. It’s expected that Sisolak will reveal more about any potential plans for reopening later this week. While Maddox said he believes Nevada is “well-positioned” relative to other states with an eye…

Organizers Announce WSOP Postponed The Worls Series of Poker was slated to begin in late May, but now the announcement we all knew would come: The event has been pushed back due to the pandemic, and the schedule will be revisited with a target of dates this fall. “We are committed to running the World Series of Poker this year but need additional time to proceed on our traditional scale while prioritizing guest and staff well-being,” Ty Stewart, executive director of the World Series of Poker, said in a statement. e 51st edition of poker’s most prestigious event was slated…

SiGMA Group has announced the launch of SiGMA-ICE Asia Digital, which will run June 8-10 2020 for 3 hours daily, from 10AM – 1PM GMT+1. Together with Clarion Gaming’s ICE Asia, the three-day conference will cater for both gaming and tech audiences, with free-of-charge content geared towards bringing the industry together in what has been a difficult time for businesses. Participants can expect land-based content on the 8th, while online gaming and emerging tech will cover the next two days respectively. Founder and CEO of SiGMA Group, Eman Pulis said, “It is now more vital than ever to stay informed…

The push for a specific date on a Las Vegas reopen has begun! Some casino operators want to open their doors in May, but Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman wants it done yesterday! But what would happen if we had a Las Vegas reopen tomorrow? We also cover news from Tribal Gaming as they deal with the Coronavirus closures, and say ‘thank you’ to an unlikely person. Hello friends! And welcome to week six of this global lockdown, shelter-in-place, end of the world pandemic we’re calling the Coronavirus! And I must say, I’m a bit disappointed. I mean we were…

We knew that Tribal casino closures were taking a tremendous toll on people and the economy, and now we have the numbers. The Coronavirus has put nearly 300,000 people employed by Tribal gaming out of work at a cost of over $4 billion in lost revenue. Meister Economic Consulting stated that following just the two week full closure of tribal casinos that $4.4 billion was lost in economic activity. That figure includes $969 million in lost wages, and $631 million in lost taxes and revenue sharing received by federal, state, and local governments. The stoppage of business also directly impacted…

There is no doubt that people are tired of being locked in their homes, but will casino players be willing to storm the doors when Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Tribal gaming open up again? Maybe not. A recent study of over a hundred slot and table game players in New Jersey found that only one out of ten plan to return as soon as casinos open. Most of them plan to proceed with some degree of caution. One stated they were “…ready to head back to the casinos, but I plan to wait a few weeks after the re-openings…