
The Plainridge Park Casino had a very successful very first month, bringing in more than $18 million in revenue.
Massachusetts may still have a ways to go before it turns into a casino gambling powerhouse, however their first entry into the field is off up to a good start.
The Plainridge Park Casino, which features only electronic games, brought in $18.1 million in revenue during its first month of operations, though experts cautioned that people numbers may decline a bit as time passes.
Critically, the revenues mean that approximately $9 million will end up being generated in income for state and local governments. That figure would put annual targets set by officials well within reach.
‘The commission is happy that these figures suggest that Plainridge Park Casino is on track to quickly attain their targeted range of $86 million to $120 million annually in contribution to aid that is local’ stated Massachusetts Gaming Commission spokesperson Elaine Driscoll.
Revenues In Line With Projections
Officials had projected that the Plainridge location would produce about $200 million in revenue annually.
The figures through the very first month would go beyond that target by about 9 percent.
‘We are pleased with the July performance, that is in accordance with expectations,’ Penn nationwide Gaming’s Eric Schippers told the Boston Herald. ‘It typically takes three to six months from the grand-opening period to begin to comprehend market trends, and now we’ve only now begun our marketing efforts in earnest.’
While that is cause for optimism, others have noticed that there might be reason to believe Plainridge’s long-lasting prospects aren’t quite so rosy.
There’s always the chance that the casino that is first the state is seen as a novelty, and there are additionally questions about how precisely Plainridge will do when the larger resort casinos with a wider variety of offerings are opened in a couple of years.
‘ One would expect Plainridge to do well in the beginning, but whether that known levels off is likely to be the question,’ Boston College gaming specialist Richard McGowan told the Herald. ‘ whatever they need doing is build some kind up of loyalty to help keep people coming back after MGM’s Springfield casino and Wynn Resorts’ Everett casino open with all the bells and whistles.’
The $9 million that has been generated in tax revenue will primarily visit city and town governments through the state. In addition, about some of this money will support their state’s horse racing industry.
Casino Makes Payments to Town
The casino has already began to gain the city of Plainville as well.
Last week, the casino signed over its first monthly check to its host community, part of $2.7 million in annual costs that will go to the town.
The giant, ceremonial check was made out for $277,000; typically, the month-to-month payments are for $225,000, but this first payment covered both the ultimate week in June plus the month of July.
Effect on Local sales Seen that are lottery
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Lottery continues to bother about the impact that is potential of casinos on its sales throughout the state.
Based on officials, there has already been a slight decline in sales at places that are within a 15-minute drive of the Plainridge Park Casino.
‘We are still seeing numbers that are strong retail agents such as convenience stores and gasoline stations that carry our products,’ stated Massachusetts Lottery Interim Executive Director Michael Sweeney. ‘Where we’re seeing some early decreases in that zone are in more of your restaurant, bar, lounge-type of places.’
DraftKings to Expand into UK
Jeffrey Haas, the industry veteran who has been hired to oversee DraftKing’s worldwide expansion. (Image: pokerstrategy.com)
Day-to-day fantasy sports (DFS) site DraftKings announced this week this has received a license from the British Gambling Commission (UKGC) and intends to go live with A uk-facing dfs product in the fourth quarter of the year.
Last month, the start-up that is boston-based able to raise almost $300 million in funds to aid its planned international expansion, with around $150 million of the originating from Fox Sports, for an 11 per cent stake in the business.
DraftKings said it plans to move into Europe, Asia, and Latin America during 2016, and has employed Jeffrey Haas, previously of PokerStars and bwin.party, to oversee the expansion.
‘DraftKings is well-poised for explosive growth internationally, and we am excited to lead their expansion efforts,’ said Haas, that will be based in the new London workplace. ‘Daily Fantasy Sports is a growing category outside North America, so we have tremendous chance to engage activities fans around the world.’
New Concept for Brits
The move to the UK is a fascinating one.
While the country has probably one of the most developed gambling markets into the world, the DFS concept are going to be a completely new one there.
DFS allows customers to bet on teams or sports players during a given time, earning points based on the performance of their picks. Users with many points at the end real-money-casino.club of the day money out.
This is a different prospect to regular fantasy recreations, which offers games that generally last a whole period.
They are already popular within the UK, particularly fantasy EPL soccer, although some of the UK that is major gambling provide them for the money.
DraftKings already offers everyday Fantasy Soccer, and will no question hone this item for the united kingdom market, as well as introducing more UK-centric sports, such as for instance rugby and cricket.
‘ We shall add new recreations and games to our burgeoning roster of offerings and further connect fans to their favorite teams and players,’ confirmed DraftKings leader Officer Jason Robins. ‘We also welcome the ability to forge partnerships that are new leagues, teams and news outlets internationally once we did with excellent success in the United States.’
Will the UK Bite?
Whether DFS will have the same type of huge impact as it has been doing within the US, in a market where consumers are absolve to bet on real-life sporting results, remains to be seen.
For several Americans, DFS is the closest they get to placing a sports that are legal, while for the British, who can place bets from their cell-phones at the touch of a button whenever you want of the day or night, it will be just another gambling item, albeit an extremely engaging one.
Just What’s clear is that while DFS operators into the US argue that their services and products are ‘not gambling,’ hence justifying their exemption from UIGEA, within the UK, and most likely somewhere else, there is no equivocation, and a complete gambling license is required.
Borgata Responds to Ivey Countersuit
The Borgata has filed a reaction to Phil Ivey’s countersuit within the ongoing drama that is legal his 2012 baccarat wins during the casino. (Image: Nevada Review-Journal)
The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City has responded to a countersuit filed by professional poker player Phil Ivey, saying that their destruction of cards used in his controversial baccarat sessions were destroyed before the casino became aware that such a thing dubious may have happened on those dates.
The response comes after lawyers for Ivey and Cheng Yin Sun filed the countersuit alleging that the Borgata had intentionally destroyed the cards so that you can undermine their defense.
The dispute is over four sessions that took place at the Borgata over the length of several months in 2012.
Ivey and Sun played baccarat in a private vip area, winning a total of $9.6 million from the casino during the visits.
Borgata Becomes Suspicious After Crockfords Incident
The Borgata paid Ivey his winnings without incident.
But when Crockfords, a casino in London, refused to cover Ivey after he likewise won millions playing baccarat with them, the Borgata took notice and sued Ivey so as to recover their losses.
In both instances, the dispute is over Ivey’s use of a method referred to as edge-sorting, one that is either an advantage play or perhaps a form of cheating, depending on who you ask.
Interestingly, the known facts in these instances are hardly in dispute by either side; it is actually a matter of exactly how those things of the casino and Ivey should be interpreted.
In the baccarat sessions, Ivey and Sun asked the casino to utilize a very set that is specific of cards manufactured by Gemaco. They also asked for that the games be played with a shuffler that is automatic.
The casinos agreed to these conditions, and were similarly compliant when Ivey asked dealers to turn the cards that are high the footwear 180 levels, fundamentally for superstitious reasons.
Whatever they didn’t realize was that the Gemaco cards under consideration were imperfectly cut, allowing Ivey to recognize which cards have been turned while looking at them face down.
Knowing whether individual cards had been high or low ended up being enough to provide Ivey a substantial advantage over the casino. In a single specially effective session in July 2012, Ivey won $4.8 million from the Borgata over the course of 17 hours.
Countersuit Alleges Deliberate Destruction of Proof
After the Borgata sued Ivey and Sun, the defendants filed a countersuit, stating that the situation should really be dismissed because of the fact that the casino had destroyed the cards utilized in the games. They also sought legal fees and damages under laws and regulations linked to the filing of frivolous lawsuits.
But inside their response, the Borgata says that the cards were destroyed as a matter of due course, which happened before there was clearly any dispute on the baccarat winnings.
‘Some of the cards utilized within the play at issue in this instance were damaged in the course that is regular of’s business operations, prior to plaintiff’s becoming conscious of defendants’ scheme and the defect in the playing cards, and pursuant to applicable regulations,’ the response read.
Solicitors for the Borgata also say that Ivey and Sun cannot recover damages for their ‘fraudulent conduct,’ and state that the statute of limitations has expired in the allegations the defendants are making.
Ivey can be tangled up in a lawsuit that is similar Crockfords, in which he sued the casino in an attempt to force them to pay him his winnings. While courts initially ruled in support of the casino, an appeal is anticipated to be heard later this year.
