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The Pope County casino saga has moved to federal court in Arkansas.

Last month, the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) deemed Cherokee Nation Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the sole qualified bidder for the casino license earmarked for Pope County. The Cherokees are subsequently moving forward with finalizing plans for a $300 million destination called Legends Resort & Casino in Russellville.

The losing bidder, Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership, contends that county officials used coercive tactics to handpick the winner and circumvent ARC’s power to decide which bid was best suited for licensure.

Gulfside earlier this month filed a lawsuit in Arkansas’ Pulaski County Circuit Court on allegations that Pope County Judge Ben Cross and the Pope County Quorum Court strong-armed the bidding round by conspiring to make sure that its application would be deemed incomplete because it wasn’t complemented by a letter of support from Cross or a resolution of support from a majority of the county quorum court. 

Collusion Allegations

Soon after Gulfside filed its lawsuit, attorneys representing the Cherokees’ interests petitioned to have the case moved to federal court.

Arkansas’ Eastern District federal court accepted the case and assigned it to District Judge Lee Rudofsky.

In the latest court filings, Gulfside presents what it believes to be evidence demonstrating that Cross and a majority of the Pope County Quorum Court orchestrated a scheme to ensure that only the Cherokee casino would qualify for ARC consideration.

The 2018 ballot referendum that statewide voters approved to authorize from-the-ground-up casinos in Jefferson and Pope counties requires that ARC only consider applicants that “furnish a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution from the county quorum court in the county where the casino would be located.”

Churchill Communications 

Gulfside attorneys argue in the lawsuit that the 2018 constitutional amendment didn’t limit county judges or quorum courts to lending only a single support letter or resolution. The lawsuit includes exhibits from Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), the Kentucky-based horse racetrack and casino operator that had expressed interest in bidding for the Pope County gaming concession.

In a letter dated June 11 from Churchill Downs’ Corporate Development Senior VP Jason Sauer to ARC Chair Alex Lieblong, Sauer says Cross told the company it wouldn’t receive a judicial support letter.

We had multiple meetings with local officials in an attempt to satisfy the Local Support Requirement,” Sauer wrote Lieblong. “While CDI enjoyed productive and cordial engagement with several members of the Pope County Quorum Court, Judge Ben Cross provided immediate and explicit clarity at our first in-person meeting on Nov. 30, 2023, that we were ‘wasting [our] time.’”

Sauer said Cross told the company that “neither he nor a majority of the Quorum Court was willing to consider any applicant other than the Cherokees regardless of what another applicant or proposal could bring to Pope County.”

The post Pope County Casino Lawsuit Moves to Federal Court in Arkansas appeared first on Casino.org.

Politicians representing the West Side of Manhattan are voicing opposition to Related Cos.’ development plan for the High Line area, which includes a Wynn Resorts casino hotel.

The gaming venue is part of a broader $12 billion development plan pitched by Related for the west side of Hudson Yards. It’s expected that if that proposal is allowed to proceed and Wynn wins one of the yet-to-be-awarded downstate casino permits, there would be three towers, including one bearing the gaming company’s name. Some politicians are already opposed to the plan.

Assemblyman Tony Simone (D-District 75) told The New York Post that he’s long opposed the West Side casino effort and unless his constituents change their views on the matter, he expects to remain against it. Simone’s objection to the Related/Wynn plan is noteworthy because he’s slated to be one of the six members of the board that will vote on whether or not to recommend the proposal to the state regulators that will ultimately decide the winners of the three downstate casino licenses.

Criticism of Wynn New York Casino Mounting

Simone’s opposition and that of Assemblywoman Deborah Glick (D-District 66) to the Related/Wynn effort arrived less than two weeks after the High Line, a nonprofit group named after a park on Manhattan’s West Side, officially launched the “Protect the High Line” campaign.

That organization alleges that the real estate developer is attempting to alter a 2009 agreement with the city that, if allowed to proceed, could result in obstructed views and significantly less residential housing than previously expected.

Glick and Simone aren’t the first local lawmakers to express concern about Related’s proposal. Earlier this year, Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4) questioned the casino plan while displaying dismay about the possibility that the number of housing units will be slashed.

Related Wants Constructive Dialogue

Local opposition is now a hallmark of nearly all of the most visible New York City-area casino bids. That was likely expected by gaming companies and their real estate partners, but that doesn’t mean it can be ignored. The opposite is true.

The bulk of the downstate casino plans aren’t tenable without the gaming venue component, meaning dialogue between casino aspirants and opposition is essential. That’s what Related is seeking.

“We have met with the High Line 10 times and made meaningful amendments to our proposal in direct response to concerns they raised. It is our hope that as good neighbors, they would discuss any further concerns with us directly in the spirit of that constructive dialogue,” according to a statement issued by the developer.

The post Wynn New York Casino Plan Draws Politicians’ Rebuke appeared first on Casino.org.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN) drew an upward price target revision ahead of its second-quarter earnings report scheduled for July 24 after the close of US markets.

Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial cited state-level data indicating the gaming company’s live and historical (L&H) horseracing revenue for the June quarter was likely bullish. That coupled with strong showings at some historical racing machine (HRM) properties could stoke modest upside to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) estimates.

Same-store KY/VA HRM revenue growth was fairly stable Q/Q during Q2, and continues to materially outpace anemic regional gaming trends reflecting growth drivers discussed throughout our recent research (skill game bans; VA slot floor improvements; residual ramp for new openings),” wrote the analyst.

Stantial reiterated a “buy” rating on Churchill Downs while boosting his price target on the stock to $160 from $153. That implies upside of 14.1% from the July 19 close. Shares of the gaming stock are higher by 3.84% year to date.

Q2 Vital for Churchill Downs, TwinSpires Has Momentum

Churchill’s second-quarter earnings update is usually the most watched of its four quarterly reports because that’s the period including the Kentucky Derby. This year, the “Run for the Roses” bested the handle records set last year — a feat that was true for all of Derby Week.

Stantial modestly reduced second-quarter adjusted EBITDA estimates for TwinSpires, which was the subject of takeover speculation several years ago,  but noted there is some momentum for Churchill’s online wagering arm.

“Data also indicates sequential improvement in volume of race days – a key headwind to TwinSpires handle growth in recent quarters,” he added.

Churchill Downs HRM Venues Adding to Growth Story

Churchill Downs’ HRM venues in Kentucky and Virginia are widely viewed as growth drivers for the operator and could derive some long-term benefit from recent favorable legal rulings.

More specifically, we note the KY skill game ban was recently upheld by a local county circuit judge (we expect skill game manufacturers to continue contesting the ruling, though likely unsuccessful), though new types of skill games have already begun to emerge potentially temporarily re-capturing some play that gravitated to CHDN’s HRM properties post-ban,” noted Stantial.

The gaming company currently has 2,750 historical horse racing machines in Virginia and would like to boost that count to 5,000. HRM properties coupled with one of the industry’s most robust project pipelines are among the reasons why Churchill is Stifel’s preferred idea among regional gaming equities.

The post Churchill Downs Price Target Lifted Ahead of Q2 Earnings appeared first on Casino.org.

A mass technology outage is causing disruption to industries across the globe. On Friday, planes were grounded, TV stations knocked offline, and banking services disrupted after a widespread Microsoft 365 system failure caused chaos worldwide.

More than 1,000 flights have been delayed by the issue, which is believed to be linked to an error on a software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. Public transport systems across the world have also been affected.

Casinos, Sportsbooks Impact

Early reports suggest land-based casinos and online sportsbooks have also been impacted by the outage. On Thursday night, visitors to the Green Valley Ranch casino in Hendeson, Nev. reported that every single slot machine was down, and staff members were having to cash out players manually, leading to long delays.

Las Vegas Locally reported on X that “casino computer systems are crashing all over town.” One X user posted images from the South Point Casino showing the venue’s TV monitors had been affected by the “blue screen of death.”

“We’re facing a total blackout,” a TAB insider told The Syndey Morning Herald. “This has impacted both our online and retail operations, putting us in the same predicament as many other companies.”

No Easy Fix

The outage is not believed to be linked to foul play. The issue is reportedly related to Texas-based CrowdStrike’s ‘Falcon sensor,’ which monitors the security of large networks of PCs.

Security experts say it’s not an easy fix because it requires manual intervention on every affected computer, which will likely cause disruption for days to come.

Crowdstrike shares plunged by 21% in early pre-market trade. Shares in Microsoft were also down, as were travel and leisure stocks, as investors anticipated ongoing disruption to flights at the height of the summer vacation season.

This is a developing story.

The post Massive Global IT Outage Knocks Out Flights, Banking, Media, Casinos appeared first on Casino.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Vegas Myths Busted” publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today’s entry in our ongoing series originally ran Oct. 7,  2022. 

According to a pervasive Las Vegas myth, the mouth of the old MGM Grand lion served as the casino hotel’s entrance. Even the Pulitzer Prize-winning Las Vegas Sun described the original MGM Grand entrance in March 2001 as “A huge lion head with its wide-open mouth serving as the doorway.” As you can see from the photo below, this just wasn’t true.

The lion’s mouth myth is more explainable than most this series has busted. That’s because it was actually circulated by the hotel’s corporate owners, then repeated over the ensuing decades by journalists who didn’t bother fact-checking. MGM Grand CEO Terry Lanni, who took over in 1995 when the casino hotel was two years old, frequently cited the lion’s-mouth entrance as a prime example of the failure of corporations to give proper consideration to cultural sensitivities.

It has been widely reported that many Chinese gamblers believe that traveling anywhere through a representation of a lion’s mouth invites bad luck — not nearly as much bad luck as traveling through an actual lion’s mouth, presumably. But enough.

It wasn’t literally true (that they entered through the lion’s mouth),” former MGM Mirage executive spokesperson Alan Feldman told Casino.org. “But many customers believed it to have the same negative vibes, and refused to use that entrance.”

In 2014, Casino.org’s own Scott Roeben published a “Vital Vegas” blog listing eight fascinating Chinese gambling superstitions that Las Vegas casinos heed to try to please their high rollers from China. These superstitions explain why, for instance, both the Rio and Encore casino hotels are entirely missing floors 40-49. The number 4 is considered unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese and Japanese words for death.

Lion in Wait

Lanni replaced the lion with the current one in 1998. It was sculpted by Snellen Maurice Johnson, a convicted con man who changed the course of his life by becoming an artist.

Reportedly the second-largest bronze statue in the world – after a Hong Kong Buddha that stands 90 feet — Johnson’s gold bronze-polished lion stands 45 feet tall, weighs 50 tons, and sits atop a 25-foot pedestal.

Oh, and its name isn’t Leo. Leo was the name of the original MGM Grand lion, after the one who roars at the start of all MGM films. (There were actually 11 different movie Leos, and the original one was named Slats, but let’s stick to busting one lion myth at a time.)

Today’s MGM Grand lion is called, simply, Grand Lion.

In addition to switching lions, Lanni ditched the MGM Grand’s original Wizard of Oz-themed area and amusement park, replaced several restaurants, and built the Mansion, a group of 29 individually designed Mediterranean-themed residences.

Feldman did state another reason the original MGM Grand lion had to go, by the way — one based on a more indisputable fact.

“It was also ugly,” he said.

Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Visit VegasMythsBusted.com to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org. 

The post VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Guests Once Entered MGM Grand Through the Gold Lion’s Mouth appeared first on Casino.org.

Las Vegas Sands’ Long Island, NY casino hopes were boosted Thursday as the Nassau County Planning Commission agreed to move forward the gaming company’s lease agreement on Nassau Coliseum.

The commission signed off on a 42-year agreement that allows Sands to maintain and operate the Coliseum in Uniondale. The vote, which came amid protests from local opposition groups, positions the matter to go before legislative committees early next week. The Nassau County Board of Supervisors previously approved the county’s lease transfer to Sands in overwhelming fashion.

The company is pleased the planning commission approved the coliseum  lease and looks forward to moving forward with a process that will provide important job security to those working at the Nassau Coliseum,” according to a statement issued to the press by Sands spokesman Ron Reese.

Nassau County and Sands were forced to go back to square one on the lease accord after New York State Supreme Court Justice Sarika Kapoor ruled last November that the original agreement violated the state’s open meeting laws and didn’t provide adequate time for public comment and environmental review.

Sands Has Big Plans on Long Island

If it wins one of the three downstate casino permits New York regulators have yet to award, Sands pledged to build a $6 billion casino hotel at the Nassau Coliseum — a site that’s lost a lot of its luster after the NHL’s New York Islanders moved to Brooklyn following the 2014-15 season.

New York regulators haven’t signaled if there are favorites for the three downstate permits, but it’s widely believed MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Genting’s Resorts World New York in Queens are well-positioned to win two of the three licenses. There’s also been speculation that Sands is one of the more viable contenders for the remaining permit.

There are tangible benefits to focusing on Long Island. Not only would an integrated resort project there avoid bringing more traffic congestion to Manhattan, but Nassau County is the second-most populous county in New York after New York City. Additionally, Long Island is a short drive to the Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.

Why Lease Agreement Matters

Thursday’s vote is just one in a series of steps that could cement Sands’ ties to Nassau County, but it’s meaningful because without a permanent agreement in place, it’s tough to schedule events at the Coliseum and that could put 400 jobs at risk.

As for when New York will make decisions on winning bids for the downstate licenses, that’s expected to happen late next year, but that’s the most optimistic scenario.

Earlier this year, Sands CFO Patrick Dumont said the New York bidding process lacks clarity and has been “confusing and disappointing.”

The post Sands Long Island Casino Bid Bolstered by Lease Agreement Vote appeared first on Casino.org.