NORTH AMERICA
June 1, 2010
Indian gaming revenues in U.S. decline
For
the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. Indian gambling revenues
declined.
According to the
National Indian Gaming Association, the 237 tribes engaged in gambling operations took in $26.2 billion in revenue from
games in 2009, a decrease of $500 million from 2008.
The sector also shed
100,000 jobs.
NIGA spokesman Jason
Giles downplayed the news. “It’s not a big hit — certainly not as big as Nevada
and New Jersey are taking,” he said.
Speaking at last month’s
Southern Gaming Summit in Biloxi, Miss., he maintained that the sector is
“staying strong and remains steady.”
He noted that the
recession has inflicted the greatest damage on tribal casinos in California and
Connecticut, while other very substantial jurisdictions, such Oklahoma, Florida
and Alabama are doing very well.
Despite this, there are
signs the tribes themselves are not feeling all that comfortable — Internet
gambling being an example. NIGA members appear mostly divided over whether to
unite behind legislative proposals to legalize Web gambling at the same time
that the association’s leadership continues along its official line of
opposition.
Giles acknowledged that
many tribes, including some not currently engaged in gambling, consider
Internet gambling an economic opportunity that should be explored.
NIGA’s leaders,
meanwhile, are preparing an economic impact study on Web gambling, which they
hope to complete this fall.
The possibility that Congress will pass a
bill to legalize the industry by that time is “not too much of a threat,” Giles
told his Biloxi audience.
OBAMA NAMES TULALIP WOMAN TO HEAD NIGC
br>
Tracie
Stevens, an enrolled member of the Tulalip
Tribes of Washington state, is
President Obama’s choice to chair the National Indian Gaming Commission.
The
nomination needs approval from the Senate, whose Committee on Indian Affairs
had not scheduled a hearing on the selection as of press
time.
Stevens
has been the senior advisor to Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry
EchoHawk at the U.S. Department of Interior since July 2009.
Stevens
spent almost 15 years working for the Tulalip Tribe in both government and
business operations. As senior policy analyst with the tribe’s government
affairs office, she managed day-to-day operations, including overseeing
external public affairs and lobbying functions, carrying out advocacy and
networking efforts and serving on state, regional and national Indian
gaming-related boards and committees. She previously had served as a
legislative policy analyst in the government affairs office working on tribal
sovereignty, treaty rights and tribal governance issues.
She
is a former chair of the Gaming Subcommittee for the Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians, a former secretary of the board of directors for the
Washington Indian Gaming Association and a
Northwest delegate to the National Indian Gaming
Association.
If
confirmed, she will serve a three-year term at the helm of the three-member
NIGC, which overseas tribal gaming under authority of the 1988 Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act.
ARISTOCRAT OPENS MEXICO CITY OFFICE
Aristocrat
Technologies has formally opened an office in Mexico City.
The
company described the move, completed last month, as “an exciting new era in
the company’s history”.
“Mexico holds tremendous potential for Aristocrat as
Class III regulated gaming expands in this country,” said Seamus McGill, chief
operating officer of Aristocrat Americas. “We recently commenced business in
Mexico with major clients and will continue to aggressively pursue
opportunities throughout the market.”
Vice President of Latin America Alvaro Nores will be
responsible for overseeing and directing the company’s Mexican
activities. Carlos Carrion, director of Sales and Operations for Mexico, will
direct the sales and support staff.
KENTUCKY DERBY PROVES A WINNER ON ALL FRONTS
More
than 155,800 fans braved heavy early morning rain and sporadic showers last
month to watch Super Saver win the 136th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in
Louisville, Ky.
Last
year, 153,563 turned out.
Combined
attendance for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby, April 30 and May 1, was 271,850,
also exceeding last year’s 258,430
It
was the tenth time that Derby Day attendance exceeded 150,000.
The
television ratings were the highest in 18 years. TV network NBC says its
coverage drew a 10.3 overnight rating and a 23 share, the best since Lil E Tee
won in 1992.
The “rating” is the percentage of all homes with
televisions tuned into a program. The “share” is the percentage of all TVs in
use at the time. “Overnight ratings” measure the country’s largest
markets.
Total
wagering from all sources on the race, on-track and off, was $112.7 million, a
7.8 percent increase over the $104.6 million bet in 2009. Total wagering from
all sources on the 13-race Derby Day card was $162.7 million, an increase of
4.3 percent over last year’s $156.0 million.
Super
Saver’s victory gave WinStar Farm its first Kentucky Derby win. The
thoroughbred colt, ridden by three-time Derby winner Calvin Borel, returned $18
on a $2 bet and completed the 1 1/4-mile distance in 2:04.45 over a sloppy
track.
Churchill
Downs returned $133.1 million to bettors on the day, approximately 82 percent
of all bets.
FIRST CASINO OPENS IN NEW BRUNSWICK
The Canadian province of New Brunswick welcomed
its first casino last month.
The
C$90 million Casino New Brunswick, built near the Magnetic Hill tourist
attraction in Moncton, features 500 slot machines, 22 table games and an
eight-table poker room.
It
is owned by Sonco Gaming New Brunswick under an agreement in which the province
gets half the profits, which could work out to $25 million a year, according to
estimates cited by Canada’s CTV News.
“We
think it’s going to help to bring some business to New Brunswick, to the
Moncton region certainly, and create 400 jobs, so the spinoffs associated with
this kind of gaming centre are very, very positive for the province,” said Marc
Belliveau, a spokesman for the Department of Finance.
The
social impacts of expanded gambling have been vigorously debated in the
province for years. A Responsible Gambling Policy promulgated in 2007 resulted
in government cutting the number of video lottery terminals from 2,650 to 2,000
and reducing the number of sites where they’re played from 600 to
325.
The
government cut the number of video lottery terminals within an 80 kilometer
radius of the casino to 400. There had been 700 in the area up until the end of
March.
PENN PARTNERS UP IN MARYLAND FOR TWO RACETRACKS
The Maryland Jockey Club, currently operated by
MI Developments, will soon be jointly operated by Penn National
Gaming.
Under
the terms of their joint venture, scheduled to close in the next couple of
months, Penn National and MID will “work collaboratively to strengthen and
enhance the racing operations at Laurel Park and Pimlico, to maximize the use
and value of the Maryland Jockey Club’s real estate assets, and to pursue other
opportunities, including the potential for gaming.”
Reports
are that Penn could be selected to run future gaming operations should Laurel
Park get slot machines.
Penn
is building stand-alone slots facility in Cecil County, Md. It also operates
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course near Harrisburg in neighboring
Pennsylvania. Penn was able to get slots at Penn National because of its racing
license.
Publicly
traded Penn National owns and operates 19 gaming facilities in 15 jurisdictions
in the United States and Canada.
In
addition to Laurel Park and Pimlico, MID recently obtained tracks in California
and Florida from financially troubled Magna Entertainment Corp.
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