NORTH AMERICA
December 1, 2010
QUEBEC AND B.C. HOSTING A JOINT POKER PLATFORM
Quebec has teamed with British Columbia on an
online poker platform available to citizens of both Canadian provinces and
hosted in Montreal.
Eight variants of poker will be offered on the joint
platform beginning in 2011. The platform will be provided by GTECH G2 with
customer account management software designed by OpenBet, which also supplies a
number of table games.
Each province will keep the revenues generated by its
citizens.
Loto-Québec’s own
site, EspaceJeux.com, went live last month for a pre-registration period that
was scheduled to end December 1, when registered online members were able to
play.
The site offers players a variety of casino games,
including baccarat, Sic Bo, Red Dog and various types of blackjack and
roulette. Other games such as sports betting and bingo will be added at a later
date.
Loto-Québec CEO Alain Cousineau said his agency is
moving online to protect citizens from thousands of illegal offshore sites with
a system in which age and identity verification measures are in place, together
with features to help gamblers control their time and
money.
Profits earned from EspaceJeux.com will be returned to
the government of Quebec and contribute to the state’s ability to fund its
programs.
Canada’s online market is estimated to be worth C$1
billion a year.
OUT-OF-STATE TRIBE WINS AGREEMENT FOR CATSKILLS CASINO
Outgoing New
York Gov. David Paterson has signed a controversial land claim settlement with
a Wisconsin Indian tribe that will allow it to build a casino in the Catskills
with federal approval.
The agreement calls for the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican
Community to relinquish its claim to 23,000 acres in Madison County in the
center of the state in exchange for 330 acres in Sullivan County, which it will
request the federal government to take into trust on its behalf so the casino
can be located there.
The casino, slated
for the town of Bridgeville, is one
of three authorized by state law for the Catskills. If it opens the state would
receive 18 percent of slot revenues initially and up to 25 percent after five
years, a formula similar to deals with the Mohawk and Seneca tribes.
Paterson and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said they will
work to get federal agencies to sign off on the project. The Stockbridge and
its partners, Trading Cove Associates, which helped develop Connecticut’s
Mohegan Sun casino, have been working on approvals for the casino for nearly a
decade. But the new agreement is expected
to face legal challenges, from environmental groups, among others, and
very possibly from the New York tribes.
The Senecas, who own three casinos in western New York, called the deal an “affront”. The Oneida Indian Nation, owners of Turning Stone
Resort Casino in Verona, contested the Stockbridge’s Madison County land claim
and blasted the Catskills deal as a “sham, 11th-hour” agreement achieved
in secrecy.
Colonial expansion in the 18th century drove the
Stockbridge from their ancestral lands in western Massachusetts to the
protection of the Oneidas, whose lands encompassed what is now Madison County.
A policy of Indian removal in New York in the early 19th century pushed the
tribe into the Midwest and finally into what is now their federal reservation
in Wisconsin.
WMS ON FORBES’ LIST OF ‘BEST COMPANIES’
WMS Industries has been named to Forbes’ 2010
list of “America’s 100 Best Small Companies” based on sales and earnings growth
and return on equity.
Over its past five fiscal years, the Waukegan,
Ill.-based slot maker increased its industry ship share and generated compound
annual revenue growth of 14.5 percent and compound annual earnings per share
growth of 24.8 percent, according to a company release. By consistently
implementing continuous improvement initiatives over this period, the company
said annual operating margins grew to 21.9 percent in fiscal 2010 from 7.9
percent in fiscal 2005.
Forbes’ methodology in ranking “Small Companies”
considered publicly traded entities with annual revenues between $5 million and
$1 billion and a stock price above $5 a share.
Forbes also factored in comparative share price performance
against the competition.
HARD ROCK OPENING DOMINICAN CASINO
Hard Rock International and Palace Resorts last
month unveiled the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic, ahead of a grand opening slated for January.
The 188-acre location on Macao Beach at the site of the
former Moon Palace Casino and golf resort contains 1,800 hotel rooms, a spa,
nightclub, a Kerry Simon-branded restaurant, 65,000 square feet of meeting and
event space and one of Hard Rock’s famed music memorabilia
displays.
The 47,990-square-foot casino features 457 slot
machines, 40 table games, a high-limit poker room, a VIP lounge and a race and
sports book.
Outdoor recreation includes 11 pools, a water park and
an 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus.
IGT EXTENDS INVITE TO THIRD PARTIES WITH SOFTWARE KIT
IGT has
released a software development kit for third-party applications on its Service
Window in a move Chief Technology Officer Chris Satchell called “our latest
step toward building an ecosystem of player and operator applications for the
server-based floor.”
A release by IGT said third-party vendors such as
Synergy Blue, sister company of gaming vertical systems integrator Synergy
Information Solutions, are using the SDK to create applications that automate
manual processes and offer services to the player that include bonusing
designed for specific game events and specific player
profiles.
In addition to third-party vendors, casino operators can
also use the SDK for their in-house development purposes, IGT
said.
The company’s Media Manager, built on the Gaming
Standards Association’s open protocols, uploads, schedules and delivers Service
Window applications.
“When IGT made an SDK available for Service Window
applications, we were intrigued,” said Synergy Blue CEO Georg Washington. “We
conducted research to determine what’s needed in the marketplace, and now we
have the tools to make those applications a reality.”
PINNACLE REBUFFED IN BID TO KEEP LEE OUT OF LAKE CHARLES
A Southern Nevada judge said Dan
Lee can continue with his plans to develop a casino in Louisiana in competition
with his former company, Pinnacle Entertainment.
Clark County District Judge Kathleen Delaney denied Las
Vegas-based Pinnacle’s request for an injunction to prevent its former CEO from
trying to win approval for his $400 million Mojito Pointe casino in Lake
Charles next to Pinnacle’s L’Auberge du Lac resort. Pinnacle contended Lee was
in violation of his non-compete agreement. The company also sought an
injunction against Lee hiring Pinnacle employees.
The case is continuing.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
