The Sahara Casino in Las Vegas will shut down its poker room on November 16. The valuable floor space will be renovated for a special new area for slot machines. The cost-cutting measure is another bottom line decision by executives who intend to maximize profits with slot degens instead of providing a safe space for poker-loving denizens and tourists.
PokerStars cancelled the EPT Sochi last week in response of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And now, the RedSpade joined a global boycott after PokerStars officially pulled out on Russia. They informed the marketplace via a ten-word tweet: 'Important update: we are suspending all our services in Russia.'
Match Poker Online is trying to transform poker into sporting competition and an Olympic sport. It's a long and difficult process, but the folks at International Federation of Match Poker are up for the task. In the meantime, Match Poker Online launched their new app on Feb. 14, and players participate in Battle Royale mode and compete in upcoming seasons to determine who's the premier poker players in the world.
PokerStars and Red Bull are two massive global brands that will work together on a multi-year partnership with the Red Bull Racing team. Get ready to see the red spade among the advertisements on Red Bull Racing cards in the 2022 Formula One season. It's a win-win union for fast-growing spectator sport and high-paced Formula One circuit.
For almost 75 years, the Flamingo Casino on Las Vegas Blvd had been an important central figure in gambling history, but it's truly the end of the era when the poker room in the oldest-standing casino in Las Vegas will shut down forever. The Flamingo Poker Room, which was closed during the WSOP, will not reopen for business and it becomes the twelfth poker room to shutdown since March 2020.
The folks at partypoker have a new pitchman for their partypoker US operations when pro Darren Elias was tapped as the company's latest brand ambassador. Elias is one of the best players to ever set foot on the World Poker Tour with four WPT titles and now he's a vital part of partypoker's strategy in their legal US markets.
This is the final week of poker at the Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip because the property is shutting down the poker room on Sunday, July 11, so it's your last chance to get your poker fix at Planet Ho, which had become a low-stakes fixture for tourists and locals over the years. Caesars Entertainment said they were shuttering the 10-table poker room at Planet Ho after re-opening last October.
Resorts World is the newest casino and three-hotel resort on the Las Vegas Strip located just north of the Wynn and Encore, which will open its doors on June 24. If you're into cryptocurrency, then there's some good news because the Winklevoss Twins cut a deal to partner up with Resorts World as the first crypto platform in Sin City. Gamblers will be able to access their Gemini crypto wallet at Resorts World.
Casinos in Colorado no longer must adhere to a state law that imposed a maximum bet of $100 for all wagers thanks to Amendment 77, which included all table games and poker. The $100 max bet rule made poker cash games problematic, especially no-limit action, because you could never raise more than $100 at any given time. Under the new regulations starting May 1, all 33 Colorado casinos in Blackhak, Central City, and Cripple Creek now have the option to cap bets or allow unlimited action, which is expected to boost tourism with baccarat and high-stake poker.
Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire who helped shaped modern-day Las Vegas, passed away at age 87 due to complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Adelson was the CEO of Las Vegas Sands corporation that operated the Venetian and Palazzo Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, in addition to the Sands Convention Center. He also owned casinos in Macau including the Sands and Macau Venetian. Forbes estimated his fortune at $35 billion and they listed him as the #19 richest person in the world according to their 2020 ankings.
In one week, we will learn who will earn induction into the Poker Hall of Fame for the Class of 2020. Ten total people, both players and industry leaders, were selected as nominees. Two of them -- PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg and Patrik Antonius -- earned first-time nods. The other nominees included broadcast team Lon McEachern and Norman Chad, Eli Elezra, Jesus Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow, Antonio Esfandiari, tournament director Matt Savage, and Huck Seed.
MGM Grand made a tough decision to close the poker room at some of their Las Vegas Strip properties indefinitely. That bold decision includes the shuttering of the legendary poker room at the Mirage Casino, which at one time hosted the biggest cash games in the Vegas. In addition, the suits made a decision to shut down the Mandalay Bay and Excalibur, two low-level poker rooms that used to attract both tourists and locals alike.
After a lengthy shutdown, live poker returns to Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip. Meanwhile, one lucky Pai Gow poker player struck it rich with a $133,037 jackpot win at Planet Hollywood. And over at the Wynn Casino, the poker room is temporarily shuttered and relocated after the Wynn/Encore reduced hours due to a serious drop off in gamblers.
The poker room at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey will finally reopen for the first time since being shuttered in March. The Borgata will resume action with 30 of its 77 tables on Wednesday, October 21. All players will be required to wear masks. Tables have plastic partitions and will only be seven-handed. The Borgata reopened in late July of this year, but the poker room was not ready yet.
The Bicycle Casino outside of Los Angeles reopened with "outdoor gaming". The Bike originally shut down in March during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. It reopened in June for a quick minute before Governor Newsom shut down all casinos during a spike. Almost four months later, the Bike reopened with 52 total outdoor tables, including 17 outdoor poker tables.
William Hill had been running sportsbooks in Caesars Entertainment properties already, but now New Caesars acquired the British sports betting giant for the hefty sum of $3.7 million. William Hill's stock had been in play the last couple weeks on rampant speculation that they were the target of either Caesars or Apollo Management.
At first glance the numbers show overall revenue in the state of Nevada is down 22% from last summer, with Las Vegas Strip revenue down 39% in August. But considering we're still in the middle of a pandemic, the overall numbers are nothing but good news for casino operators in Nevada. With pro sports returning and the NBA playoffs in full swing, sportsbetting revenue spiked +65% in August.
The USA is drastically spiking with coronavirus cases rising in 40 out of 50 states. Governors have been scaling back reopenings. In Los Angeles, card rooms and poker rooms were shut down when Governor Gavin Newsom ordered casinos to be closed. At the start of June, several of the most popular card rooms in LA reopened such as Commerce, the Bike, and Hustler. They've all shut their doors indefinitely while the pandemic peaks in SoCal during the Fourth of July holiday.
Gambling will return to the Garden State in July. Governor Phil Murphy gave Atlantic City the go ahead to reopen as early as July 2 at 25% capacity and everyone must wear masks. The Borgata, the jewel of AC, will wait until after the Fourth of July holiday to reopen on July 6. New Jersey was one of the hardest hit states at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in the New York City tri-state area.
After being shut down since March, poker rooms at two of the most popular card rooms in America return to action. The Bellagio poker room reopened on Thursday, while the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles opened its doors on Friday for the first time in over three months. While casinos and card rooms reopen, gamblers remain cautious with case surging and hotspots developing in SoCal, the Southwest, and Florida.
Las Vegas casinos continue to reopen, including poker rooms, after being shut down since mid-March. Gamblers, mostly locals, flocked in droves during the first week of reopening, to whichever casinos opened back up all over town. More card rooms and casinos will be reopening despite the fact that COVID-19 cases are spiking in California and all over the southwest including Arizona and Texas.
Stanley Ho, one of the wealthiest men in China, passed away at age 98 according to a statement from his daughter, Pansy. Ho had become the King of Gambling in Asia after he envisioned a gambling mecca in the Pearl River Delta to rival Las Vegas. Ho's company, SJM Holdings, owned 20 casinos in Macau and even one in North Korea. At the time of Ho's death, SJM Holdings had an estimated value at $6 billion.
Poker returns to the sunshine state this week. A trio of poker rooms in Florida are set to open this week. Derby Lane in Tampa Bay, Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, and Bestbet Jacksonville in Jacksonville will all reopen under strict post-pandemic guidelines. Last week, casinos reopened in Deadwood, South Dakota. And now more states will slowly return to action, including tribal casinos in California.
Over 20 casinos are currently open in the United States of America with a handful more expected to open this weekend and next week. Several Las Vegas casinos, such as Venetian and Palazzo, are planning on reopening in June despite the fact that the USA leads the world in COVID-19 and COVID-related deaths. Casinos in Arizona and Louisiana are set to reopen by next week, with many other casinos rushing to get ready for a June return.
Three casinos in the USA will reopen to gamblers in Deadwood, South Dakota. Meanwhile, Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, Florida decided to hold off on reopening their poker room this week. They will reopen the greyhound racetrack without any live spectators but decided against hosting poker games. Heading into the second weekend of May, all major casinos are closed in North America, especially in Las Vegas and Atlantic City and none of their casinos planning on opening before Memorial Day.
With the coronavirus pandemic shuttering casinos across the globe, some casino operators are rolling the dice and reopening amidst the coronavirus outbreak. Three casinos in the Czech Republic will reopen their doors on Monday, May 11, including the King's Resort Rozvadov, Admiral Casino Rozvadov, and the King's Casino Prague.
Carolyn Goodman, the current Mayor of Las Vegas and wife of ex-mayor Oscar Goodman, shocked the world with her preposterous assertions about opening up the Las Vegas Strip during a live interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN. Mayor Goodman insisted that Las Vegas re-open in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Goodman immediately received blowback from all sides of the political spectrum and health officials.
North America has not reached the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and as a result, Nevada will continue to close all casino properties for the month of April. In mid-March, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak closed all casinos for 30 days. At the start of April, Gov Sisolak extended closures through the end of April. He will make a decision to re-open the end of the month, but the outlook seems grim. As of March 31, there were 1,279 COVID-19 cases in Nevada with 26 fatalities.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced that all non-essential business will be shut down due to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak. That decree particularly included shutting down all casinos including adjacent shops and restaurants for 30 days. Social distancing is the most effective way to slow down the spread of the virus, much to the dismay of gambling enthusiasts. At least Nevada residents have online options, but nothing in the virtual world can ever compare to the glitz and glamour of Sin City.
