Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming september 2016 76 Las Vegas Strip enjoys huge revenue boost The Las Vegas Strip saw its gaming revenue jump by 16.8% year-on- year in July, thanks largely to a huge increase in baccarat volumes. Baccarat win increased a whopping 41% from the same time last year on the back of a 12.8% increase in volume as Sin City’s impressive recovery continues. Slot win was also up 4.4% on July 2015. However, analysts have warned that the surprising increase comes after two months of low hold, meaning Las Vegas was due for an upturn. “While we had heard operators reporting some higher end baccarat customers returning to Las Vegas, we would not expect this level of recovery in the baccarat business to continue,” said Union Gaming’s John DeCree. Long term or not, July proved to be a productive month right across the city with Downtown Las Vegas enjoying a revenue increase of 2.5% year-on-year on the back of a 30% rise in table win. Slot win for the month was down 6.4%. DeCree said that overall the signs were good for Las Vegas as its recovery from the difficulties of the Global Financial Crisis continues. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS had originally pushed for the redevelopment in 2015. It means Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium will now almost certainly go the way of other tracks to have been shut down in Wembley, West Ham, Clapton and Hackney and Walthamstow. The decline of greyhound racing in England, which has seen viewer and attendance numbers plummet over the past decade, mirrors similar moves around the world. Last month the Director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Paulo Martins Chan, gave operators of Macau Canidrome two years to find a new home or shut down, while Australia’s most populous state, NSW, has announced it will shut down greyhound racing altogether by 1 July 2017. US sports betting hopes crushed A recent push to extend the legalization of sports betting beyond the three US states that currently allow it has hit a dead end. In late August, the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling preventing New Jersey from pursuing a regulated sports betting industry within its borders. Under the watchful eye of a panel of 12 judges, the court determined that the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) makes it illegal for states to offer sports betting. Nevada, Delaware and Oregon remain the exception. New Jersey passed a law in 2014 to allow sports betting in the state but a series of legal challenges has prevented it from taking effect. In August last year, a three-judge panel ruled against New Jersey legalizing sports betting 2-1 which ultimately led to the four major North American sports leagues – the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB – issuing a challenge. Now that they have been defeated it seems a long way back for the vast majority of US citizens who dream of betting on sports. Greyhound industry hits another major hurdle The global future of the greyhound racing industry is looking increasingly shaky with the news that London will demolish its last remaining dog track. Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium is set to make way for a new Plough Lane development with London Mayor Sadiq Khan backing plans to build a 20,000-seat football stadium, 602 homes and a leisure center. He has handed the decision back to local Merton Council, who