Thai power supply cut to Myanmar casino towns amid allegations of organized crime operations

A Thai state enterprise that has been exporting electricity to neighboring Myanmar has cut off power to two border towns with notorious casino complexes that allegedly host major organized crime operations, Thai officials said Tuesday.

The towns of Shwe Kokko and Lay Kay Kaw in Myanmar host gambling and entertainment complexes developed by Chinese investors that are accused of being centers where people from other nations are tricked into taking jobs and then put into virtual captivity and forced to work in call centers conducting internet scams. There also are allegations that the complexes are centers for drug and human trafficking.
Power from Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority to the complexes in Myawaddy township in Kayin state was cut at midnight on Monday, said Montsak Kaew-orn, a police chief in Thailand’s neighboring Mae Sot district.

He said business in the affected towns seemed to be carrying on with no disruption because the owners of the complexes had prepared for the situation and could probably operate for the next few weeks using their own generators.

Thai Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda, speaking to reporters in Bangkok, said the power to the two towns was cut because the supply contract expired and Myanmar’s government declined to extend it. Thailand is ready to resume supplying power should Myanmar decide to renew the deal, he said.

DOZENS INJURED IN THAILAND TOURIST HOT SPOT AFTER SPEEDBOAT SLAMS INTO CONCRETE POST
Myanmar’s military government has not publicly explained its position on the matter. However, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported that Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai met on May 31 with Home Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Soe Htut and high-ranking police officers for talks on regional issues, including online fraud and gambling on the Myanmar-China and Myanmar-Thailand borders and “enhancement of cooperation in the fight against transnational crimes.”

The casino complexes are operated in what amount to autonomous development zones controlled by Chinese investors in cooperation with the Border Guard Force, a militia belonging to the area’s ethnic Karen minority.

A Thai state enterprise t[…]

Atlantic City casino sinks $700K into man-made beach project

What’s an ocean without a beach?

One Atlantic City casino that takes its name from the sea doesn’t want to find out, and so it’s spending up to $700,000 of its own money to rebuild a badly eroded beach in front of it.
The Ocean Casino Resort began the work Wednesday, and plans to have a new 110-foot-wide beach open for Memorial Day weekend. Chronic erosion near the casino has reduced the beach to just 5 to 8 feet wide in places.

NEW YORK CASINOS COULD DEAL ATLANTIC CITY 30% REVENUE BLOW, PANELISTS PREDICT

Bill Callahan, the casino’s general manager, said Ocean can’t wait for the next government-funded beach replenishment project, which could take another year or two.

Callahan and several casino officials were on their daily coffee walk one day last fall when they looked out the window — and saw very little sand between the Boardwalk and the ocean.
Callahan feared there soon would be no beach.

“That would be a horrible guest experience. It’s like, ‘Come to an unbelievable $2.5 billion resort and not have a beach.’ We just couldn’t have that,” he said.

What’s an ocean without a[…]

New York casinos could deal Atlantic City 30% revenue blow, panelists predict

Panelists at a major casino industry conference said the construction of three new casinos in New York could cost Atlantic City 20% to 30% of its casino revenue, a development that could possibly return the resort to the days of casino closures.

While not predicting that it will definitely happen, Jim Allen, chairman of the global Hard Rock casino, entertainment and hospitality company, on Thursday said that such a revenue drop could lead at least one Atlantic City casino to close. Hard Rock, which owns a casino in Atlantic City, is among the bidders for a New York casino.
Speaking at the East Coast Gaming Congress, Allen warned that New York’s coming casinos will have a big effect on Atlantic City.

NEW JERSEY CASINO, SPORTS BETTING REVENUE SEES 15% SPIKE IN PAST YEAR

“It could happen,” Allen told The Associated Press in an interview after his speech. “Atlantic City receives 20, 30-plus percent of its revenue from upstate New Jersey and downstate New York, and there’s no doubt it is going to have an impact on this particular market.”

Allen’s Atlantic City casino, along with the market-leading Borgata, and the Ocean Casino Resort are currently the top performing casinos in the market in terms of money won from in-person gamblers.
“So you have three or four that are very strong and then I think there’s a question as to what happens in that next level down,” he said. “I think its a concern that if these other casinos don’t perform, then inevitably from a business standpoint, is there vulnerability? I don’t think that changes unless there’s enhancement to the perception of Atlantic City.”

Allen has been a frequent critic of conditions in Atlantic City, including perceptions of cleanliness and safety for visitors. He acknowledged progress has been made, but said more remains to be done.
Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and of the Casino Association of New Jersey, declined comment on Allen’s remarks.

At the same conference on Wednesday, several Wall Street analysts also predicted New York casinos will take a bite out of Atlantic City’s business.

Duane Bouligny, managing director at Wells Fargo said Atlantic City casinos that continue to invest in their businesses and have good leadership will grow.

Panelists at a major casi[…]

Saskatchewanians Warm up Quickly to SIGA-Licensed Online Casino

The Canadian province of […]

Hard Rock Reveals Plans for Mirage – Guitar-shaped Hotel, Double Casino Size

Hard Rock International w[…]

Sun Shines on Fla Casino Sale, Application Redacted 98%

The Florida Gaming Contro[…]

Hard Rock and the Ocean Casino Resort Winning Popularity Share of Atlantic City Market

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Three years ago, when two shuttered Atlantic City casinos came back to life, there was more than a little skepticism over whether it was a good idea to add two casinos to a market that had just lost five of them.
But now there is little doubt that those two casinos – Hard Rock and the Ocean Casino Resort – have succeeded in grabbing their share of a cutthroat market and giving visitors new reasons to come to Atlantic City.
Both casinos had their first full day of operations on the same day: June 28, 2018. 
In terms of the amount of money won from in-person gamblers, Hard Rock ranked second out of the nine casinos last year with $224.8 million. Ocean was third at $183.5 million.
Their performance has shaken up the Atlantic City market, forming a new Big 3: Market-leader Borgata and the two newcomers. (When internet and sports betting money is included, Borgata, Golden Nugget and Hard Rock ranked 1-2-3 last year.)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) […]

Atlantic City First 1st quarter casino earnings more than triple

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) […]

2 killed in Wisconsin casino shooting, gunman also dead, authorities say

A State Patrol officer bl[…]

Vietnam’s large-scale casino resorts are not likely to be sustainable unless locals are allowed to gamble

Vietnam’s large-scale casino resorts are not likely to be sustainable unless locals are allowed to gamble in them, several industry commentators have told GGRAsia.
The number of  such international-standard projects either launched, under construction or announced in the country – each typically with a multibillion U.S. dollar price tag attached to it – has been growing in recent years.
But recent developments, including not only the Covid-19 pandemic, but also China’s legal code amendments outlawing so-called “cross-border” gambling activities, is creating challenges to any casino business model in Asia Pacific that focuses on attracting foreign players, especially Chinese ones, commentators told GGRAsia.
“Covid[-19] has put the brakes on these developments and with China clamping down on overseas gambling by its citizens, this will no doubt impact the feasibility,” unless fresh foreign consumer groups are targeted, said Govinda Singh, executive director and head of hotels and leisure Asia, at Colliers International, a real estate consultancy and investment advisor, in comments to  GGRAsia.
 
Vietnam’s large-scale cas[…]