There were a number of important headlines in the casino world this past week, including a new partnership for IGT. We’ll start there as we recap the casino news of the week:
IGT Agrees To Deal With HollywoodCasino.com
International Game Technology (IGT), a gaming machine and systems innovator, has come to terms on a deal with HollywoodCasino.com to provide them with various games and services.
IGT, based in London, officially announced this past Thursday that it had entered into a five-year agreement with the Penn Online Entertainment LLC subordinate of Penn National Gaming Inc. The deal will involve IGT providing HollywoodCasino.com, the Penn Online site, with a PlayCommand digital gaming platform, online games and different services.
Online gamers in the state of Pennsylvania can now play more IGT-developed video slots plus added PlayPoker and PlayBingo offerings, which are technologically enhanced. The technologies provided by IGT will lead to further development of Pennsylvania gaming in the online, sports betting and mobile device realms of activity.
Penn National Gaming Inc. oversees 40 land-based casinos and racetracks in 18 jurisdictions. It seeks to create cash gaming via HollywoodCasino.com and hopes to be in operation by the first quarter of 2019.
Mississippi Casino Revenue Sees Sharp Increase
The September numbers from Mississippi casinos are in and they are even better than the August ones. In August, Mississippi casinos took in $167 million in revenues. However, that figure jumped to $177 million in September.
There was a total of $32 million bet legally on sports in Mississippi in September of this year. Of that, $5.5 million was lost on sports bets. Some are attributing the difference between the two months to the fact that September is the opening month of the NFL season while August is typically a quiet sports month. As you might recall, Mississippi is one of the newest states to go ahead with legalizing sports betting.
All of the aforementioned figures exclude Choctaw Indian casino revenues – those are not reported to the state.
Boston Casino Decision To Be Made In December
Casino operator Wynn Resorts will learn the fate of its Boston-area casino project in December.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, at a meeting held last week, notified commissioners that the MGC’s probe into Wynn – over what Wynn executives knew about former CEO Steve Wynn’s sexual harassment allegations – won’t be made public until the final month of the calendar year. That would be followed by a decision on whether to go forward with the Wynn Resorts project.
The probe began in January shortly after Wynn stepped down due to several allegations. Knowledge of these allegations is the point of uncertainty which the probe is trying to establish.
Wynn was issued a Boston casino license in 2014. The Encore Boston Harbor is supposed to open next summer. What would happen beyond the project itself if the MGC halts the project is uncertain. However, considering Wynn stepped down, the company has rebranded and there is great economic opportunity in this project, it’s hard to see anything happening here other than a slap on the wrist.