The Professional Bull Riders World Finals event is relocating next year from the Las Vegas Strip to Fort Worth, Texas.

Sean Gleason, Professional Bull Riders’ CEO and commissioner, said the move to North Texas allows the league “to hold our crown jewel, the World Finals, in the heart of cowboy country.” According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the city of Fort Worth, part of the Metroplex that includes Dallas, is “where the West begins.” 

The upcoming PBR “Unleash The Beast” competitive bull-riding season begins next year in January. It concludes with a seven-day championship festival from May 13-22 in North Texas. The World Finals will be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. 

The 2022 season will include at least 20 “Unleash The Beast” events at arenas in New York City, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, and Billings, Montana.

The PBR’s annual championship has been held in Las Vegas since the competition was founded in 1994. The one exception was 2020, when the finals were in Arlington, Texas, because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Gleason said Las Vegas has been “an incredible host to the PBR World Finals for nearly three decades.” 

“While we are excited about the move to Texas, Las Vegas will continue to hold marquee PBR events, which will be announced in the coming months,” he said.

LVCVA Ad Touts Bull Riding

The announcement that the championship bull-riding event is leaving Southern Nevada comes during the same month that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority released a television ad touting the city as the “Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World.”

Kate Wik, LVCVA’s chief marketing officer, said the advertising campaign celebrates the “excitement and passion that make Las Vegas the greatest arena on earth.”

In addition to hosting the Golden Knights, the city also is home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders play at Allegiant Stadium, just west of the Strip near the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

The new LVCVA 30-second ad does not show any casino gambling or gambling machines. An earlier LVCVA ad also did not show casino gambling.

However, the new ad, voiced by performance poet J. Ivy, shows an illustration of a bull rider. In unveiling the new ad earlier this month, the LVCVA said in a news release that Las Vegas is home to the Professional Bull Riders and other athletic organizations.

An updated version of the ad without the bull rider had not been posted on the LVCVA website by Tuesday.

Bull Riding Death

On Sunday, the PBR announced that bull rider Amadeu Campos Silva died from injuries he received at a bull-riding event in Fresno, Calif.

Silva died of chest injuries when he was bucked off a bull, according to USA Today.

Cody Lambert, the PBR livestock director, told USA Today the death was caused by a “really freak, tragic accident.’’ 

“When he came off, his spur got tangled up and it turned him upside down right under the bull’s back leg,’’ Lambert said.

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Crown Resorts investors knew it would be bad. And today, those shareholders found out how devastating COVID-19 and ongoing regulatory issues facing the Australian casino giant have impacted business.

Crown revenue for its 2021 fiscal year (July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021) fell more than 31 percent from 2020 to US$1.13 billion. After operating expenses, the firm reported a net loss of $191.2 million.

2021 has been a challenging year for Crown, with intense regulatory scrutiny and unprecedented impacts on business operations from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Crown Interim Chair Jane Halton.

Crown Melbourne, the company’s flagship property, was closed for 160 days during the fiscal period because of COVID-19. Revenue there tumbled 64 percent to $420.9 million.

Crown Sydney, the group’s $1.6 billion integrated resort that opened in late December, has no casino space. That’s after the company was found unsuitable to conduct gaming by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. Revenue at the Barangaroo complex totaled just $50.2 million in its first six months.

Crown Perth, Crown’s other casino in Australia, was the company’s lone bright spot. Being closed for only 27 days, the Western Australia property increased operating revenue by 22 percent to $543.3 million.

The remaining Crown revenue was generated by its London boutique casinos and Crown Digital online social gaming unit.

Oaktree Exit

Crown Resorts remains prohibited from operating a casino in New South Wales. Its gaming privileges in Melbourne and Perth also are in jeopardy, as ongoing Royal Commissions continue their probes.

The Sydney review concluded that Crown didn’t do nearly enough to protect its casinos Down Under from being used as money laundering facilities. The casinos were targeted by criminal networks that operate predominantly throughout Asia. Officials in New South Wales also stated that troubled billionaire James Packer — who founded Crown and maintains a nearly 37 percent stake in the organization — has too much power and control, despite not being an official board member or executive.

But in today’s fiscal year report, Crown Resorts revealed that Oaktree is no longer bidding.

“Crown is no longer in discussions with Oaktree regarding the Revised Proposal that was previously announced by Crown to the market on June 15, 2021,” the company briefly stated. No further explanation was reported.

Leadership Shuffling

Crown Resorts has taken drastic steps to improve its corporate reputation. Numerous high-up officials, from the board room to C-suites, have resigned or been replaced since the Royal Commission Inquiry in NSW was initiated.

The latest, and most significant, is the recent departure of Helen Coonan. Appointed to the Crown board in 2011 after departing the Australian parliament that same year, Coonan became chairperson of the organization in January of 2020.

Coonan, who previously said she was best-suited to help Crown navigate its complex regulatory reviews, announced early this month that she would depart the organization effective August 26. Her notice followed scathing remarks by Ray Finkelstein, who is heading Victoria’s Royal Commission reviewing Crown’s suitability, casting doubt on Crown’s current leadership resolving the most critical issues facing the casino operator.

Dr. Ziggy Switkowski has replaced Coonan as Crown chair. He comes to the gaming operator with an abundance of corporate boardroom experience at numerous publicly listed Australian companies.

Commissioner Finkelstein is set to deliver his suitability verdict by October 15.

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Online gambling software provider SOFTSWISS has recently launched a new client on its Online Casino Platform to celebrate yet another milestone during an exciting time for the company.

The software firm this week announced that it has welcomed Dreamz Casino to its platform to now power the iGaming operation. The online gaming brand, which was originally launched in 2018, has recently migrated onto SOFTSWISS’ platform from a third-party provider.

Breaking the news about its latest of an ever-growing number of clients, SOFTSWISS said that this new partnership reaffirms its platform as a “reliable and innovative” solution for seasoned gambling operators.

Dreamz has joined more than 120 iGaming businesses that are currently powered by SOFTSWISS and its solution. The operator will thus be able to benefit from a wide array of important features, including a number of integrated online payment methods as well as content from the software provider’s Game Aggregator, which currently hosts more than 11,000 casino games from over 150 leading developers and suppliers.

SOFTSWISS’ gaming platform is further equipped with player and KYC management, reporting tools, and a flexible bonusing system, among other tools. It also supports multiple currencies and offers multiple marketing tools for player acquisition and retention.

Excited for All Future Joint Endeavors

SOFTSWISS said that its will now aim to help Dreamz quickly achieve its goals relating to market expansion and product diversification. The software company further elaborated that its platform boasts stability and high load tolerance that will allow its new online casino client’s large base of players to enjoy smooth experience with their favorite iGaming brand.

Of their latest important deal, SOFTSWISS Head of Business Account Managers Darya Avtukhovich said that they are happy to announced that Dreamz is now officially powered by their platform and that for their team “the migration process was a great challenge, but we were committed to making it happen.”

Ms. Avtukhovich went on to thank to Dreamz’ team for “their trust in our solution” and noted that they are now looking forward to their future endeavors together.

A representative for the newly migrated online casino said that they are glad to be joining SOFTSWISS, which has “a rather strong geo market coverage and presence” and that this collaboration is a “thrilling step forward” for Dreamz.

This is the latest of a host of big announcements made by SOFTSWISS in recent weeks. Early this month, the software company announced that it has obtained a license for online casino operations from the Hellenic Gaming Commission to conduct activities in the recently re-regulated Greek iGaming market.

It was also not long ago when SOFTSWISS announced the launch of its sportsbook solution with digital wagering operator Bambet.

Source: SOFTSWISS Online Casino Platform Integrates with Dreamz Online Casino, August 26, 2021

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A high-end private members casino that was the scene of Sean Connery’s famous chemin de fer session in Dr No cannot freeze the assets of one of China’s richest men.

Les Ambassadeurs in London’s affluent Park Lane asked the Court of Appeal to grant a worldwide freezing injunction on the assets of billionaire Yu Songbo.

The casino is seeking to recover more than £10 million (US$13.7 million) in bounced checks issued by the Chinese national during a high-stakes gambling session in 2018.

London’s High Court has already ruled that Yu is liable for the debt. But this week, an appellate panel declined to approve the injunction, ruling that there was “no real risk of dissipation.”

That means there is little evidence to suggest Yu could hide his assets to avoid paying his debts.

Yu Who?

Yu is the chairman of the Zhoushan, China-based Herun Group, whose services include real-estate development, energy transport, shipbuilding, grain processing, and logistic and industrial investment, according to its website.

In 2014, he was ranked by Forbes as the 149th-richest person in China but has since dropped off the list of the top 150. This does not necessarily suggest Yu’s wealth has diminished significantly since then, just that he has been overtaken by an explosion of the super-rich. Forbes estimated last year that the number of billionaires in China had sextupled in the previous decade.

In late 2018, the casino struck a deal with Yu to reduce the debt to £16.54 million (USD$23 million), which could be paid back in installments.

Summoned Via WeChat

But Yu defaulted on the first payment, which meant the full amount was due immediately. The casino’s lawyers sued, serving proceedings against the tycoon via his personal account on the Chinese social media platform WeChat.

Yu subsequently made some payments, reducing the debt to £6.5 million (US$10 million). But then he went off the radar again. Eight months later, Les Ambassadeurs reinitiated court proceedings.

Last November, the High Court ruled the Chinese national was liable for £10 million (US$13.7 million), a figure that included interest and legal costs, as well as the principal debt.

“Les A,” as it is known in gambling circles, was featured in Connery’s first scene in Dr. No, where the line “Bond, James Bond” is uttered for the first time. The casino was also featured in The Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night.

But it remains a discrete venue for the super-rich. Premium membership to the club costs £25,000 per year (US$33,000).

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Gambling powerhouse Flutter Entertainment and mobile esports company Skillz are possible acquisition targets, according to recent reports, as consolidation in the casino and sports betting sector shows little sign of easing.

Last week, three industry sources told Sarah Cohen of M&A news outlet CTFN that merger and acquisition activity in the casino and online gambling sectors will continue and that the above two companies are eyed by potential buyers.

Las Vegas casino giant MGM Resorts International and an unidentified technology company were mentioned in the CTFN article as possible suitors for Skillz.

The mobile esports provider began trading on the New York Stock Exchange late last year. It went public through a combination with special purpose acquisition company Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp., skipping the hassle of a traditional IPO.

However, according to analysts, any possible buyer that might emerge for Skillz is reaching for a falling knife as the San Francisco-based firm is among a growing list of peers that have gone public via SPAC deals and are currently experiencing a continued share price decline.

Shares in the mobile-focused provider have sunk 47.5% since the beginning of the year and are well below its February all-time highs.

Flutter Makes an Unusual Pick for Takeover Target

Flutter, which owns major online gambling brands such as Betfair, PokerStars, Sky Bet, and US sports betting leader FanDuel, is a slightly surprising takeover candidate. The company’s current market capitalization is in the region of $32 billion, which means that a possible suitor must have some very deep pockets to be able to afford buying the international gambling powerhouse.

Flutter completed the acquisition of The Stars Group for $12 billion just over a year ago. And given its M&A history and $1.26 billion in cash available after the second quarter of the year, it is more likely to be a buyer than a takeover target.

The company currently owns a 95% stake of FanDuel which is said to have a 45% share in the US regulated sports betting market. Flutter previously revealed plans to spin out and float the US-focused sports betting brand this year but then stalled those plans until 2022 amid a managerial shake-up and a legal row with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation over the latter’s stake in the business.

MGM’s mention as a potential Skillz suitor was also a bit surprising. Aside from land-based casinos, the company also runs the BetMGM online gaming and sports betting brand in partnership with European gambling powerhouse Entain.

The casino operator earlier this year made an $11 billion offer for its wagering joint venture partner, which Entain declined as too low. According to recent reports MGM might be looking to renew its effort to acquire the other gambling company.

With its focus on mobile games and esports tournaments, Skillz does not seem like a great match for MGM and is a better fit for a more technology-oriented business.

Source: MGM Could Make Run at Skillz and Flutter, Says Report, Casino.org, August 23, 2021

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