Casino Chip Grabber Nominated to Nevada ‘Black Book’

A man accused of stealing fistfuls of chips from tables and casino patrons has been nominated to Nevada’s so-called “black book,” its list of individuals who are forever banned from all casinos in the state.

A copy of the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s so-called ‘black book’ of excluded persons is displayed at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. (Image: Mob Museum)

The Nevada Gaming Control Board nominated Neal Ahmed Hearne to its List of Excluded Persons at its Wednesday meeting, after watching surveillance videos of a man identified as Hearne grabbing chips from a table game at Aria in Las Vegas in January 2018.

Hearne was convicted of a crime related to the incident.

Hearne met three criteria for inclusion on the list, Senior Deputy Attorney General John Michela argued during the meeting:

  1. a prior felony conviction
  2. a conviction of a crime of moral turpitude
  3. a judicial order banning him from a casino

Gaming Control Board Chair Kirk Hendrick added that nominating Hearne for inclusion was necessary because his “brazen” actions could easily escalate into dangerous situations.

If the five-member Nevada Gaming Commission votes to concur at a future meeting, then Hearne will become the 37th person added to the black book.

A Dishonor Just to be Nominated

Hearne will be notified of his nomination and given the opportunity to request a hearing before the commission to oppose his inclusion. He can choose to be represented by legal counsel who can gather evidence to counter the allegations.

Last month, the commission unanimously voted to add Shaun Joseph Benward, a Mississippi illusionist who allegedly uses his knowledge of distraction to scam roulette dealers, as the black book’s 36th excluded person.

Every few years, the attorney general’s office will review the whereabouts of individuals on list and seek a regulatory action to purge the names of those they can confirm have died.

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Bally’s Chicago Underwhelms, Falls Far Short of Revenue Projections

Bally’s Chicago, located inside the historic Medinah Temple, is on damage control. That’s after the temporary casino failed to come anywhere near its preopening revenue projections.

Bally's Chicago gaming revenue
There was much fanfare when Bally’s opened its temporary casino in Chicago last September. However, after nearly four months in operation, the casino has failed to realize preopening gaming revenue forecasts. (Image: Getty)

Bally’s Chicago opened on September 9 with 800 slot machines and 56 live dealer table games. The temporary 34,000-square-foot gaming facility is supposed to help bankroll the Rhode Island-based gaming operator’s construction of its permanent $1.7 billion resort casino at the Freedom Center.

The temporary casino was authorized by state and city officials also in part to immediately inject gaming tax money into Chicago’s nearly insolvent police and firefighter pension fund.

When then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) approved the Bally’s bid, her office projected that the temporary casino would generate approximately $12.8 million in gaming tax proceeds for the city in 2023. The tax projection assumed Bally’s would win $102.5 million in 2023, with $61.5 million from slots, $40 million from tables, and $1 million from sports betting.

Per revenue reports released by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) on Wednesday, Bally’s Chicago is revealed to be severely underperforming.

Lackluster Start

According to the IGB, Bally’s Chicago generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) between September through December of just $30.4 million, a far cry from Lightfoot’s $102.5 million projection. The city’s gaming tax share amounted to a little more than $3.1 million — $9.7 million less than forecast.

Bally’s Chicago officials say unease is unwarranted. The temporary casino opened later than expected because of regulatory delays, they claim, and the property is still ramping up its marketing efforts to become part of the Windy City landscape.

Bally’s continues to build its relationship with Chicago gaming customers by offering our guests new and convenient ways to visit the property,” said Bally’s Chicago General Manager Mark Wong. “We’ve added free parking, new promotions, and expanded hours to meet customers’ expectations.”

Those efforts, which additionally include a controversial shuttle service between the casino and Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood, resulted in the casino experiencing its best month to date in December. It counted nearly 100K admissions during the 31 days, and won more than $8.5 million from gamblers. The daily average of roughly 3,220 visitors represents a considerable uptick on the 2,681 daily patrons the casino reported in October, its first full month in business.

Bally’s last year delivered Chicago a one-time upfront payment of $40 million to secure the city’s integrated resort license. Those funds provided an immediate pension benefit for the first responders.

Lofty Projections

Despite December being a strong month for Bally’s Chicago, the temporary facility has lofty revenue targets in the years ahead.

In 2024, city officials expect the casino to win $242.7 million and deliver the city $34.4 million in gaming taxes. The revenue projection grows to $253.6 million in 2025, and to $638.6 million in 2026, when the permanent resort is expected to open.

There are many concerns about whether Bally’s has the financial wherewithal to bring the $1.7 billion project to reality. Bally’s is also reportedly facing a federal investigation into how it beat out other casino bidders for the Chicago gaming license.

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Venetian Las Vegas Rolling Out New Loyalty Program

The Venetian Resort Las Vegas will soon launch Venetian Rewards — a new customer loyalty program that will replace Grazie Rewards.

Venetian remodel
Venetian Las Vegas. The venue is launching the new Venetian Rewards program in March. (Image: Vegas Means Business)

Venetian Rewards is slated to debut in March, though an exact date wasn’t given. The new customer loyalty plan will feature four tiers — Jade, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. The new program is dubbed by the operator as “the most rewarding program on The Strip.”

Venetian Rewards will be the way to make your stay at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas shine. You will be able to earn Tier and Rewards Points on everything from gaming and dining to entertainment and spa experiences. When it comes to perks, think things like suite upgrades and complimentary stays,” according to a statement.

The Venetian Resort Las Vegas is operated by private equity giant Apollo Global Management, which acquired the venue’s operating rights from Las Vegas Sands in early 2021. That transaction included the venue then known as the Sands Expo and Convention Center and ended, perhaps temporarily, the seller’s domestic exposure.

Inside Venetian Rewards

Venetian Rewards members can earn points and tier credits in a variety of ways, including through non-gaming avenues. For example, for every $1 spent on dining, entertainment, hotel rooms, retail and spas at Venetian and Palazzo, rewards members will earn two points.

That could set Venetian Rewards apart from competing offerings on and off the Strip because some operators only grant customers points and tier credits on gaming activities.

Speaking of Venetian Rewards and gaming, the program grants participants one point for every $4 wagered on slot machines and a single point for every $10 bet on video poker. Regarding table games, plan users get two points based on average bet and length of play.

Venetian Rewards points can also be spent in various ways. For every 100 points earned, customers get $1 in dining, entertainment, hotel rooms, retail and spas credits. For gaming, every 100 points entitles a bettor to $1 in free play on slots or video poker.

Jade is the lowest tier and participants graduate to Sapphire after accruing 3,000 points. Twenty thousand points are required to move up to Ruby while 50,000 points are required to gain Diamond status. Ruby and Diamond clients get annual dining credits of $100 and $200, spa credits of $150 and $300 and airfare credits of $150 and $450, among other perks.

Why Venetian Rewards Matters

Casino guests love accruing points and tier credits, and data confirm that rewards programs are effective at bolstering customer loyalty.

However, customers of all stripes have complained in recent years that it’s increasingly difficult and costly to move up the tier ranks and benefits offered by gaming companies are less attractive than ever before.

That could signal that Venetian Rewards has an opportunity to potentially pilfer business from rival Strip customer loyalty programs.

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Meta Has to Pay a Fine Because of Promoting Betting and Gaming on Facebook and Instagram in Italy

The social media giant Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, was fined by the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM). The company has to pay a fine of €5.85 million for violating the country’s laws about gambling advertising.

Fine for betting and gaming ads

Meta-fined-by-Italian-Regulatory-Authority-for-gambling-ad-violation-The country decided to issue a fine to the industry giant, which is clearly a huge escalation when it comes to conducting the laws and regulatory actions issued by the state recently.

The AGCOM found various betting and gaming promotional content advertised on 13 Facebook profiles and five Instagram ones, 18 in total. Since both Facebook and Instagram are owned by the same company, Meta, the company got fined.

But that’s not all – further investigation revealed 32 visual posts, both video and images, that advertised betting and gaming activities. Since Meta provides various advertising services and it isn’t just the platform to display your own content, it is responsible for the violation.

AGCOM stated that the company is aware of the fact that betting and gambling ads are illegal, but despite that it approved the problematic ads.

In total, 18 accounts are flagged, but according to AGCOM, Meta is responsible for only five of them. After the AGCOM flagged the problematic ads, the company took measures to stop advertising and correct the issue. Also, after the regulator flagged the account, Meta blocked 11 of them.

But all those steps weren’t enough – the company had to pay a fine anyway. Apart from the penalty, Meta received an official notice and a take-down order for all ads in question.

Strict rules

Italy has strict rules when it comes to the regulation of problem gambling and gambling addiction. Back in July 2018, the state issued a Dignity Decree, a decree that helped prevent and resolve the issues related to the matter, and Meta violated that decree.

According to the document, all forms of betting and gambling ads are prohibited on both social media and other mediums, such as sports team jerseys, stadiums, and other media platforms.

Meta isn’t the only company that recently got fined because of betting and gaming ads. Both YouTube and Twitch got fined this month. AGCOM issued a fine of €2.5 million to YouTube, and Twitch had to pay €900.000 for similar violations.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) disagrees with Italy’s strict rules since it can drive the companies into the rapidly growing offshore market.

Source: Hogg, Lea, “Meta fined by Italian Regulatory Authority for gambling ad violation”SiGMA. January 2, 2024.

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Michigan iGaming Operators Report Record-Breaking November Revenue

The Michigan Gaming Control Board, the regulator in charge of the gambling and sports betting market in the American state, reported that the licensed operators it oversees managed to generate solid revenue in November 2023.

According to the state regulators, commercial and tribal operators in the Great Lakes state reported a total of 209.2 million dollars in revenue (gross receipts and gross sports betting receipts) in November. The result marks an increase of 1.9 percent compared to October 2023.

The iGaming sector was the one that caught the eye with gross receipts of 175.3 million dollars, the highest number to date. The previous record was 171.8 million dollars and it was recorded in March 2023. In October 2023 gross receipts from online casinos amounted to 160.3 million dollars.

Gross sports betting receipts for November 2023 amounted to 33.9 million dollars, a sharp decrease from the 45 million dollars that were generated by this sector in October 2023.

Combined total adjusted gross receipts for November were 158.1 million dollars, with almost the entire sum coming from iGaming: 157.8 million dollars, while sports betting only accounted for 294,810 dollars. The adjusted gross receipts figures show an increase of 9.4 percent for iGaming and a drastic decrease of 98.7 percent for online sports betting compared to October 2023.

Tens of Millions of Dollars in Taxes

The total sports betting handle for online operators amounted to 568.8 million dollars in November, an increase of 6.7 percent compared to October 2023 and also the highest online sports betting handle to date in the state of Michigan.

Licensed operators in the state submitted 33.6 million dollars in taxes and payments to the State of Michigan during November, with most of the sum (32.9 million dollars) coming from internet gaming taxes and fees. Internet sports betting taxes and fees amounted to 740,056 dollars in the month of November, while the three land-based casinos in Detroit paid the city 8.4 million dollars in wagering taxes and municipal services fees during November. Tribal operators also reported making payments worth 4.1 million dollars to governing bodies in November.

At the end of November 2023 there were a total of 15 commercial and tribal operators operating in Michigan in iGaming and/or online sports betting. Fourteen of these operators were active in internet sports betting while fifteen were offering iGaming services.

Source: “Michigan iGaming, sports betting operators report $209.2M in November revenue“. Michigan Gaming Control Board. December 19, 2023.

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