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Spielbank Bad Neuenahr Opens After 2-Year Closure Following Deadly Flood

spielbank_bad_neuenahr_opens_after_2_year_closure_following_deadly_floodGerman gamblers take great pride in their local gaming establishments much like some online gamblers have a favorite “home” website, but much more so. The operators and local officials do too, and they aren’t shy about showing that devotion and affection for the venues. More than brand loyalty, the connection is personal.

The spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is no exception to that rule as can be seen when looking at the recent opening of Spielbank Bad Neuenahr in a new location after a major disaster took the beloved local and regional gambling hall away.

The Night the House Edge was Not Enough

200 people died in Germany and Belgium 2 years ago in a historic flood. Damage to the local casino was so severe, and the insurance coverage to re-open in the same location would only provide about half of what it had for the prior calamity, so officials decided to never rebuild the 7-decades-old casino in the same location.

As described by Weather.com, the water came overnight on July 14-15, 2021. It funneled through sometimes narrow and steep sections, taking with it homes, bridges and roads and leaving behind a mud-covered path of destruction. Some 3,000 of 4,200 buildings along the River Ahr were damaged.

The casino was situated directly on the river Arh.

Instead, they chose to convert a nearby historic train station with neo-gothic architecture into a new casino.

After a soft opening a little over three weeks ago that allowed dealers and new staff to become accustomed to their new digs, Spielbank Bad Neuenahr held an official grand opening for the small but competent gambling spot on July 20, 2023.

During the official opening ceremonies, Michael Seegert, Managing Partner of Spielbank Bad Neuenahr GmbH & Co. KG welcomed local dignitaries and officials to the new location.

In his welcome message, Seegert said: “It’s been a little more than two years since, like countless others in the Ahr Valley, suddenly nothing was the same for us overnight. Our administration building was completely destroyed and flooded and demolished shortly afterwards with all our historical files and documents from 73 years of company history.

“Our gaming facilities and the entire building services on the ground floor of the Kurhaus were smashed and the surroundings of the casino were devastated. The only pleasing aspect was that we did not have to mourn any victims due to the early closure of the casino. But the damage to property was immense and even the maximum compensation from the insurance company was not sufficient to compensate for all the damages. The question arose, so what should we do?”

Management looked at about a dozen nearby locations, and although they didn’t find one with everything they wanted or needed, the team settled for a well-situated location with less space – which meant the number of games would have to be reduced, but all other qualities could be maintained and the historic casino could continue to offer the same level of top-tier service to local gamblers and others nearby who were die-hard fans.

Familiar Location for Most Customers

The train and bus station was already a well-known hub for travelers to the area with 5-star hotels, so footfall was expected to remain strong. This proved to be true as customer traffic from all around began right away during the soft opening and never really waned.

“We came to the only possible decision with the shareholders after difficult discussions that the future of the casino with these latent risks cannot lie in the Kurhaus,” Seegert added. “So, with a heavy heart, we gave up the traditional location and started looking for alternatives in Bad Neuenahr, in Ahrweiler, and in the surrounding area.”

“Since there were only very limited as-built plans from the construction period, we experienced many surprises during the renovation work, and the installation of an air conditioning system, in particular, was a huge challenge that caused us many a sleepless night,” added Seegert. “That’s why we are particularly happy and proud to have a new casino in Bad Neuenahr just two years after the destruction.”

The new location holds about 75 slot machines, two blackjack tables, and two roulettes wheels. The prior location held 16,000 square feet of casino floor featuring 150 slots with 8 table games, and two restaurants.

“All in all, I am very pleased that with the reopening of the casino, we can contribute another piece of the mosaic on the arduous path of reconstruction in Bad Neuenahr and the return to the old attractiveness of the city and the region,” Seegert added.

Seegert praised each and every participant in the arduous venture of finding and preparing a new home for the venue, commending the ‘highest level of commitment and a lot of heart and soul,” shown by employees, project managers, architects, and engineers, city administrators and others.,

Source: Spielbank Bad Neuenahr holds official grand opening, G3 Newswire, July 25, 2023

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Jackpots Continue: Harry Reid Airport Player Wins $1.2M on Slot Machine

Another traveler hit a massive jackpot while playing the slots at Harry Reid International Airport on Monday. A player also came up with a big win at the airport last month.

Plane lands at Harry Reid International Airport
Plane lands at Harry Reid International Airport, pictured above. Travelers keep on winning big payouts on the airport’s slots. (Image: Wikimedia)

The newest lucky traveler recently won $1,286,324 on a Wheel of Fortune Triple Hot 777 slot game, the airport announced in a tweet on Tuesday.

The IGT-manufactured machine is located in the airport’s Terminal 3. The win was a progressive jackpot.

The payout led to several congratulatory posts on the airport’s Twitter page. One poster, named “Joe Cal,” commented, “Will you guys save some jackpots for me.”

 

Another lucky traveler who was in Harry Reid’s Terminal 1 in late June won $1.3-plus million in a slot payout.

On June 27, the mystery player won $1,330,133.04 on the IGT Wheel of Fortune Triple Double Emeralds machine, located in Harry Reid’s Terminal 1 Esplanade.

It appears last month’s winner was on their way home when stopping to try their luck on the machine.

$1B In Revenue

Over 36 years, the slots at Harry Reid (previously named McCarran International Airport) have generated more than $1 billion in revenue, according to Michael Gaughan’s Airport Slot Concession. The Las Vegas-based firm operates the slots at the busy airport.

The airport slots generate about $39.8 million in gross revenue each year. That leads to about $34.4 million in average revenue for the airport.

In total, there are 1,430 slot machines at Harry Reid Airport. The slot play helps to offset airport costs.

“The slot machines located inside Harry Reid International Airport not only provide Las Vegas visitors … the opportunity to spend a few minutes at one of our slot machines while they wait for their flight, but … the revenue generated also helps lower the operating costs for airlines at the airport and those lower rates trickle down to tourists who plan on visiting Las Vegas,” Patricia Ross, general manager of Michael Gaughan’s Airport Slot Concession, said in a statement last October.

Prior Payouts

In March 2022, a traveler from California, identified as “William J.” won $328,655 on a slot at Harry Reid. He also was playing a Wheel of Fortune machine.

On Feb. 25, 2021, a woman identified as “Megan H.” of Flower Mound, Texas, won more than $302,000. She also was playing a Wheel of Fortune slot in the B Concourse.

In July 2020, “Kaoru H.,” a woman from Torrance, Calif., played a Wheel of Fortune 4D penny slot, located inside the airport’s C Concourse. After landing, she tested her luck with a $5 spin on the slot and won $873,511.

The largest jackpot believed to have ever been won at the Las Vegas airport was in 2005. That is when a player won $3,961,585.14.

Only Harry Reid and Reno-Tahoe International Airport provide U.S. travelers the chance to play slots. No other U.S. airports offer this amenity.

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Pagcor to Use Casinofilipino as its Own Online Brand Name

pagcor_to_use_casinofilipino_as_its_online_brand_namePhilippines casino operator cum gambling regulator, PAGCOR intends to come on board with an online casino for denizens there as early as the first quarter of 2024. The announced name is Casinofilipino. Casinofilipino.ph is the home page for a variety of large and small land-based casinos and dozens of satellite operations already in use by PAGCOR.

Casinofilipino.com is “taken” but parked free on Godaddy with servers based at Amazon for the last 90 days or so but was served by Google LLC for the three years prior.

Familiar Brand Name to Drive Local Traffic

It’s unclear which top-level domain will be used to serve players in the Philippines their first legal online games beginning next year. However, during the opening ceremony of the SiGMA Asia Summit 2023 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on July 20, 2023, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco referred to the dot com site in his keynote address according to information on the regulator/operator’s website.

The CEO explained some reasons for the launch, the main one being to raise revenue.

“This will bring several benefits and opportunities such as increased revenue, extended reach and market expansion, cost efficiency, and enhanced customer engagement,” Pagcor’s Tengco said. Launching the online casino would allow for additional revenue.

“It will allow players to interact with the digital counterparts of traditional casino games. This will also transcend physical boundaries and will enable users from around the world to interact and participate in virtual environments.

“It can reach a global audience and can establish a presence in virtual communities of avid gamers. It will likewise offer an opportunity to tap into new markets and diversify its customer base.”

As part of PAGCOR’s plans to modernize operations, changes will also be made at its land-based venues. Slot machine ops have already undergone the beginnings of modernization according to Tengco, which he said brings hope to continue the trajectory with at least 3,500 new machines being installed in its multitude of land-based venues.

“We endeavor to enhance our game offerings by replacing our old machines with a total of 3,500 brand-new units under a lease agreement with the manufacturer,” said the CEO.

He added inter alia, “We have already taken the preliminary steps and entered into negotiations with different manufacturers for the modernization of our slot machines. I expect our customers to have a renewed gaming experience.”

Casino Management System to be Revamped as Well

“This will play a pivotal role in improving Pagcor’s casinos in terms of operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience, facilitating real-time reporting and analytics, ensuring security and fraud prevention, optimizing financial management, and streamlining compliance requirements,” Tengco said.

Prior to announcing the upcoming money-making venture into cyber-space, the agency had launched a major crackdown on locally-based online gambling service providers without regard to the location of customers the alleged violators were serving. In early May over 1,000 human trafficking victims were rounded up and repatriated to their home countries when the Sun Valley Hub in Clark was raided.

Over 1,000 human trafficking victims were rescued from the government-owned buildings in the early-May raids, with about a dozen perpetrators being arrested. In response to that news, Philippine senators renewed calls to entirely eliminate POGOs (online operator-licensed companies).

CGC Technologies was the first POGO to lose its license as a result of the raid followed by every other operator at the hub at month’s end in one fell swoop by pulling a provisional license that allowed occupants to offer service. In addition to human trafficking, crypto scams were widely cited as a reason to end the POGOs.

Nearly 500 of the trafficking victims haled from Vietnam and have been sent home. At the time, Chairman Tengco stated that job seekers should “check the credibility of the companies that they are applying in. By going the extra mile, they can protect themselves from possible scams and human trafficking activities.”

Inside the Clark Freeport Zone are only four remaining accredited service providers and one licensed offshore gaming operator.

In early June the regulator joined the newly created Clark Security Advisory Council, just prior to its first meeting. The inter-agency organization aims to curb all illegal offshore gaming activities within the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

During the Council’s launch on June 9, 2023, Atty. Jessa Fernandez, PAGCOR Assistant Vice President for Offshore Gaming Licensing announced that it will impose heavier sanctions on all licensed offshore gaming operators and accredited service providers who stray from the rules.

Revenues Recover from COVID Disruption

During his keystone address at the most recent event, Tengco noted the post-pandemic revenue story for PAGCOR:

“For the first half of this year, I am proud to share with you the figures we have generated so far. Our total income from gaming operations from January to June of 2023 has reached P34.125 billion. Of this amount, PAGCOR’s contributions to nation building also rose by 48.50% — from P15.23 billion in the first half of 2022 to P22.62 billion this year,” he said.

Tengco said that with the agency’s consistent upward revenue trend, it is highly possible for PAGCOR to reach or even surpass its pre-pandemic income by the end of 2023.

Source: PAGCOR to launch own online casino in 1st QTR of 2024, eyes modernization of slot machine operations, Gov.PH, July 20, 2023

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With Powerball Hit, Another Shot at The Big Bucks Exists With Mega Millions

with_powerball_hit_another_shot_at_the_big_bucks_exists_with_mega_millionsWith the recent Powerball jackpot worth over a billion dollars falling to a lucky player in California, many fair-weather gamblers still want some skin in the game. The good news for them is that Mega Millions is not far behind in terms of jackpot prize value.

Next Estimated Jackpot
$820 Million
CASH OPTION: $422.0 MILLION
Next Drawing:
Tuesday, 7/25 @ 11 p.m. ET

What’s Up With the Billion Dollar Jackpots?

If it seems like jackpots are higher these days, it is because they are – the biggest prizes also fall less often because the jackpots are harder to win than they used to be, thanks to a rule change a couple of years ago. The longer it takes to win (the more tickets sold) the higher the jackpot grows. There’s also the knock-on effect of bigger jackpots inspiring additional ticket sales in what would seem like a win/win for everybody.

The odds of winning one of the huge prizes have always been astronomical. The odds of claiming the big prize are now just about 1 in 302.5 million, but the fact remains, you can’t win if you don’t play. It’s also good to keep that number in perspective. The entire population of the US, including every man, woman, and child is estimated to be just over 331M – that means that if everyone got a different ticket, the jackpot would be won but it would be shared by two people.

Cut the cash take-home roughly in half for each player, and the chances of becoming an “almost billionaire” are even worse. But that’s no reason not to play.

“Play” is the operative word. Since there is no way to increase your odds, and no single person could ever actually become a billionaire under most circumstances, the only rational way to approach the game is to consider it as fairly cheap entertainment. For a couple of bucks, you can imagine the very real possibility (not the probability) of having enough money to essentially do whatever you would like to, for the rest of your life.

Increased chances come with the same odds, but lower payouts

You can never change the odds. However, by buying more tickets, or by buying more than one ticket with a group of players, you increase your chances to win – but – the amount you could win is cut in half by everybody else who has the same winning numbers.

If you choose your own numbers, there’s a good chance someone else chooses the same ones. Plenty of people’s children have the same birthday, a lot of people are the same age… the point is that statistically, you are better off choosing completely random numbers (such as Quickpick) than choosing your own – the odds remain the same but the chance of having to split the prize goes down the more randomly chosen your numbers are.

Mega Millions, Like Powerball, is a Multi-State Lottery, and the Rules Matter

While Mega Millions tickets are sold by lottery retailers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, they are also sold by bonafide agents, and in many states, that agent can be part of a messenger service. In those cases, you pay a little extra for the ticket but somebody else picks it up for you.

While not legal in every state, we saw an Iraqi man use thelotter.com to buy a ticket a few years ago in Oregon and he was paid directly by the lottery there in the way he chose, and anonymously because of his special circumstances of living in a war zone. Whereas the state usually requires jackpot winners to reveal their identity, that requirement was waived in this situation for obvious reasons.

Even though lotteries operated in concert with the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) have commonalities, most notably a shared jackpot pool, players still need to collect winnings in the state the ticket was sold. You could mail in a winning ticket or claim it in person, but we doubt the US Postal Service would insure a nearly one-billion dollar ticket, or if anyone would want to plop a $0.60 stamp on an envelope with it, drop it in a box, and go about their day. Almost everybody, including the man in Iraq with his messenger service’s help, must claim big winnings in person.

Jackpot winners will only have so many days to claim their prizes – this will vary by jurisdiction but is always at least 90 days from the date of sale. Of course, legal counsel should be sought right away after securing a winning ticket but it should be recorded with the proper lottery authorities and claimed as soon as possible. To drive the expiration date home, the winner of a $1.5B jackpot in California (with 6-month expiry) recently waited until scant hours before the opportunity expired to claim their ticket.

You’ll have to claim the winnings on your tax return and most likely pay taxes on the winnings. Sadly, overall the lottery is already a poor man’s tax – the rich don’t need more money so they play the game less than people who may need it the most, and the odds are simply the worst. That said, the top tax bracket in the US is currency 37% and no matter where you live or how much income you have otherwise, the IRS will take 25% of your winnings before you ever see them.

With all of that…

Two things remain true – you can’t win if you don’t play and you should never expect to win or chase a jackpot, no matter how you choose to gamble.

Source: The Wildest Rules You Didn’t Know Powerball and Mega Millions Winners Must Follow After Hitting the Jackpot, People, July 21, 2023

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Ontario iGaming Q1 2023, Full Year 2022 Numbers Out – Casinos are Smashing It

ontario-igaming_q1_2023_full_year_2022_numbers_out_casinos_are_smashin_itOntario iGaming has released a market report for the first quarter of 2023, and online casinos continue to hammer online single-event sports betting in the free commercial market. More than 80% of the action (83%) and over 70% of the nascent market’s revenues came from casino gaming rather than sports betting.

The numbers starkly contrast with some of the projected estimates coming out of the Canadian province before the market opening in early 2022. Those numbers seem to have all but disappeared from the news, being overwhelmed by the sheer reality of what it is in fact, that Canadians like to bet on casino games a lot more than they care to bet on sports.

iGaming Ontario Fiscal Year Began April 1

When referring to first quarter numbers, the information relates to (Q1) of the 2023-24 fiscal year which ran from April 1 through June 30, 2023.

Outside and casual observers might also be surprised which sports got the most action with basketball leading hockey by orders of magnitude. Sports bettors were “turned off” by betting ads all over television and other media and the country hasn’t won a Stanley Cup in ice hockey for three decades.

That being said, online casinos dominated the money story with over 5x as much in wagers ($11.6B vs $2.B) than sports betting but operator win was much less as a percentage of turnover, as is to be expected, when comparing the amount of money players left on the tables, in the virtual slots, and on the book. Casinos produced $392M in revenue as opposed to the $182M that betting generated.

The market currently has 71 gambling sites in operation, five less than at the end of the year but has picked up one additional operator. The number of active accounts has shrunken a bit as well to less than one million.

However, it must be kept in mind that it does not mean there are a million online gamblers in the province that play at regulated, taxed, and licensed websites as each account is counted separately.

The minimum number of participants could be as few as 12,958 or as many as 920,000. Among other reasons, since many operators only allow one bonus across all of their websites, it’s highly unlikely any but a small handful of customers have over 50 separate accounts, but it’s also a stretch to think that nearly anyone has less than half a dozen – making the probable number of actual active players fall somewhere on the lower end of the spectrum, but still in the hundreds of thousands.

The average spend per active player account during Q1 was $197.

Money wagered on slots was more than that wagered on all table games combined, and here again the apples and oranges must be sorted out. Slots spins happen more rapidly than table game bets in succession so the games will see a lot more betting, however, table game bets – both virtual and live dealer casino bets, are usually larger. Regardless, slots made up some 48% of all wagers while live casino games made up about 32% of all gaming wagers with virtual random number generator-based table games accounting for at least 8% of the remainder while peer-to-peer bingo games made up the rest.

This quarterly report was the first time that game-by-game volumes could be extracted from an iGaming Ontario report.

First Full-Year Numbers Released in Tandem

Following is a breakdown of the 2022/2023 fiscal year numbers (FY2022-23 – April 4, 2022, to March 31, 2023) as provided by the authority.

  • Last year, casino games, including slots, live and computer-based table games as well as peer-to-peer bingo, accounted for nearly $28B (78%) of total wagers and $940M (67%) of gaming revenue.
  • Betting, including traditional sports, esports, proposition, and novelty bets accounted for $7B (20%) of total wagers and $433M (31%) of gaming revenue last year.
  • P2P poker accounted for $992M (3%) of total wagers and $40M (3%) of gaming revenue last year.

None of the numbers above in any section include Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) information, which will be released at a later date. As such, it is not possible to directly infer any amount of direct losses or cannibalization to the long-existing Crown Corporation public/private partnership operation which formerly ran a monopoly on Canadian-licensed casino games through its PlayOLG website.

As always, Canadians in Ontario and other provinces are free to bet at offshore casinos as well – with those numbers still obscured by a lack of centralized regulatory reporting in jurisdictions such as Malta or any reporting from licensing jurisdictions like Curacao which handle those operators.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission does not provide market reports either.

“As part of its commitment to sharing aggregate revenue and market insight reports, iGO intends to continue releasing, at minimum, a market report every quarter,” iGO said Wednesday.

Source: iGaming Ontario’s FY 2023-24 Q1 Market Performance Report, iGaming Ontario, July 19, 2023

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