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Playtech Signs Agreement with Boyd Interactive for Stardust Online Casinos

boyd-interactives-stardust-online-casinos-to-feature-playtech-gamesPlaytech, the global supplier of technology and gaming content for online casinos, has announced it reached an agreement with Boyd Interactive, one of the top online casino operators in the United States.

The deal will see the online casinos operated by Boyd Interactive under the Stardust brand in the United States feature both slot games and table games provided by Playtech. Live dealer games from the supplier are also included in the agreement.

The content will be rolled out in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including popular titles such as Age of the Gods, Gold Rush: Cash Collect and Adventures Beyond Wonderland, along with live casino titles such as Adventures Beyond Wonderland, along with different variants of Roulette and Baccarat.

Boyd Interactive appeared on the iGaming scene in 2022, when Boyd Gaming acquired Pala Interactive and all its subsidiaries in a deal worth 170 million dollars. After the acquisition the company was rebranded as Boyd Interactive and shortly after that it launched its Stardust online casinos in the spring of 2023.

In October 2023 Boyd Gaming announced that it had registered healthy online growth as the company’s revenue recorded an increase in the third quarter of the current year.

Expecting Mutual Success

Speaking about the partnership with Boyd Interactive, Marcus Yoder, the Chief Commercial Officer of Playtech USA, declared himself confident that the agreement would bring “mutual success” to the two companies and added that the American company has a “reputation for excellence.”

The Playtech executive added that Boyd Gaming has “expanded its long-standing tradition” on the American gambling market by launching the Stardust online casinos, which aim to deliver “unique entertainment experiences into the online space.”

Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Interactive, declared himself “excited” by the addition of games from Playtech into the offerings of Stardust both in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Playtech has been gaining more and more ground on the United States market this year. In July the company formally announced its plans to launch a live casino game show broadcast from a dedicated studio in New Jersey, while in November it launched a new live casino studio in Pennsylvania.

Source: “Playtech Partners with Boyd Interactive to Launch Games for Stardust Online Casinos in the United States“. Playtech. December 20, 2023.

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Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Damaging Nevada Solar Array Linked to MGM Casinos

The man who drove his car through a fence at a solar power facility and then created a blaze pled guilty in Las Vegas court last week.

Mohammed Mesmarian
Mohammed Mesmarian in a mug shot, pictured above. He pled guilty last week in connection with damage to a solar complex in Nevada. (Image: LVMPD)

Mohammed Mesmarian, 35, a one-time Colorado dentist, entered guilty pleas to two reduced charges: second-degree arson and malicious destruction of property, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

Initially, he was charged with committing an act of terrorism, arson, destroying or injuring real or personal property of another, and escape by a felony prisoner for the Jan. 3 incident.

Emotional Illness

He’s also claiming he’s suffering from emotional illness, so a judge could order that he receives treatment for mental health issues.

Mesmarian is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18. He could head to prison or be given probation, KLAS reported.

Earlier this year, Mesmarian was ruled emotionally unfit for trial by Clark County District Court Judge Christy Craig, the Associated Press reported.

He was sent temporarily to a Nevada forensic psychiatric institution. Before the judge made the ruling, at least two psychiatrists examined Mesmarian.

His actions damaged a transformer and other infrastructure at the facility. Power was knocked out for weeks until repairs were made. When the power was out, MGM Resorts properties were able to find alternative sources of energy by turning to the grid.

Court Outburst

On Jan. 5, Mesmarian was arrested. He was located by police at a campground in Boulder Beach at Lake Mead.

Earlier this year, when he first appeared in court, Mesmarian blasted out, “There’s so much wrong in the whole system since I entered here. Nothing’s right. Just a bunch of Black people stuck in a room together.”

In a statement to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers, Mesmarian denied committing sabotage.

Complex Details

The complex where the incident took place is the Mega Solar Array facility. It’s located on U.S. 93, north of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The array is in the desert, some 25 miles from Las Vegas.

Chicago-based Invenergy operates the facility, and it provides power to 13 MGM Resorts properties.

The MGM Resorts Mega Array project — a key component of the gaming company’s long-term climate strategy — is the world’s largest renewable energy plant serving the gaming industry. It delivers 100 megawatts of power captured by 336K panels installed on 640 acres.

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Las Vegas Culinary Union to Picket Caesars, MGM Casinos This Week

Culinary Local 226, the union representing 53,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas, has inched closer to a possible Strip-choking strike. On Monday, it called for thousands to picket in front of eight casino resorts to pressure their owners to negotiate a deal for a new five-year contract.

The two-hour “informational” picket lines are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12 in front of Park MGM, Paris Las Vegas, and The Linq. Picketers are then expected to fan out to the sidewalks in front of Harrah’s, Flamingo, Horseshoe, Planet Hollywood, and New York-New York.

The last time the Culinary Union went on strike in Las Vegas was in 1984. (Image: Courtesy Culinary Union Local 226)

Instead of walking off the job, workers will join the picket lines before or after their shifts, according to a media release from Local 226, which asks all members of the public to “stand in solidarity with workers by not eating, meeting, or staying in a casino resort during an active picket line.”

The last time Culinary went on strike was in 1984. More than 17,000 union workers walked off the job alongside three other unions in what Local 226 called “one of the largest strikes in Las Vegas history.” Workers picketed for 67 days.

‘Disappointing’ Negotiations

Negotiations are ongoing between the union and the three largest Strip employers — MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts. However, Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the union, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday that the progress made so far is “very disappointing.”

No strike deadline has yet been set. However, late last month, the unions announced that 95% of its Las Vegas restaurant and hotel workers voted to authorize a strike as their contracts expired. About 40,000 union members now work under expired contracts, according to the union, and they would be the first picket if a strike were called.

“There is now an active labor dispute with 18 casino properties across the Las Vegas Strip,” the union’s press release said, indicating that it can call a strike at “any date or time.”

The union is singling out MGM and Caesars properties first because it demands new language in its contracts’ no-strike clauses that allows the union to strike against non-union restaurants on union properties. This is not an issue at Wynn.

Other key proposals include substantial wage and benefit increases, expanded safety and technology language, and reduced workload for guest room attendants.

 

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SOFTSWISS Identifies 54 Key Performance Indicators for Online Casinos and Sportsbooks

softswiss-shares-54-vital-kpis-for-online-casinos-and-sportsbooksSOFTSWISS, the well-known provider of software and content for online casinos and sports betting websites, has put its experts to work and they came up with a comprehensive list of key performance indicators (KPI) that they consider vital for any iGaming business.

The list is available inside a guide that can be downloaded for free from the SOFTSWISS website. The document is supposed to help increase understanding of the most important key performance indicators in iGaming.

The content available in this guide is divided into four distinct parts:

  • The Financial Metrics section focuses not only on well-known indicators such as Gross Gaming Revenue and Net Gaming Revenue, but also on some less used but equally important metrics such as Average Revenue Per User, Conversion Rate and Customer Acquisition Cost.
  • The Player Engagement Metrics chapter underlines the importance of engagement indicators such as Active Players, Depositing Players Count and Total Deposits Sum.
  • The next section is the Operational Metrics one, and it goes into strategies related to player acquisition and retention, focusing mainly on these indicators’ role in major sporting events.
  • Last but not least, the Analytical Tools and Trends section goes into the correct usage of real-time dashboards and data warehouses, along with the increasing importance of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Developing In The Most Efficient Way

The list of 54 key performance indicators includes a brief definition of each item, along with formula, type and keynote regarding its impact on the business. If we take the example of Net Gaming Revenue, it is described as a top-level key performance indicator, which can provide a clear snapshot of the respective online casino’s financial health.

The close monitoring of this metric allows operators to have a clear evaluation of their operational efficiency and also to make informed decisions regarding the optimization of their operations or about expansion plans.

Speaking about the launch of this guide, Max Trafimovic, Chief Commercial Officer at SOFTSWISS, explained that the company is trying to help online casino and sportsbook operators to “develop their businesses in the most efficient way.”

The SOFTSWISS executive also added that if online casino and sportsbook operators manage to align key performance indicators with business goals, then they “can develop a robust and adaptable strategy that sets them apart in the highly-competitive iGaming landscape.”

This is not the first iGaming guide that SOFTSWISS releases, the company has recently published a comprehensive market report called ‘iGaming in Brazil’. This exclusive report gives people in the industry a clear overview of the Brazilian iGaming scene, a vital tool for companies that might want to launch an online casino or a sportsbook in the respective region.

Source: “SOFTSWISS Shares 54 Vital KPIs for Online Casinos and Sportsbooks“. SOFTSWISS. September 22, 2023.

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Gateway Casinos CEO Tony Santo Dead, Gaming Exec Had Planned Retirement Before Pandemic

Gateway Casinos Chief Executive Officer Tony Santo has died at the age of 61, a statement from the Canadian gaming operator confirmed on Friday.

Gateway Casinos Tony Santo Canada
Gateway Casinos CEO Tony Santo has died at the age of 61. Details surrounding his death aren’t known at this time. (Image: Gateway Casinos)

Santo was a casino industry veteran who joined Gateway in 2013 as its president and CEO. He was appointed to the publicly traded company’s board in July 2017.

No details were provided regarding Santo’s death, though the Gateway statement called his passing “untimely.”

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tony Santo,” said Gateway Casinos President Tolek Strukoff.

“His mission was to establish Gateway as Canada’s premier entertainment and gaming company. You could often find Tony visiting sites and staff from dawn to dusk connecting about their work, families, and lives. Tony was an iconic leader in the US and Canada and grew Gateway from a small regional gaming company to one of the largest gaming companies in Canada. However, Tony would say himself he didn’t do it – we did it together,” said Strukoff.

Planned Retirement

Santo obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he studied hospitality and gaming. In 2004, the UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality named him the school’s “Alumnus of the Year.”

Santo held numerous executive capacities in Las Vegas and oversaw several Strip properties, including Bally’s Grand (today Horseshoe Las Vegas), Las Vegas Hilton (today the Westgate), and Paris. Santo later oversaw Caesars Entertainment’s mid-south regional properties before becoming senior vice president of the entire company.

Santo then took his talents north to Canada where he led Gateway into becoming one of the largest gaming operators in the country. Gateway operates 14 properties in Ontario, three in British Columbia, and two in Alberta.

Santo announced his retirement on Dec. 30, 2019, but the ensuring coronavirus put those plans on hold. Santo stayed on the job to help navigate the company through the most challenging time.

Gateway employs approximately 7,000 people and operates nearly 14,000 slot machines and 350 table games across its portfolio.

Recent Cyberattack

Gateway Casinos earlier this year was hit with a ransomware attack that resulted in the company temporarily shuttering its 14 casinos in Ontario. In mid-April, Gateway abruptly closed its Ontario gaming floors after its information technology department determined that a cyberattack had successfully infiltrated its network.

The company initially said the incident did not result in employee or customer data being compromised. But more than a month later, the company conceded that such confidential information was likely obtained.

Since April, Gateway has been gradually restoring its IT systems with extensive assistance from external cybersecurity experts, and as the systems are restored, is investigating potential impacts on personal information,” a June letter to employees read. “While our investigation remains ongoing, Gateway understands that the incident likely resulted in the theft of personal information of certain current and prior employees.”

It was only then that Gateway began offering free credit-monitoring services for its Ontario workers.

Gateway’s executives were scolded by employees and the union that represents them for not acting sooner with credit monitoring and other remedial action. Cybersecurity expert Ritesh Kotak added that personal information sold on the dark web “is out there forever.”

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