Sun Dreams SA, born out of a partnership between South African casino company Sun International and Chile’s Dreams SA, is now officially the proud owner of four casinos in Peru. Thunderbird Resorts Incorporated handed over the keys in a deal that was first announced last October, G3Newsire reported. While certainly not the most expensive casino deal ever recorded, not many would balk at the chance to pick up $26 million in cash, which Thunderbird received for the sale.

Thunderbird Resorts flies out of PeruThe four casinos include the Luxor Casino Lima, Fiesta Hotel and Casino Lima, Mystic Slots Cusco and Luxor Casino Tacna. The deal was initially expected to be finalized in January, but was delayed over regulatory hurdles and “transactional conditions.” In a statement provided to the Chilean Financial Markets committee, Sun Dreams’ General Manager Jaime Wilhelm said, “The purchase is part of Sun Dreams SA’s international expansion plans and is expected to have a positive impact on the company’s results, due to the incorporation of assets that generated revenues in the last 12 months of approximately US$19.6 million and the extension of the average duration of the company’s gaming licenses as a result of a regulatory framework that delivers continuously renewable gaming licenses.”

Thunderbird was founded as International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation in 1994, and started by providing equipment and expertise to the Native American casino markets. It opened its first casino in Guatemala City, Guatemala, in 1997 and followed that up the following with a 20-year contract to operate four casinos in Panama. Over the years, it expanded to other Central and South America countries and subsequently changed its name in 2005 to Thunderbird Resorts.

Thunderbird isn’t exiting the gambling business completely. It still operates other casinos in various Latin American countries, as well as a mixed-use, 19-story tower in Lima, Peru. That building houses a hotel with 66 suites, 58,125 square feet of leasable office space and 158 underground parking spaces. Thunderbird plans on releasing its 2017 Annual Report by the end of this month, in which it will detail what it plans for its remaining assets. It is traded on the Euronext Amsterdam under the trading symbol TBIRD.

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Declaring an “educational emergency,” Texas gubernatorial candidate Andrew White (D) revealed a $9 billion plan to improve the public school system throughout the Lone Star State.

And under his governorship, he says casinos would help cover the increased costs.

White says he’ll pay for the massive spending package by removing commercial property tax breaks, redirecting nearly $1 billion in border security funds, and “expand gaming at horse tracks for $3 billion.”

Schools across Texas are facing budget challenges, and White believes gaming can help cover the gap. The state is currently home to tribal casinos that feature slot machines, as well as parimutuel wagering at horse racetracks.

Any gaming expansion would need to be approved through a constitutional ballot referendum, with residents backing it by a two-thirds majority.

Polls Shrinking

In recent polls conducted by Quinnipiac University, White and his fellow Democratic challenger Lupe Valdez have both closed within 10 percent of Republican incumbent Gregg Abbott. White is hoping to win over some more left-leaning voters by looking to education.

His plan calls for giving all teachers an immediate $5,000 compensation or tuition bonus, reducing voucher programs that support charters, increasing the cost of living adjustment for retirees, and affording all public high school students who graduate with a 3.0 GPA or higher a $5,000 scholarship to any state college.

Valdez too supports increased funding for education, but he isn’t so sure expanded gambling is the answer. “I’m not sure that the good outweighs the bad,” Valdez told the San Antonio Express-News. “I can be convinced, though.”

Quinnipiac has Abbott ahead of White 48-41 in a head-to-head matchup. The current governor’s lead is slightly larger on Valdez, 49-40.

The last Texas governor with a “D” by their name was Ann Richards, whose one term ended in 1995. She was defeated by George W. Bush, who of course would go on to become the 43rd president of the United States.

White’s father Mark, also a Democrat, served as the governor of Texas for one term in the 1980s.

Bettors Like Valdez

Gambling on election results is predominantly illegal in the US, but online prediction market PredictIt.org uses an educational loophole that allows people to take “shares” of political outcomes.

A poll conducted by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune in February, the last Democratic primary poll released, had Valdez far ahead of White at 43-24 percent.

PredictIt users agree, as shares of Valdez winning the May 22 runoff are selling for 85 cents, while White shares can be purchased for just 20 cents. Winning shares will each be paid $1.

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Singapore Second Minister for Manpower and Home Affairs Josephine Teo said this week the country needs to consolidate its casino and gambling regulations in order to protect the industry that provides critical revenue to the federal government.

Appearing at an event celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), Teo said it’s time to combine regulatory responsibilities in order to have less federal agencies involved.

“This piecemeal approach will not be sustainable or adequate to deal with the growing complexities of the gambling landscape and products,” Teo declared, as reported by Singapore’s The Business Times.

She pointed to expanding competition in nearby Asian countries, specifically Japan and the Philippines, were integrated resorts continue to develop. Japan’s national legislature is thought to be basing its forthcoming commercial casino law on Singapore’s gaming blueprint.

The CRA’s parent agency is the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Looking to Improve

It’s been eight years since Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands opened their multibillion-dollar IRs. While the two casinos have grown tourism to the Southeast Asia nation and delivered billions of dollars in tax revenue to the government, Singapore is readying to better perfect its gambling industry.

Along with the two IRs, Singapore is home to remote gambling companies, as well as private clubs that are permitted to house certain slot machines.

But separate government agencies oversee the three gaming sectors. Teo says it’s time to unify all regulatory aspects into one department in order to allow the markets to evolve and create a more “holistic and coherent” supervisory system.

Teo ended her speech at the CRA’s Workplan Seminar on Friday by calling on the government authority to adapt to the changing environment in order and develop strategies to improve Singapore’s gaming industries over the next decade.

Singapore vs. Japan

A decade ago, Singapore’s government crafted what’s become the gold standard for gaming in Asia. Japan is finally readying to tap into the billions of dollars in potential revenue, and is closely reviewing Singapore to make its conditions as attractive as possible to commercial gaming operators.

Japan’s National Diet is expected to release its IR regulatory measure to parliament on April 27.

As for taxes, Japan lawmakers are thought to be mulling 30 percent on gross gaming revenue. In Singapore, premium VIP play is taxed at an effective rate of 12 percent, and mass market play at 22 percent.

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Let me begin by saying that it was an awesome week, and I’m glad that my cold kicked in as soon as I got home. There would have been no way to suffer through a week of being a miserable sick whiny-pants like I was upon my return.

When I think of London, the first thing that comes to my mind are the pubs. Max did a great job and found us a new one to check out The Angel Pub (101 Bermondsey Wall E) which has Samuel Smith’s Extra Stout – a Casinomeister favorite – it’s the same beer that the Chandos has – another one of our haunts. Anyway, we sat and chilled out and discussed the PABs from last year.

There was a massive increase in 2017 as opposed to 2016, and there are several reasons for that. For one, we think people are more inclined to use a third party arbitrator like our PAB service – which is a good thing. Another reason is that many of the PABs we are getting are “shotgunned” attempts to get their problems solved. They will submit a complaint with thePogg, AskGamblers, and us to see which one gets through. This is a bit frustrating since many of these are hit and runs – we never hear from these people again. Not even an update. So we need to solve this issue by modifying the PAB instructions that allow members to use only one ADR service at a time.

We were soon joined by Adnan, who has recently launched Karjala Casino (Finnish facing) and Agent Spinner. He joined us for a couple of brews at this Angel pub – whihc is really a quaint and unique place. It was a fantastic choice for a first stop. We had a nice talk about the current state of the industry and about his two casinos. They are almost ready for a Baptism by Fire – but not quite yet. Agent Spinner sounds pretty amazing.

From there we sauntered out – braving the sharp wind – freaking cold, almost like Germany – and it snowed when I left. We were on our way to our annual traditional dinner with Micki from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, who has been a friend of mine for a very long time. She is a pioneer of this industry – she has been extremely influential to loads of us. Other guests were other key persons of the the KGC to include their tribal chief Chief Norton, and other notable pioneers like Sue Schneider and Jetset, Max and me. It was an awesome dinner in the Le Pont de la Tour restaurant by the Thames, and we discussed a number of things – everything from some of our experiences of the old days of online gaming to Trump America. Yay.

Leaving at the wee hours, I had forgotten how cold London can be at night – with the winds whipping up from the icy blackness of the Thames. I had forgotten to put on a scarf.

And then came Tuesday – the first day of the ICE and our cherished traditional Meister Meeting.

For you newbie readers, the International Casino Exhibition (ICE) has been held in London annually in January/February. This was my 18th attendance to the exhibition – my first being in 2001 (ICE 2001 Casinomeister Report).

Back in the day, there were no affiliate programs per se – I attended to meet up with software providers because they were my main point of contact in case any complaints came my way. I remember meeting Roger Raatgever the CEO of Microgaming (who still holds this position by the way) in his booth with a handful of other employees. I think the booth measured about four meters by four meters at the very most – empty except for a couple of tables and some chairs. It was one of the largest in the bunch in the lonely upstairs section of Earls Court where the Internet Gaming section was. He was chuffed to meet me. He knew who I was – or at least the site Casinomeister – he, along with others, had used Casinomeister as a reference back then. I was amazed back then who knew me or who was aware of the site. And I also was surprised on how many people who were getting in the business who had no connections with any player community. How do you think you know what players want when you’ve never read about their wants, needs or wishes? Things have not changed in this aspect. There are plenty of new people who haven’t a clue. They are profit driven opportunists.

One thing for sure – the ICE has become bloated beyond anything imaginable. Going to the modern day ICE is a task of endurance. How far can you walk? Who has the most presumptuous booth? Who can put on the best “dog and pony” show? Max and I were a bit bemused and disconcerted on how many new operations there were – software companies, payment processors, many we had never heard of, who have no connection whatsoever to the grass roots of the industry: the player communities. And we walked the walk – looking for familiar faces or the chance freebie – like some food. I always seem to skip breakfast at these shows, which is never a good thing.

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Macau’s Judiciary Police have arrested a local man for fraud and participating in organized crime in relation to a cryptocurrency launch on Tuesday that asserted apparently bogus partnerships with Macau’s top junket operators.

A police spokesman said they were seeking ten other suspects under the same charges.

A company called Lantai Digital Application Technology Co Ltd had claimed to potential investors that its new digital currency tokens could be changed into gaming chips in casinos across the world and could also be used for online gaming.

As well as claiming close relationships with the junkets, Lantai said it had partnered with casino operator Landing International on the venture.

Landing and Junkets Deny Links

But earlier this week, Landing, along with several top junket operators, said they had no knowledge of Lantai or its cryptocurrency. They reserved the right to take legal action against the company over any unauthorized use of their trade names and logos for the purposes of marketing or promotion, they said.

Lei Hon Nei of the Judiciary Police noted in statement on Friday that the names of junket companies were written on congratulatory flower baskets presented to potential investors at Tuesday’s launch. “But these flower baskets were actually not sent by these junkets and companies,” said Lei.

“We would like to express our deep apology to the affected gaming firms, and are willing to bear any losses incurred thereof,” it said.

Lantai Threatens Venus Group

But in a follow up statement on Thursday the company’s tone had changed. It claimed it had, in fact, formed a partnership Macau junket the Venus Group, which had been one of the firms that had earlier denied any involvement with the company.

Lantai said the “so-called clarification statement” from Venus contained “a malicious intent to direct the whole case onto Lantai.”

“Lantai reserves the right to take action against Venus Group,” it added.

On Friday, the police said they weren’t buying it.

“We have not found any Macau junkets that have worked with this company regarding the developing of its cryptocurrency,” Lei said. “We believe that there are people using false information to attract the public to subscribe to the so-called cryptocurrency that they claim is a cooperation project with Macau junkets.”

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Shortly after regaining her voting power, Elaine Wynn has already made her first request—to overhaul Wynn Resorts’ board of not-so-young directors.

Elaine Wynn wants new blood on Wynn Resorts boardWynn, currently the casino operator’s largest single shareholder with 9.26% stake, sent a letter to the current board of directors on Tuesday, in which she requested sweeping changes in a bid to “fully restore” Wynn Resorts‘ reputation. Specifically, Wynn wanted the board to “reopen the window” for at least 60 days ahead of the 2018 annual general meeting so shareholders can nominate directors and propose other business.

“I hereby request that… the board take steps that would allow for a majority of the board to be comprised of new directors effective at the 2018 annual meeting,” Wynn wrote.

To achieve this, Wynn outlined two “possible paths.” The first involved declassifying the board, or the existing directors could vote to increase its size so “the newly elected directors would constitute a majority of the board.”

Fret not, however, because Elaine Wynn said she doesn’t intend to nominate herself, or anyone closely associated with her, either personally or professionally. Instead, Elaine Wynn wants nominees who have requisite expertise and “would be highly respected and, in most cases, have significant public company experience.”

Elaine Wynn also sought to put all of the casino company’s major transactions on hold until after the new board has been installed, possibly alluding to reports that Wynn Resorts is considering selling Wynn Boston Harbor.

The new board of directors should be able to help Wynn Resorts address its existing challenges, which include allegations of decades-long sexual misconduct against its founder and former Chairman Steve Wynn. The one-time King of Las Vegas stepped down, sold his stock, and more recently, settled all litigation with his ex-wife, Elaine, in connection with the alleged breach of a stockholders agreement in 2012.

Steve Wynn was considered a strategic visionary, not to mention Wynn Resorts’ chief diplomat, and his complete departure poses a challenge to the company and its board of not-so-young directors—a sentiment that Elaine Wynn apparently shared.

“Because all of the candidates I nominate would, by definition, they would not be in a position to have their independence questioned due to excessively long tenure—unlike some of the incumbent directors who have served for over 15 years,” she wrote.

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Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito are set to present the much-awaited Integrated Resorts bill before the Japanese Diet on April 27, according to a Reuters report.

Much-awaited Japan casino bill finds its way (finally) to DietChikako Ikeda, an official at the LDP’s political affairs committee, announced that the bill is ready to be tabled on Wednesday, after a month of ironing out the nitty-gritty of the IR bill provisions. Much of the discussions between LDP and Komeito centered on new rules that will govern Japan’s first casinos, including the push for allowing six Japanese cities to host the integrated resorts.

Initially, both parties locked horns on the number of licenses that Japan will give out. The LDP came in very aggressively with a proposal for either five or six licenses, while Komeito has proposed limiting casino licenses to two or three locations.

They also deliberated on the issue of Japanese casino visitation. Unlike the LDP, the junior coalition partner wanted to limit residents’ casino visits to no more than three times a week and 10 times per month.

In the end, Ikeda said that both parties reached a compromise on many provisions, allowing the bill to finally move forward.

Citing the latest draft proposal, Reuters reported that IR bill will mandate the government to set an upper limit on casino floor space. The coalition party also agreed on 30 percent tax on casino revenue, an entry fee of JPY6,000 (US$55.92) for residents of Japan and an initial cap of three casino sites nationwide.

In its note on Monday, international brokerage Morgan Stanley described Japan’s casino framework as better than feared.

A Morgan Stanley analyst pointed out that the proposed 30 percent tax rate will support return on invested capital of 14 to 20 percent. In terms of the proposed entry-fee for locals, the international brokerage noted that JPY6, 000 is roughly half of what Singaporeans pay.

The U.S. financial institution also revised the predicted value of Japan’s casino market to $15 billion per year by 2025 from its earlier valuation of $7 billion to $20 billion.

However, casino operators may still need to hold their breath once the casino bill is filed. First, there’s uncertainty whether the bill will pass during the current session of Parliament given the fact that the Japanese lawmakers are already going through a mountain of bills. There’s also the growing unpopularity of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the leading proponent of casinos in Japan, who has been dragged into a suspected cronyism scandal. And more importantly, the casino bill is still unpopular with the Japanese public to date.

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Connecticut shouldn’t allow tribal casino operators to proceed with the opening of a $300 million casino resort in East Windsor or doom will fall upon the state, according to Attorney General George Jepsen.

Connecticut AG deals major blow to East Windsor casino planThe Hartford Courant reported that state House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz sought the legal opinion of the attorney general as lawmakers juggled different gambling-related bills, including the proposed scrapping of the East Windsor casino license and the opening up of the state to competitive bidding for expanded gambling.

In his reply, Jepsen warned lawmakers on Tuesday that Connecticut might jeopardize the state’s lucrative revenue sharing agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal casino operators should the opening of East Windsor casino proceed.

Jepsen made a thorough evaluation on the two tribes’ proposal to disregard the current lack of federal approval and proceed with construction of their joint venture casino in East Windsor, eventually arriving at a conclusion that the plan would be detrimental to the state.

“Because of the inherent legal uncertainty and novelty associated with such a course of action, we remain of the view that, in the absence of federal approval of the amendments, the state would remain at substantial risk of the termination…of the revenue-sharing agreements,” Jepsen wrote.

Jepsen also reminded the lawmakers that the joint venture between the tribes to build an East Windsor casino still lacked the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) blessing.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) requires the BIA to either approve or disapprove amended tribal-state gaming compacts within 45 days, but Zinke has so far refused to issue a final ruling on Connecticut’s plan.

Since the East Windsor casino would be off tribal lands, a BIA official said in September that the bureau saw no reason to weigh in on a commercial casino project. The state filed a lawsuit asking the court to order Zinke to publish a notice of approval of the amended compacts. BIA’s inaction prompted Connecticut’s two gaming tribes to join the state in suing the federal government in December.

“Although we have confidence in the position we have taken that these amendments are deemed approved, it remains possible the court could rule adversely,” Jepsen said. “To take action on the assumption that the state and the tribes will succeed in the ongoing litigation would be highly imprudent.”

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