Josh Andrews

The Drew Las Vegas Casino Resort Set to Open in 2020

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Global development firm Witkoff and Marriott International have partnered in a bid to open a new integrated resort and casino on the site of a project that was previously known as the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The large casino-resort whose construction on the Las Vegas Strip has been left unfinished since 2009 is now scheduled to launch towards the end of 2020 under a new moniker – The Drew Las Vegas.

The site initially hosted the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino that opened in 1948, after which it was later renamed to Silverbird then El Rancho before it was finally closed in 1992. Eight years later in 2000, Fountainbleau Resorts purchased the property but after imploding El ranch bought additional acreage and began a construction project that was halted in 2009 before it was sold to Icahn Enterprises’ L.P.’s majority shareholder Carl Icahn for $600 million.

In addition to featuring a casino and about 4,000 rooms and suites, the new luxury entertainment project will also be hosting the Las Vegas strip’s first JW Marriot. Also, once open, Marriot International will be responsible for managing the hotels.

“It is going to be a design-forward building, and when we bring it all together, people are going to say, ‘I really want to come back,’” said Steven Witkoff, chairman, and CEO of Witkoff. “The structure here is so well conceived, even from nine years ago, that there are a lot of possibilities for us to put our imprint from a design standpoint on that property.”

What to Expect

The resort is expected to include 50,000 square feet of convention and meeting space alongside a variety of nightlife, entertainment, retail and over 20 dining options. Witkoff further mentioned that while the building’s design is yet to be finalized, the existing eight-and-a-half acre pool deck will be redesigned to make it stand out among all other in Las Vegas.

Another project that is also in the works and has an anticipated 2020 launch date is the multibillion-dollar Resorts World Las Vegas that is going to lean more towards Chinese and Chinese-American tourists. In total, the two projects will be offering 7,000 rooms to the area and this will also be at about the same time that a mega expansion of the Las Vegas Conventions Centre will be completed. Looks like Sin City is about to get even more exciting.

Could Bitcoin’s Bounce Back to $10,000 Bring New Buyers?

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Yesterday (Thursday, February 15^th), bitcoin rose above the $10,000 mark, surpassing a critical level thanks to stronger trader sentiment. On the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), the digital currency soared to as high as $10,218. This consequentially made the bitcoin market, which is the largest digital currency market by capitalization, go up by more than 70 percent after a recent low of less than $6,000.

“Hitting $10k demonstrates the renewed energy in the crypto market, as it shakes off some of the volatility from the start of the year,” stated Iqbal Gandham, the UK Managing Director of eToro, a social trading platform.

In general, the cryptocurrency market has experienced wide-spread fluctuations in the last couple of months following speculations and rumors of a number of regulatory developments pertaining to how these digital assets are going to be handled. However, in sentiment driven markets, such as the bitcoin’s, key price levels changes like the bitcoin’s rise to $10,000 appears to attract new buyers who in turn help the price. Bitcoin’s recovery can also be attributed to statements from certain regulators which have gone a long way to alleviate fears of possible severe crackdowns which is a huge motivational factor for new buyers.

For the UK-based eToro social trading platform, user growth decelerated towards the end of January. This was at about the same time that bitcoin’s price started taking some rather significant hits. The rate of withdrawals, on the other hand, has not increased which implies that users were not selling out their bitcoin and that the demand for new customers could have contributed to the previous gains.

Investors Still Down $60 Billion in 2018

While bitcoin’s recovery should be a slice of hope for everyone in the community, investors who bought into the cryptocurrency at the beginning of the year will still have to brave a stormy period. The digital currency kicked off the year at $14,000, down from the $20,000 all-time high of December 2017. As such, since the year began, its market cap is still down by approximately $60 billion.

Overwatch’s Shanghai Dragons Announces First Female Player

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The Overwatch League has finally announced the first ever female player – there has been a tremendous amount of speculation regarding the matter in recent weeks and the League officially confirmed it on the team Twitter on Wednesday. The announcement also comes after recent discussions pertaining to the lack of female players in the very popular Esports title.

“I’m kind of shocked with the absence of women in the Overwatch League teams. For such a diverse game, with more than half of its roster being girls, it’s kind of disappointing. Girls play games too, and the lack of representation is not okay,” one critic pointed out on a Twitter post.

In what might seems to be an acknowledgment of concerns by critics, Shanghai Dragons, the team, announced the signing of four new players, who included Kim “Geguri” Se-Yeon, who will be the Overwatch League’s first female player. Joining Geguri will be Le “Fearless” Eui-Seok, He “Sky” Junjian and Chon “Ado” Gi-Hyeon.

The Shanghai Dragons have had a good number of wins in previous seasons and it seems that the only way to go is up. However, the team will have to brace itself for the uphill task it will have to try and make their way up the overall standings in a bid to reach the playoffs by the end of the season. The newly signed players are going to be a critical part of this journey. For instance, Fearless is a tank main who previously played with Element Mystic while Ado is a great DPS player with great strength on Genji and many other Attack heroes. Sky, also, is recognized mostly for his Ana play in China’s Miraculous Youngster squad – in essence, he will be adding a great deal of flexibility to the team.

Being the first ever female player in the Overwatch League is definitely going to make Geguri the biggest name of the four newly signed games, but she brings so much more to the table. She had her first brushes with mainstream popularity within the competitive gaming community for her Zarya play, where she had an amazing 80 percent win rate. While other players thought that she was cheating, it turns out that she just that good. The Shanghai Dragons also seemed to be particularly impressed by her expanded hero pool that now includes D.Va, Roadhog as well as Zarya at higher levels.

Hopefully, these new additions will better Shanghai Dragons’ luck – they have not won a single series in the first stage of the season.

MGM Cotai Finally Opens in Macau As License Renewal Looms

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On Tuesday, MGM Resorts International finally opened its $3.4 billion casino resorts in Macau, a venture that is latest big bet by foreign gaming operators on the Chinese gambling haven. MGM Cotai, the casino, opens after months of delays and will be the new highlight if Macau’s Cotai Strip with its 1,390-room hotel-casino offering. Also, with the Chinese Lunar New Year just around the corner, the casino is expected to draw in massive crowds within the next few days of its launch.

MGM Resorts International is one of the six licensed casino operators in Macau which is the only place in China where the citizens can gamble legally. However, MGM’s operational license in the region is due to expire in 2020 alongside SJM Holdings’ license. The other four operators, that is, Wynn Macau, Sands China, Melco Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment, on the other hand, will be able to operate normally until 2022 when their licenses expire.

While Macau authorities are yet to provide more information regarding the renewal of the licenses, the launch of the new MGM Casino in Cotai is anticipated to hasten the process in one way or the other. In fact, Grant Bowie, the chief executive of MGM China, MGM Resorts International’s Macau unit, believes that the launch was critical for the concession renewal process.

“Concession renewals will be determined on diversifying Macau into more than just a gaming town,” Bowie told a news conference.

Riding the Revenue Boom?

As the license expiration dates draw nearer, MGM Resorts and other operators have worked tirelessly towards diversifying their non-gaming offering in a bid to pacify Beijing which has grown more wary about Macau’s acute dependence and reliance on gambling – 80 percent of revenue in Macau is derived from gambling.

At the moment, Macau gambling revenues are on the upswing having risen by 19 percent in the last year to $34 billion following years of declining fortunes as a result of wealthy Chinese gamblers shying away from the casinos to avoid being probed by an extended corruption campaign by President Xi Jinping. These Chinese high rollers who are making a come-back to the casinos helped to propel Macau’s rapid transformation into what is now considered to be a global gambling powerhouse.

Analysts are anticipating that MGM Cotai will open with about 177 mass gaming tables. VIP gaming is expected to be handled by middlemen junkets that are likely to go live by the end of the first half of year alongside MGM Resorts’ luxury mansion villas.

New Sports Betting Measure Could Favor West Virginia Tracks

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West Virginia is on the verge of allowing sports betting and supposing everything goes well, a hoard of new jobs may come to the Northern Panhandle. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this will be the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort which will get quite a big boost.

According to the Eilers and Krejcik gaming research firm, about 700 full-time jobs will be created at the local tracks within the next five years thanks to sports betting. Also, an estimated additional 930 full-time jobs will be created in the state within the same five-year period – the economic impact from sports betting during this period would amount to $229 million.

The firm further predicted that the state would amass annual tax revenues amounting to up to $13.4 million in the first year based on a proposed tax rate of 10 percent on overall gross revenues from sports betting. By the fifth year, the amount is anticipated to rise to about $28.7 million.

The West Virginia Legislature is currently considering a bill that will make sports betting legal in the state in the likely case that Congress acts to legalize sports betting or the United States Supreme Court acts to permits states to venture into sports betting. These bipartisan measures were crafted by lawmakers who had worked alongside West Virginia Lottery Commission’s officials. The legislation will allow the tracks to be in charge of their own sports books as well as monitoring of sports betting activities. However, they would still be under the Lottery Commission’s vision.

“The casinos have the existing regulatory infrastructure in place, and the experience in the industry to implement sports betting in a secure environment and in a timely fashion,” said Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio. He mentioned that the lottery will be responsible for regulating sports betting in the same way as other casino games offered at the tracks and at the Greenbrier.

With the new legislation, West Virginians will not only be able to wager on sports game but they will also be allowed to bet on specific aspects of the game. Other gaming products like in-game betting will also go a long way in enhancing player experience and hopefully lure them away from the rampant illegal sports betting.

Cryptocurrency Mining Creates Huge Energy Demand in Iceland

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This year Iceland is likely to use more energy in mining digital currencies than what it will use to power homes in the country. Considering the large amounts of electric energy required by computers to mine the precious bitcoins, many prominent cryptocurrency mining companies have found Iceland to be the perfect spot for their operations thanks to the countries abundant geothermal and hydroelectric power plants. With this development, the current energy consumption by virtual currency mining companies is expected to double to 100 megawatts this year which is significantly higher than what all the island nation’s households will use collectively.

There are other factors that have attracted miners to the country. The first is that the companies do not need to pay taxes but given the buzz that their power consumption has been attracting, this will definitely not last long. Other important attractions for cryptocurrency mining companies is the natural cooling available for computer servers as well as the quite competitive prices for the available renewable energy. Obviously, this soaring demand for energy is a culmination of the equally soaring cost of digital currencies and Iceland seems to be the go-to place for companies that are seeking to optimize costs or get away from oppressive laws such as the ones in China following the crackdown on mining companies and ICOs.

As mentioned earlier, mining companies being exempted from taxes does not sit well with everyone in the country. Smari McCarthy, a lawmaker for Iceland’s Pirate Party has made the first step by proposing that the profits amassed by bitcoin miners should be taxed.

“Under normal circumstances, companies that are creating value in Iceland pay a certain amount of tax to the government,” McCarthy said. “These companies are not doing that and we might want to ask ourselves whether they should. We are spending tens or maybe hundreds of megawatts on producing something that has no tangible existence and no real use for humans outside the realm of financial speculation. That can’t be good.”

Pro Gaming: Could Esports Be the Future of the Olympics?

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This year’s Winter Olympics was graced by Esports or competitive video gaming is what is considered to be a warm-up of better things to come. Having been finally recognized as “real” sports by Olympic officials, Esports has its sights set on expanding more and eventually getting their own spot on the medal table.

The most recent debate on what the requirements pertaining to Esports relevance as part of the Olympics was rekindled by a gaming tournament of sorts that was held in PyongChang, which is also the venue of the ongoing Olympics. Professional video gamers who were brought in by Intel Corp, an Olympic sponsor, got the attention of everyone by playing Starcraft II. The game is known for being a real-time strategy game that demands tactical thinking, concentration, and even quick reflexes. While this may sound like the characteristics of any Olympic sport, the raging debate is about whether the rigorous requirements are sufficient to earn Esports a spot among other Olympic games.

A decent number of nations and the International Olympic Committee already recognize Esports as a “sporting activity” and thus it could go Olympic as early as 2024. Looking back at some of the key factors for its success outside all the Olympic buzz, Esports has certainly earned it;

It’s been with us for a while

Prior to the true beginning of Esports in 2000 when the Korea eSports Association (KeSPA) was created to promote and regulate Esports competitions, there were lots of video game competitions of varying scales. Remember Pac-man? Or Space Invaders? If anything is to make Esports Olympic-worthy, then, this is it.

It is a diverse and complete ecosystem

Today, Esports draws a flurry of different participants from all over the world just like regular physical sports. Other characteristics that make it such a worthy newcomer of the Olympics include the fact that it too has had its fair share of scandal. Controversies ranging from doping to abuse by Esports organizers are not completely unheard of in the Esports community. This is, of course, not something that we should be proud of but it does go a long way in proving the maturity of the Esports ecosystem as well as how serious the participants, stakeholders, and spectators are.

Resorts World Catskills Opens New Casino in Sullivan County

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After decades of waiting, the New York’s newest casino, a $1.2 billion project in the Catskills finally began operating. The Resort World Catskills casino is a 100,000-square-foot behemoth that sits on a site that is approximately 1,700 acres – which was previously owned by the former Concord Resort Hotel. This particular Resorts World Catskill project was spearheaded by Empire Resorts which also happens to be operating the Monticello Casino & Raceway in Sullivan County.

Resorts World Casino & Resorts becomes the fourth state-approved casino to open since December 2016. The state currently hosts three other commercial, non-Indian casinos – the Tioga Downs Casino in Nichols, Tioga County; del Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre, Seneca County; and the Rivers Casino in Schenectady.

What To Expect

Already, there are huge expectations being mounted on the new casinos. For instance, the Resorts World officials are projecting that the complex will draw about 4 million visitors every year. Also, the operator’s management held job fairs in Orange and Sullivan Counties this winter in order to fill around 1,400 vacancies the casino would have when it finally launched. As it stands, this has been handled quite well and the state officials have confirmed that about three-quarters of the 1,300 permanent employees that the casino hired were either women or minorities. The number will eventually be bumped up by adding 600 more permanent employees next year when a planned indoor water park, entertainment village and the Concord’s redesigned Monster golf course open.

Resorts World Catskills’ Sullivan County complex boasts of a 100,000-square-foot floor comprising of a whopping 2,151 slot machines, 150 exciting table games as well as a poker room. Also available at the venue is a meeting space and 27,000 square feet of entertainment.

Customers will also be treated to some dining options including the Cellaio – restaurant operated by celebrity chef Scott Conant – which will be offering an Italian-style steakhouse menu. The casino will further host Good Friends Market and Lotus, both of which are outstanding Asian restaurants.

“Resorts World Casino will be a destination with a variety of gaming, entertainment and dining options for tourists near and far that will boost the region and the entire state,” said Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who attended Resorts World Catskills’ grand opening ceremony on Thursday.

The casino has a hotel that has 336 premium all-suite rooms and another with 324 rooms even though the latter will not be opened until next year.

Pennsylvania Online Poker May Go Live by the End of the Year

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This week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced that manufacturers and suppliers will be allowed to apply for online gambling licenses as from April 2. The development follows the state’s legislation last October to pass the legislation to legalize online poker and other forms of online gambling in Pennsylvania.

Poker enthusiasts are hopeful that this implies that online poker games could be a thing by the end of the year if everything goes smoothly. It took so long for lawmakers in the state to agree on the details of expansion that it came as a surprise when they finally settled on a bill and passed it. It will certainly take a little more time before online casinos and online poker become a reality in the state but since the process has already kicked off, stakeholders will have to be patient and see how it all plays out in the end.

The PGCP is yet to announce dates for when online gaming operators will be able to apply for licenses – this makes the timeline a little uncertain but this is probably because the state is also moving forward in other areas of the planned expansion. This includes applications for the Video Game Terminal Operators and Establishments that the board has placed on their website.

The manufacturers and suppliers who will apply for the online casino licenses are expected to team up with Pennsylvania’s land-based casino operators in coming up with internet versions of the games they offer. Sounds familiar? Well, it should – the same model was implemented in the neighboring state of New Jersey which now boasts of $250 million per annum online gambling market.

The PGCB further outlined that the process for the applications involving Interactive Gaming will require the submission of an application after which it will provide instruction on how to be fingerprinted. After the fingerprint results are provided and all the other steps are followed, the application process will be considered to be complete. Also, background checks and investigations will be carried out for each every individual and entity that will be part of the applications.

Online poker will most certainly boost Pennsylvania’s live poker market which presently stands at about $60 million annually but seems to be stagnated.

Why It Is Not Yet Time to Give Up on Bitcoin and Crypto

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Bitcoin and the crypto-world as a whole are in a frenzy that has undoubtedly attracted a lot of speculation as to whether they are still worth pursuing. Bitcoin’s price, for instance, has been quite elusive – the cryptocurrency has already significantly plunged in value from an initial high of over $17,000 to just about $8,000. These fluctuations have been enough to make a number of interested parties throw in the towel. Well, that is probably a wise option especially if one cannot sustain this kind of endeavor, both financially and mentally. However, if you consider the bigger picture, it is quite evident that many more factors contribute to the complex cryptocurrency ecosystem. These range from regulation, comments from prominent people and even mere talk about regulation, all of which certainly affect prices in one way or the other.

The wild ride that the bitcoin community has been taken through is undoubtedly a justifiable reason for speculation. Apparently, most of the issues that are affecting the price of bitcoin are necessary developments that are expected to make it stable in the long run. So, why do you need to hold on a little?

Fraud Is Being Stamped Out!

Naturally, cryptocurrencies were bound to attract some negative attention, particularly from some fraudulent ICOs. The numbers are rather worrying in this sense considering that about 14 to 30 percent of existing ICOs are likely to be scams. The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken notice of the ICOs too and necessary steps have been taken by the chairman to warn investors about the risks involved. This is, obviously, a good thing but it has certainly contributed to the plunge in bitcoin’s price. Still, the bigger picture here is more important – once these regulations and protections become clear, it will actually allow bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to thrive.

Facebook Pushes the Unfriend Button on Cryptocurrencies

You have to understand this if you are going to make an informed decision regarding crypto. First, in this age where social media is a force that influences almost everything in the world, crypto-fraudsters could definitely not let the opportunity cruise by. Advertisements about cryptocurrencies are quite common on the internet and a majority of them are actually used to bait unsuspecting victims who are lured in by the prospects of getting “crypto rich”.

Credit Cards Are Not Accepted

Big banks have made it quite clear that investors should never put their big bitcoin purchases on plastic. Citing the volatility and risk involved in such endeavors it is rather obvious that bitcoin investors should never contemplate risking money that they cannot afford to lose

All these steps have also been contributing to making exchanges safer since they are at the center of all this. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will rise again, but before it gets stable, buckle up for the storm that awaits.