Business & Financial

Sands Casino Websites Back Up But Slow to Access

Days after a hacking of its various corporate websites, Sands Casino was back up and operational on the Web Saturday evening. Still, the sites were slow to access at times.

The access time had some initial telltale signs of a Denial of Access (DoS) attack though the slow downloads were more likely attributed to routine maintenance.

A DoS attack sends pockets of useless traffic from compromised servers to a website, thus crippling load ability.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Sat, 02/15/2014 - 19:43

Former Atlantic City Mayor Claims Caesars ‘Meddling in Atlantic Club Future’

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — A state senator says the company that bought the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel wants to make sure it never reopens as a casino.

James Whelan, a former mayor of Atlantic City, wrote this week to New Jersey casino regulators complaining about what he says are attempts by Caesars Entertainment to prevent a future buyer from operating the property as a casino. He said the company is seeking a deed restriction to be part of any future sale of the property dictating that it cannot be used as a casino again.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Sat, 02/15/2014 - 19:07

New Jersey Approves Revel Co-Owners to Operate Casino

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — New Jersey casino regulators gave final approval Wednesday to an investment firm to be the largest owner of Revel Casino Hotel.

The state Casino Control Commission granted final approval to Chatham Asset Management, a hedge fund that is part of a lender group that emerged with an ownership stake in Revel following its bankruptcy last year. Chatham owns 28 percent of Revel.

But how long any of this lasts is anyone’s guess. Revel is considering selling itself or making a second bankruptcy filing.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Fri, 02/14/2014 - 13:03

Sands Hacked Casino Page Now Features Images: Still Reports Record Profits

Four days after Sands Las Vegas casino websites were hacked into, the respective sites for nine different properties are yet to be operating in full capacity.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Fri, 02/14/2014 - 12:51

Stanley Ho's SJM Makes Fresh Start With New Macau Casino

(Reuters) - Macau gambling kingpin Stanley Ho helped put the former Portuguese colony on the map 40 years ago with the fluorescent, onion-shaped Casino Lisboa. Now, the pioneer of old Macau is creating a new landmark - a $3.9 billion resort that will be one of the final projects to open on China's booming Las Vegas-style Cotai strip.

Submitted by Reuters on, Fri, 02/14/2014 - 12:23

PokerStars Sportsbook: World’s Number One Could Dive Into Sports Betting

The world’ largest real money online poker site PokerStars is said to be contemplating the addition of a sportsbook.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Thu, 02/13/2014 - 23:07

Regulators Still Unsure if Sands, Venetian Guest Credit Card Info Compromised

LAS VEGAS – (Associated Press) - A Nevada gambling regulator said Thursday afternoon that it's unclear whether the hackers who knocked down all of Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s websites for three days and counting had stolen patron data, including credit card information.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Thu, 02/13/2014 - 22:31

Second Bitcoin Exchange Halts Withdrawals: Canada to Tighten Grip

A second major bitcoin exchange has temporarily ceased withdrawals following an apparent cyberattack that has seen the anonymous digital currency’s price drop in recent days.

Bitstamp followed the move of Mt.Gox by halting withdrawals after hackers had exploited a bug in some underlying software to carry out the attack.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Thu, 02/13/2014 - 11:33

FBI Confirms Probe of Sands Website Hackings: Credit Card Breach a Concern

Day 3 of the Las Vegas Sands casino websites remaining down following a corporate-wide hacking and it was still unclear as to whether customer credit card information could have been compromised.

At the time of the hacking, employee social security numbers were seen scrolling across the breached website.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Thu, 02/13/2014 - 11:12

CAN’T-Bet: Canbet Freezes $300k: Punters Issue Death Threats, File Lawsuits

Once among the most prestigious Australian online bookmakers, Canbet is now finding itself mired in scandal after freezing approximately $300,000 in player funds.

The reason: Financial restructuring, a gentle way of saying the company is having financial problems.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Thu, 02/13/2014 - 01:25

New Jersey Online Gambling Revenue Numbers Released: 28 Percent Increase

Internet gaming win for January 2014 increased 28% from the $7.4 million reported in December 2013.

As of January 31, 2014, 197,782 Internet gaming accounts have been created since the beginning of soft play on November 21, 2013.

Based upon filings with the Division of Gaming Enforcement, total gaming win from the casino hotels and Internet gaming operations totaled $195.7 million in January 2014,compared to $205.2 million in casino win last January.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Wed, 02/12/2014 - 18:55

Rabcat Releases Castle Builder to the International Gaming Community

Austria - Rabcat is announcing the worldwide launch of its most innovative and successful real-money game yet, Castle Builder^TM.

Submitted by Press Release on, Wed, 02/12/2014 - 18:00

Shares in 888.com Up: Growth in New Jersey Online Gambling Market, Eyeing CA

Shares in 888 holdings (888.com) were up 4.2 percent higher Tuesday to 145.3p on positive news that it may be increasing its market share in New Jersey.

Until now, Party Poker has captured more than half the New Jersey online gambling market.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Tue, 02/11/2014 - 21:24

Bitcoin Startup ZipZap.com Could Give Western Union a Run for its Money

CNN Fortune published an article warning that bitcoin start up ZipZap.com could fast become stiff competition for international money exchange outfit Western Union.

Up until now, Western Union has operated nearly as a monopoly.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Tue, 02/11/2014 - 20:48

Sands Casino Sites Still Down After Hacking: Social Security Numbers Posted

The Sands Las Vegas casino property websites were down throughout the day Tuesday following what appeared to be a website hacking. At one point during the early part of the day it was reported that staff and executive social security numbers were scrolling on the compromised sites.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Tue, 02/11/2014 - 20:26

Have Sheldon Adelson’s Sands Casino Websites Been Hacked (Update)

While billionaire casino magnate and mega GOP donor Sheldon Adelson has gone on the attack against legalizing Web gambling in the US, he may want to focus on keeping his own casino sites up and running.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Tue, 02/11/2014 - 14:50

Macau Gambling Revenue Up But Misses Estimates

(Reuters) - Macau, the world's casino capital, raked in 28.7 billion patacas ($3.6 billion) in gambling revenues for the first month of 2014, boosted by Chinese visitors flocking to the country's only legal casino hub ahead of a week-long national holiday.

Revenue growth in Macau, a special administrative region of China like neighbouring Hong Kong, was up 7 percent in January, the lowest growth rate since October 2012 and far below analyst estimates of 11-15 percent.

Submitted by Reuters on, Mon, 02/10/2014 - 19:51

CoinDesk Removes Mt.Gox From Bitcoin Price Index

The world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies, CoinDesk.com, has taken the unprecedented step of removing exchange Mt.Gox from its bitcoin price index on Monday.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Mon, 02/10/2014 - 11:49

Russia Bans Bitcoin: Price Still Hovering Around $700

Russia banned the bitcoin this weekend, concluding a highly tumultuous week for the anonymous digital currency.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sun, 02/09/2014 - 22:16

Aria Hotel and Casino in Vegas Fined for Blocking NGCB Agents

LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Nevada gambling regulators says the Aria Hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip blocked its agents from watching a high-stakes roulette table.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a two-count complaint against Aria and part-owner MGM Resorts International on Friday.

The complaint said two state agents who had not identified themselves were watching high rollers play roulette last October when a supervisor told them that the players did not want to be watched and threatened to call security.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Sun, 02/09/2014 - 21:44

London Affiliate Conference 2014 a Monster Event (Video)

The London Affiliate Conference 2014 attracted hundreds of people in Day 1 with this year’s event having outgrown itself from previous years. It was forced to move to London’s biggest conference venue, Earl’s Court.

One of the attendees took a cue from last month’s NYC shock stunt marketing the film “Devil’s Due” in which a remote controlled baby was left in its carriage to terrorize unsuspecting pedestrians with Hell raising screams and even vomit.

MadAboutSlots.co.uk and Probability joined forces to unleash a giant dinosaur onto the LAC crowd.

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Sat, 02/08/2014 - 11:39

Miami Beach Police Make What Could be First Ever Bitcoin Vendor Arrests

Police in Miami Beach in conjunction with the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Electronic Crimes Task have arrested two men moving a large amounts of cash in and out of the Bitcoin virtual currency. Experts believe this could be the first case that bitcoin vendors have been charged with a crime.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Fri, 02/07/2014 - 21:48

Bitcoin Price Down Nearly 7 Percent Friday: Volatility Declining, BitBet.com Debuts

The price of bitcoin had dropped approximately 7 percent Friday, quite likely on news that one of the biggest exchanges, Mt.Gox, had stopped processing withdrawals temporarily.

The price of bitcoin had fallen to $686 but rebounded later in the evening to $703, matching the day’s opening price.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Fri, 02/07/2014 - 20:17

Bitcoin Community May Give Up on Mt. Gox Exchange

Following yet another currency withdrawal halt at bitcoin’s most famous exchange, Mt. Gox, traders in the anonymous digital currency may finally be willing to give up on the mysterious Japanese-based operation.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Fri, 02/07/2014 - 11:35

Apple Removes Blockchain Bitcoin Wallet Service App

(Reuters) - Bitcoin wallet service Blockchain was removed from Apple devices.

Apple has removed popular bitcoin wallet app Blockchain from its app stores in a major setback for the popular digital currency.

As a result, iPhone and iPad users do not have any bitcoin wallet options for their devices at present.

Submitted by Reuters on, Thu, 02/06/2014 - 21:50

WinCake.com Enters Into Partnership With Goal.com: Strong Investment Backing

Cake Entertainment N.V. announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Free Web Holding Ltd. to form Cake Next Entertainment Ltd. The partnership brings new investment and successful industry professionals to strengthen the company‘s efforts in building its B2B and consumer businesses, positioning the company as a major force within the international gaming entertainment space.

Submitted by Press Release on, Thu, 02/06/2014 - 12:19

CBS Thursday Night Football Should Benefit Online Sportsbooks Significantly

CBS Thursday Night Football is coming during the 2014 NFL season, and while limited to one year, any success could result in an extension.

Submitted by Mary Montgomery on, Wed, 02/05/2014 - 18:56

Guardian Newspaper Launches Sports Betting Site GoWager.co.uk

Move over Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power. Here comes some stiff competition from a branding concept we all know, the Guardian Newspaper. And they just entered the sports betting business with GoWager.co.uk.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Wed, 02/05/2014 - 09:11

Zynga Shares Rise With UBS Upgrade to ‘Buy’

Social gaming giant Zynga witnessed its biggest share price surge in nearly a year Tuesday thanks to a positive upgrade.

UBS raised its rating on the game maker's stock to "buy" from "neutral," saying Zynga's core operations had begun to stabilize under the new management team and that its $527 million acquisition of mobile game developer NaturalMotion would result in more scale and innovation at Zynga.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Tue, 02/04/2014 - 12:49

Rumors Abound: Zynga and BWin.Party to Join Forces in New Jersey

With Bwin.party’s social sports betting product nearing an initial beta-launch ahead of a full launch planned before the end of Q1, some stock forecasting sites are suggesting a possible partnership between both these big name firms in the state of New Jersey.

Bwin.Party is already the market leader in real time online gambling in the state of New Jersey since its launch in late November. The company enjoyed a head start over much of its competition.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Tue, 02/04/2014 - 12:34