Gaming Report: Branson Buys Hard Rock Vegas, GVC Acquires Ladbrokes Coral Group, Gemaco Inc Let Off The Hook in Borgata Ivey Edge-Sorting Case & More

Gaming Report
  • Profile picture
  • PG News April 1, 2018
  • 4 Minutes Read

Its been long we brought you the developments from the gaming world and we are back now with five important developments about acquisitions, legal cases and more news from the gaming industry. We start this edition with the news of Billionaire Richard Branson buying the famous Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. Next, we report about gambling operator GVC Holdings acquiring online gaming giant Ladbrokes Coral Group PLC. in a deal ranging from approximately £3.2 to £4 Billion.

In our third story, we inform about how Missouri-based cards manufacturing company Gemaco Inc scored a major victory in the Borgata Casino Ivey Edge-Sorting case as the judge dismissed five of the six counts and now Gemaco Inc may just be liable for $27 to the Borgata casino-hotel.

Then we have report of James Packer resigning as Crown Resorts Director and Steve Wynn selling his entire stake in Wynn Resorts for around $739 million.

 

Sir Richard Branson Buys Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

On March 31, news came in that Billionaire founder of Virgin Records and the Virgin airlines, Sir Richard Branson has bought the iconic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip. The announcement was made by the man himself barefoot, poolside and full of dancers at his new property.

Richard Branson
Richard Branson

The casino will continue to operate under the Hard Rock brand till 2019 and post that, it will be re-branded as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Branson will spend “hundreds of millions of dollars” for renovations over multiple phases, though the hotel and casino will continue to operate.

Branson on the latest purchase said, “Virgin is all about fun, entertainment, not taking ourselves too seriously. Virgin Atlantic has had a lot of fun flying tons of people to Las Vegas from Britain for many years. Virgin America has done the same, and we wouldn’t have just come to Las Vegas unless we could’ve found the property that was very Virgin, and I think that’s what we’ve achieved.”

 

GVC Holdings Acquires Ladbrokes Coral Group

On 28 March, GVC Holdings, the parent company that owns PartyPoker, Bwin, SportingBet and other gaming sites, completed the acquisition of online gaming giant Ladbrokes Coral Group PLC. This acquisition transfigures GVC Holdings to become one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming company. With the workforce of 28,000 people and with a network of 3,500 bookmaking shops operating under the separate Ladbrokes and Coral, the brand becomes UK’s largest high street bookmaker. Ladbrokes Coral also adds a huge retail and digital presence to GVC Holding all over the globe, most notably in Italy, Ireland, Spain, Belgium and Australia.

The amount of the acquisition will range from approximately £3.2 to £4 Billion with the deal including a variable provision surrounding UK’s review into Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT). Currently, the maximum stake at FOBTs is £100. If this is reduced to £2 after the review, the final acquisition cost will be about £3.2 billion, while if it is reduced to £50 the final acquisition price will balloon to around £4 billion.

Welcoming the acquisition, Kenneth Alexander, CEO of GVC Holdings stated, “The creation of one of the world’s largest listed sports betting companies, combining a portfolio of established brands, proven technology and leading market positions in multiple geographies, is a truly exciting prospect. In a dynamically evolving industry, the transaction creates an enlarged Group with the scale, diversity, proprietary technology and management expertise to pursue many opportunities globally. GVC has a proven track record of creating shareholder value through the successful integration of acquired businesses and the GVC Board believe this transaction will create further value for our shareholders and those of Ladbrokes Coral.”

 

Gemaco Inc Makes an Escape With Min. Liability in Borgata Ivey Edge-Sorting case

Missouri-based playing cards manufacturing company Gemaco Inc was being sued by Borgata Casino in the ongoing Ivey Edge-Sorting case. The manufacturer of the defective cards that Phil Ivey played with, during the controversial baccarat sessions at an Atlantic City casino scored a major victory in court this week as the U.S. District Court Judge Noel Hillman dismissed five of the six counts that Borgata’s parent company Marina District Development Corp. brought against Gemaco Inc. The ruling means that Gemaco Inc may at most be liable to pay the Borgata casino-hotel a measly $27 for the debacle.

It all began in 2012, when Ivey and Cheung Yin Sun were able to spot manufacturing defects on the back of the cards in order to win $9.6 million. Borgata paid Ivey his winnings but later discovered Ivey had found an edge against it. The technique Ivey used is called “edge-sorting” which gave him a small but statistically significant edge over the house. Borgata Casino was seeking $9.6 million from Gemaco Inc for its role in the scandal.

After Hillman ruled on December 2016, that Ivey and Sun must return all Borgata winnings from their 2012 casino visits including the $9.6 million from Baccarat and other winnings from craps, the case against Gemaco Inc remained a loose end to be tied up. Indeed, Hillman determined that it must be resolved before Ivey and Sun could pursue an appeal in a higher court.

Hillman wrote in the 27 page opinion that, “Gemaco further points out that the contract [between it and Borgata] provides that its liability is limited to the replacement of the defective cards, or the refund of the purchase price for the cards, and only if Borgata notified Gemaco in writing within 90 days of its receipt of the cards. Out of the box, asymmetrical cards are symmetrical until strategically turned and maintained in that orientation,” Hillman said. “In that sense, it was Borgata’s acquiescence in Ivey’s accommodations that were the ‘but for’ cause of Borgata’s losses.”

Hillman called Ivey’s edge-sorting technique “creative” and “even ingenious.” Hillman gave Borgata three options regarding the next course of action,

“The Court can (1) proceed to trial on Borgata’s breach of warranty claims, (2) stay Borgata’s claims against Gemaco and certify as final Borgata’s judgment against Ivey and Sun pursuant to Rule 54(b) so that Ivey and Sun’s appeal may proceed, or (3) afford Borgata and Gemaco a period of time to enter into a private resolution of Borgata’s claims against Gemaco.”

Borgata and Gemaco were given 15 days to notify the court of how they would like to proceed.

 

James Packer Resigns From His Position As Crown Resorts Director

Australian billionaire James Packer has resigned from his position as the director of Crown Resorts Ltd.

Packer ‘s investment company Consolidated Press Holdings owns a majority share of Crown Resorts.

James Packer
James Packer

Crown Resorts was established in 2007 and has grown to become one of Australia’s largest gaming and entertainment companies.

An official spokesperson for Packer’s investment company stated,“Mr. Packer is suffering from mental health issues” and as a result “at this time he intends to step back from all commitments.”

Notably, Crown recently abandoned its Alon Las Vegas project and sold the site to Wynn Resorts late last year.

 

Steve Wynn Sells Stake in Wynn Resorts

According to recent reports from CNBC, after resigning from his role as Wynn Resorts CEO, Steve Wynn now no longer holds a stake in the company as he sold all his stake through privately negotiated transactions.

As reported by CNN Money, Wynn sold his shares for $180 a share, which means the total sale was worth around $739 million.

In addition to the aforementioned, Wynn Resorts too recently sold 5.3 million shares at $175 a share to Macau’s casino operator – Galaxy Entertainment Group.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Online Poker Rooms

Top
PokerGuru