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Las Vegas based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc announced that it would invest US$95 million in a hotel-casino project in Vietnam, which is expected to open in 2013. Pinnacle is the owner and operator of casino gaming resorts, also owns a racetrack in Cincinnati and is building a casino in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The U.S. Company will build a hotel with 540 rooms and a casino with 90 game tables as well as 500 slot machines, according to Vietnam news agency. Fort this project the company has already paid $95 million for a 26 percent stake in Asian Coast Development Ltd., a developer of casinos and housing projects in Vietnam.

Pinnacle said it will manage a beachfront resort that Asian Coast is planning 80 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City through 2058, with a possible 20 year extension. A casino complex and resort scheduled to open in phases as the resort will be Asian Coast’s second casino on the Ho Tram Strip.

Anthony Sanfilippo, Pinnacle Chief Executive Officer said, the phenomenal success and continued strong growth of destination integrated resort and gaming facilities in Asian markets are indicative of the demand for quality gaming entertainment options in Asia. Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city and attracts the bulk of Vietnam’s 5 million annual tourists. Their investment and long term management agreement bring meaningful strategic benefits to Pinnacle, including further diversification and potentially very significant returns on invested capital.

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From a year earlier, gambling revenue in Macau rose 45% in April. Mainland Chinese visitors to the world’s largest gambling market helped push the results to a third straight monthly record.

In China, Macau is the only place where casinos are legal. Despite local government policies to slow the booming industry and encourage a more measured pace of growth, gambling revenue growth in the territory has been on a tear since the end of 2009.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Tuesday that, gambling revenue in Macau rose to 20.51 billion Macanese patacas last month, from 14.19 billion patacas a year earlier. The total for April surpassed the previous monthly record of 20.09 billion patacas, hit just a month earlier in March.

In both February and March, last month’s growth follows blistering year to year increases of 48%, and a 58% surge for all of last year.

There were 33 casinos in Macau at the end of the first quarter of 2011, 20 of which were owned by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, three by Venetian Macau, five by Galaxy Casino, three by Melco/PBL Jogos (Macau) and one each by Wynn Resorts and MGM Grand Paradise. In the next few days a new resort with a casino, called Galaxy, is due to open in Macau.

First-quarter earnings for Macau casino operators Wynn Macau Ltd. and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. were reported to be up sharply from a year earlier due to the continuing soar in the world’s largest gambling market.

Controlled by the family of Hong Kong tycoon Lui Che Woo, Galaxy reiterated its preparations for a US$2 billion casino-resort on May 15. On the timing or budget, Wynn Macau Chairman Steve Wynn did not offer any updates for the company’s next project in the Chinese territory. For U.S.-based casino operators, Chinese territory has become a crucial source of revenue as business in Las Vegas remains lethargic.

Galaxy is the only new casino property anticipated to open in the former Portuguese colony this year. Wynn Macau and Galaxy compete with Sheldon Adelson’s Sands China Ltd (1928.HK), MGM Resorts International’s MGM Macau and tycoon Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings Ltd (0880.HK).

In the past 12 months, casino operators such as Wynn Macau have rushed forward about 130 percent, although analysts remain bullish on the sector. J.P. Morgan gaming analyst Kenneth Fong in Hong Kong said that in the midst of the recent strong revenue trend, the sector persists to outperform. While they believe the trend could persist in the near term in the midst of positive sentiment, Wynn Macau’s and the sector’s valuations are testing new highs.

As of March 31, the company said it had $1.4 billion in cash and $3.2 billion in debt.
On the conference call, Wynn said that the company’s board had endorsed a cash dividend of 50 cents per common share. Recovering what they lost in regular trading Tuesday, when they fell $1.57, or 1.1 percent, to close at $138.93, Shares of Wynn raised $3.97, or 2.9 percent, in aftermarket trading.

Consolidated operating results for Herbst Gaming, LLC for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 was pronounced lately. LLC posted Net Income of $388.2 million for the year concluded December 31, 2010. The outcome of fresh start accounting adjustments and reorganization adjustments related to the Company’s emergence from Chapter 11 with an effective date of December 31, 2010 are incorporated in the Net income.

$441.6 million was the totaled Net fresh start accounting and reorganization items. $53.4 million was the operating loss for the year concluded December 31, 2010. When compared to the year ended December 31, 2009, the effect of fresh start accounting adjustments and reorganization adjustments augmented by 8% for Herbst Gaming, LLC’s EBITDA.

Through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, Herbst Gaming got rid of $808.8 million in debt. In the bankruptcy, the founding Herbst family lost their command of the company and it is no longer engrossed in the operation. Herbst had cash on hand of $103.2 million and total debt of $350 million, following the bankruptcy emergence.

The off-Strip Terrible’s and several hotel-casinos in Northern Nevada and the three Primm casinos comprise the Herbst’s properties in Nevada. Its three-casino complex at Primm on I-15 on the California border, which is the company’s principal revenue-generator, struggled in 2010 owing to extreme competition for its value-oriented customers.

Down from about $222 million in 2009, gross revenue at Primm in 2010 was $201 million. Compared to 53.6 percent in 2009, hotel occupancy at Primm was 48.4 percent in 2010 and the average daily rate was $38.25 in 2010 compared to $35.59 in 2009.

Asian casinos operator SJM Holdings Ltd (0880.HK) witnessed a jump of 160 percent in the final quarter of last year in the net profits. Thanks to additional growth in the world’s largest gaming market, Macau, the profit results beat the estimates.

In the former Portuguese colony, SJM is the major operator. According to annual results, it made a fourth-quarter net profit of HK$1.12 billion ($143 million). With 40.1 percent of mass-market table gaming revenue and 29.5 percent of VIP gaming revenue, SJM persists to lead in market share of the Macau casino gaming market. Up from 29.4 percent in 2009, SJM’s overall share of Macau’s casino sector matured to 31.3 percent last year.

However, in morning trade on Thursday, the Hong Kong-listed SJM shares were down 1.3 percent. The firm said that given the general success of the Asian region and the continued vigorous growth of visitation and spending in Macau, the future prospects for the firm are outstanding. The impact of new gaming facilities on Macau’s Cotai Strip, which was built by competitors, was discounted by the firm stating that their casinos were situated in another part of the city.

SJM, as it expands its business, it is at present waiting for government endorsement for a plan to develop a site on Cotai.

Meanwhile, for the year ending December 31, mainland online service provider Tencent (0700) recorded a 56.2 percent jump in net profit to 8.05 billion yuan (HK$9.55 billion).

Without disclosing details, president Martin Lau Chi-ping said that the firm would make considerable investments in the existing platform, as profit grows.

Ottawa City council will consider backing an application by the Rideau Carleton Raceway to introduce to add blackjack and other table games to its racing and slot machine offerings. Expanded gaming would allow Ottawa to compete with Gatineau’s Casino du Lac Leamy, Mayor Jim Watson said.

Since the introduction of slot machines in 2000, and over $4.4 million last year, the Rideau-Carleton Raceway has contributed over $37 million to the City. To ask for the city’s support in applying to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. For a two-year pilot project to add gaming tables to its other gambling options, such as the slot machines introduced in 2000, Raceway representatives visited the Mayor a few months ago.

Council will debate a motion to be moved by Osgoode Councillor Doug Thompson to formally “support in principle” the Rideau Carleton Raceway’s petition to the Ontario government for gaming tables, at its next meeting in March.

Residents and organizations will not be allowed to speak publicly to Councillors during an official meeting on whether they support a full on casino in Ottawa because the motion will be brought directly to council. Public delegations are only allowed at committee meetings.

As gaming tables could add $2 million a year to the city’s coffers, in addition to the $4 million plus raised by the slot machines, Mayor Watson supports the motion. On Wednesday, the mayor told reporters that the public will be able to speak to the issue if the application to the province is successful because the raceway will have to apply to the planning committee for a re zoning.

Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island Governor said that he has no objection to the expansion of Twin River in Lincoln from a video slot parlor to a full-scale casino. Twin River’s owners presented a new economic impact study in a meeting, which was attended by Chafee. They claimed that up to 650 new jobs would be created by the addition of table games and it will bring in up to $60 million in new revenue for the state and the town.

A spokesman for Chafee, Michael Trainor said that the addition of table games will not make a significant change to the nature of the business and he added that it does not mean that Chafee is in favor of a casino at Twin River.

From various constituencies in the town and around the state, changes proposed at the Lincoln gambling facility have engendered opposition. In the recent past, bids to add table games have been no different.

For a statewide referendum on Twin River’s expansion, Twin Rivers’ chairman, John E. Taylor Jr. gave his pitch for a statewide referendum to full casino gaming after Gov. Lincoln Chafee spoke briefly to the gathering. He said that in the future, he is looking forward to working with Taylor to make sure the facility stays viable.

As this year’s recipient of the Chamber’s Barbara Burlingame Award for public service, Northern Rhode Island political leaders such as Lincoln Town Administrator Joseph Almond, Cumberland Mayor Dan McKee and Woonsocket City Council President John F. Ward.

With respect to the Narragansett Indians, it is not entirely clear what the new governor has in mind. With a series of big-name financial backers, Narragansett Indians pursued their own casino for years and they were shot down by voters in 2006 when they proposed a Harrah’s-financed casino in West Warwick.

A year earlier, from Twin River to the Narragansetts, lawmakers committed a share of the state’s video-slot revenue, even though they had no role then or now in running the Lincoln slot parlor that was also, for decades, a greyhound track.

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010, the amount paid to the Narragansett Indian Tribe was $697,622. According to the state Lottery, the amount projected for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, is $721,854.

In a planned casino near La Center, the Cowlitz Tribe’s partners say legal challenges could take as long as a year and a half to resolve. In the casino, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has invested $40 million. In its quarterly earnings call, it has commented on the project.

The project is about 15 miles north of Portland, planned as a 134,150-square-foot complex. In December, it was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Until next Friday, interested parties have to appeal the department’s decision. To mount an appeal, Clark County has announced its intention. To oversee construction of the facility and to operate the casino for seven years after that, the authority has an agreement with the Cowlitz Tribe. On the East Coast, the Mohegan Tribe operates runs several gambling operations.

$12.9 million was the first quarter net income, which was up from $4.4 million in the first quarter 2009. As the main reason profits grew steeply, Mohegan cited lower expenses, which included the laying off 300 employees. Compared to $337 million in the first quarter of 2009, expenses in the first quarter were $322 million.

The Connecticut property in particular has seen a steady drop in gambling over the past five years, so gross revenues continued to sag for Mohegan’s two casinos. The group in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission reported a total debt load of $2.1 billion. As key areas of concern, the Mohegans listed declining revenue and increasing competition from other gaming operations.

For its first quarter, a 193 percent increase from the first quarter of fiscal 2010, the gaming authority reported a net income of $12.9 million.

Lawmakers in the Indiana House say that they will make a move that could give the legislation its best shot to exempt casinos from proposed statewide smoking ban to make it become a law. They believe that this would prevent the state from potentially losing millions of dollars in gambling taxes.

A smoking ban would hurt business and this is something the casinos have long argued. In a fiscal note, the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency recently estimated that the state could lose more than $180 million a year in taxes if gamblers couldn’t light up. They also estimate that if the state goes smoke-free, the attendance at Indiana’s casinos would drop five-to-10-percent. Rep. Charlie Brown, a Democrat from Gary who has pushed for such a ban for several years said that the high price tag in a time of slumping state revenues meant there was no hope for a comprehensive ban.

The House Public Health Committee didn’t take a vote on it, although they did discuss on the same. Brown and Committee Chair Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said that to amend the bill to exempt casinos, they would vote next week. It is likely that the exemption for the casinos would be added at some point, even if that bill is passed and moves forward. Without such an exemption, the bill has virtually no chance of passing the Senate.

Republican Governor Mitch Daniels has said that any smoking ban legislation that comes to him for a signature would not get his veto. In the ban up to the lawmakers in the House and Senate, that will leave the actual battle as to whether or not to include the casinos.

The gaming industry has long been opponent of being included in such a law, although other states have already started to eliminate smoking in public places. In 2009, Atlantic City created a smoking ban, but they temporarily lifted the ban at the casinos after an appeal from the city’s casino owners.

Out of the next state budget, a statewide smoking ban that includes casinos could take a 380-million-dollar bite. With legalized gambling, including a Federal Reserve study of Illinois, analysts base that forecast on studies of smoking bans in other states. That translates to a worst-case scenario of about 190-million a year to at least 95-million dollars a year less in gaming and admission taxes.