Gambling Roundup: Spain Seeks Casinos, Kansas Denies Debate
This past week has been full of gambling news from around the world, from Spain declaring they are ready to become the Las Vegas of Europe, to Kansas lawmakers denying their colleagues an opportunity to debate changing gambling laws that went in place back in 2007.
In Spain, Barcelona and Madrid lawmakers are seeking to have Las Vegas Sands casino mogul Sheldon Adelson build casino resorts in their cities. There is strong opposition in some parts of Spain to becoming the Sin City of Europe, but Madrid and Barcelona are set to go all-in with the idea. With the country's unemployment rate inching up towards 25%, the idea of gambling expansion to alleviate the problem has been front and center in the minds of many lawmakers...
In Kansas, legislators in the House have blocked a group that had been attempting to force a gambling discussion in the full House. A vote to get a gambling bill out the Federal and State Affairs Committee fell short of the 70 votes needed to advance the bill to the full House. Lawmakers have bowed to again bring the subject of changing the 2007 gambling laws up in future sessions...
Minnesota lawmakers are considering a bill that would help expand the state education budget by allowing slot machines at the two horse tracks in Minnesota. The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill after hours of debate, and the issue will now go to the full Senate for debate and a vote. Minnesota lawmakers have been trying to pass gambling expansion legislation for the past year, with the main beneficiary being the state's NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings...
UK gaming stocks closed the week strong on Friday, with William Hill again leading the way. WH stock was up $3.21, or just over one percent. The stock closed the day at $260.31, staying as the top gaming stock on the London Exchange. Ladbrokes, the second highest traded gaming stock closed the week at $160.10, up $2.60 a share. The Rank Group stock barely changed Friday, closing within $.10 of its starting price, at $129.20...
In the US, stocks had their first bad week in over a month, with most major gaming companies seeing their stocks drop by a few percentage points on the week. MGM Mirage ended the day at $13.62, while Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts closed at $57.57 and $124.88, respectively. Pinnacle Entertainment and Melco Crown joined LVS as the only gaming stocks to gain on the market Friday. Melco closed at $13.64, while Pinnacle finished the week with a stock price of $11.51...
The Mega Millions lottery has reached a fever pitch in the US, with the jackpot for tonight's drawing growing to over $640 million. The jackpot is the largest lottery top prize in the world, surpassing the previous record, $390 million for the Mega Money game back in 2007.
March 30, 2012
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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