GVC Holdings

The gaming and sports betting organisation has strengthened its operational management team, with Gabriele Griesbacher joining as group as director of payments and Colin Cole-Johnson taking up the role of gaming product director.

With both set to join next month, Cole-Johnson is to be responsible for GVC’s casino, live and bingo products, as Griesbacher gets set to lead all aspects of payments across the group, covering commercial, product and compliance.

Shay Segev, chief operating officer of GVC, commented: “We are delighted to have Gabriele and Colin joining us. Both have huge expertise in their respective areas and will further strengthen the Group’s leadership team.

“Gabriele will spearhead our ever-increasing focus on compliance, ensuring we maintain a player-safety-first approach in everything we do, while Colin will drive our gaming product forward, bringing his unparalleled industry experience and gaming expertise.”

Canterbury Park

Striving to evolve into a diverse gaming, entertainment, and real estate development company, Canterbury Park has unveiled a plethora of leadership changes.

Alongside Maureen Bausch and John Himle being added to the firm’s board of directors, Randy Sampson, Canterbury Park’s president and CEO, has also been appointed executive chairman of the board.

Furthermore Carin Offerman, current chair of the compensation and nominating committees, has been appointed the company’s lead director.

In connection with the latter two positional changes, Curtis Sampson and Dale Schenian have retired as chair and vice chair, assuming the new titles of chairman emeritus and vice chairman emeritus respectively.

Randy Sampson commented: “As Canterbury Park continues to evolve from a racetrack into a diverse gaming, entertainment, and real estate development company, the board recognised that it was important to add members that would bring additional skill sets and business backgrounds to the company.”

Push Gaming

The games development studio has recruited former LeoVegas had of finance Roderick Falzon, who joins Push Gaming as finance director.

In the role Falzon will be responsible for managing the Malta-based developer’s finances, including building the finance team, financial reporting and working with the management team to drive growth.

James Marshall, CEO of Push Gaming, commented: “We’re very pleased to bring Roderick and his experience into our team. We’re investing further into our Malta operations and expanding our teams in London and the Ukraine, Roderick will be pivotal in continuing to structure and support our growth.”

Raketech

Andreas Kovacs has been appointed as director of business development at Raketech, clearing the way for Måns Svalborn to join the online affiliate and content marketing company as chief financial officer.

Initially working alongside his predecessor to ensure a smooth transition, Svalborn is to focus on the execution of a growth strategy that recently saw the acquisition of Casumba Media, marking the company’s establishment of operations in the Japanese market

”I am very happy to welcome Måns Svalborn as our new CFO. Måns is a highly skilled finance professional with relevant experience across reporting, accounting and audit which will be valuable in the continued development of our finance department,” Michael Holmberg, CEO at Raketech, said of the appointment. 

“All in all, with Måns as new CFO and Andreas as director of business development, I am confident that we are in a great position to continue building long-term shareholder value.”

The post Part 5 | On the move: Recruitment round-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Card casino and simulcast operations at Canterbury Park will be open to customers all day everyday, subject to an attendance cap of 150 persons per defined area, from 10am Monday 11 January 2021.

Acknowledging the “unique challenges” faced by gaming and entertainment facilities, the venue asserts that operations such as itself will be “instrumental” in driving economic recovery.

In addition to the aforementioned resumptions, all food and beverage outlets at Canterbury Park will be open to customers from 4am to 10pm local time, subject to current state-wide COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions. Plans for potential capacity restrictions regarding the summer 2021 racing season will be announced at a later date.

Canterbury Park Holding Corporation owns and operates Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Casino in Shakopee, Minnesota, the latter of which typically hosts card games 24 hours a day, seven days a week, dealing both poker and table games.

The company also updates that its real estate development operations have been ongoing since the latest temporary suspension began on November 20, 2020, with the group and its partners continuing to make progress across the sites announced to-date.

“We are delighted to announce the resumption of Card Casino and simulcast operations at Canterbury Park and look forward to welcoming our loyal customers back to the property beginning on Monday morning,” said Randy Sampson, Canterbury Park president and CEO.

“As always, the health and safety of our team and guests will be of paramount importance once operations resume. As such, we plan to build on the successful implementation of our ‘COVID-19 Preparedness Plan’ which allowed us to operate safely during the summer and fall of 2020.

“COVID-19 has presented unique challenges for gaming and entertainment venues such as ours. We respect the very difficult decisions our state leaders have been faced with and are thankful we will be allowed to re-open, even in this limited capacity. 

“Operations such as Canterbury Park will be instrumental in driving the economic recovery for the greater Shakopee area and for Minnesota, and we are excited that our unique brand of entertainment and ongoing development of Canterbury Commons will play a crucial role in the community’s long-term economic growth.”

The post Canterbury Park to be ‘instrumental’ <br> in driving economic recovery appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Melco Resorts will have to wait until at least mid-July to reopen its five casinos in Cyprus with the country’s President Nicos Anastasiades only allowing a select few businesses to reopen during its first phase, beginning this week.

The first phase of reopening the island allows construction projects to resume, as well as retail stores, not located inside shopping malls, to reopen.

Hotels, shopping malls, and airports are all set to be reopened on June 9, yet casinos in Cyprus will have to wait until July 14 before being allowed to open their respective doors.

Station Casinos, a consolidated subsidiary of Red Rock Resorts has revealed a phased reopening program for its Las Vegas properties, which have been closed since March 17.

As a result of the state-mandated occupancy and social distancing restrictions, Station Casinos has also decided to make staff reductions at all ten of its large properties and at its corporate office.

The reductions will affect approximately 39 per cent of its full-time workforce. The company confirmed that all affected staff will receive regular pay until May 16, as it previously announced, and will continue to receive health, dental and vision benefits through to September 30 of this year, with the company paying 100 per cent of the costs.

“This has been the most painful and challenging situation in our Company’s history,” said Richard J. Haskins, president of Station Casinos. “We are hopeful though that Las Vegas will rebound swiftly and allow us to rehire as many of our valued team members as possible when we emerge on the other side of this.”

The company expects to reopen its Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Santa Fe Station, Boulder Station, Palace Station, and Sunset Station properties. Furthermore, its Wildfire division properties will re-open once governmental authorities permit.

The company will assess the performance of the first-to-reopen properties before opening the doors to its Palms, Texas Station, Fiesta Henderson and Fiesta Rancho properties.

Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino has confirmed that it will remain closed until June 18, and will begin taking hotel reservations after this date.

A statement from the casino read: “Westgate’s main priority continues to be the health and safety of all our guests, team members, and the community. We are grateful to our local and state government, law enforcement, health care workers and the community at large for working tirelessly to protect Nevada residents and their families.

“If you have a reservation scheduled during the period in which the property is temporarily closing, your reservation will automatically be cancelled and any deposits you made will be refunded automatically – there is no need to call the Westgate Call Center. Please allow up to seven business days for your refund to process.

“If you booked with a third-party reservation service or website, please contact them directly to re-book. If you are a Westgate Owner, your week will automatically be redeposited into your account. You may contact us immediately to rebook for future dates at no additional fee. Please have your original confirmation information at hand to speed any processing.”

Island Resort and Casino will also begin its first phase of reopening from tomorrow (Wednesday 6 May). The Michigan casino, posting on its official Facebook page, provided guidelines for its employees and guests to adhere to upon reopening.

The statement read: “We are excited to see you here at the Island Resort & Casino! As always, we strive to provide superior service and quality entertainment for our guests. To do this in the safest manner while keeping the health of our guests and employees the number one priority we have outlined these guidelines and expectations to ensure a healthy return.”

As part of the phased opening, the casino confirmed that slot machines, select food services, bars, bingo and retail will be available for its guests from May 6 along with cashiers, Island Club, VIP services and guest services.

From May 8 its Sage Run and Sweetgrass golf course will be accessible with its hotel confirmed to open five days later (May 13). Its gaming tables, poker, spa, pool, fitness centre, headline and club 41 entertainment and slot tournaments will be opened during the later phase, dates unconfirmed.

The casino confirmed all guests will have to undergo a temperature check with an infrared thermometer and any customer or employee with a temperature over 100 degrees fahrenheit will not be admitted.

Mountaineer Racetrack, Canterbury Park, and Monmouth Park have all provided further updates on scheduled reopening’s. Canterbury Park has confirmed that the horse stabling area will reopen this coming Friday (May 8) with a limited capacity to accept horses from facilities around the US.

The Minnesota stable area was originally scheduled to open on April 24 but, due to the virus, was pushed back.

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort, located in Chester, West Virginia, has revealed it is planning on having live thoroughbred racing return on May 31 with a 7pm post time. Meanwhile it confirmed that its casino remains closed to the public at this moment in time.

Stating on its official Facebook page, the casino said: “Monmouth Park’s Opening Day has been pushed back to July 4 weekend. More updates will be posted as they become available.”

The post ‘Phased reopenings’ documented as casinos seek resumption of action appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The company is to donate two million medical masks and 20,000 protective suits to help health-care professionals, first responders and nonprofit organisations in the fight against COVID-19.

This marks the second round of personal protective equipment donations Sands has made, following a previous provision of 100,000 masks to the Las Vegas health-care community, 5,000 masks to the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and 1,900 coronavirus test kits to the state of Nevada. 

The company is also fulfilling its pledge to give $250,000 to several local organisations during this time of need, as well as sending one million masks to News York to help health-care professionals and first responders in the state that currently has the most cases.

“Hopefully our donations will help protect people on the front lines so they can continue their invaluable work, and we can start to see the numbers of people affected begin to diminish,” explained Sheldon Adelson, Sands chairman and CEO. 

“Our properties in Las Vegas may be empty right now, but our hearts are full of hope for the future. The determination and courage I have seen in our Team Members, which I know is the same throughout this country, gives me every confidence we will get through this unprecedented crisis.” 

With US land-based casinos’ extended closures beginning to be implement, the Illinois Gaming Board has lengthened its own suspension of all video gaming operations at all licensed establishments of any kind and all casino gambling operations in Illinois until at least April 30, 2020.

In a media release it was commented that “The health and safety of patrons, gaming industry employees, Gaming Board staff, and all others in Illinois is the Gaming Board’s top priority.

“The Gaming Board is monitoring developments regarding COVID-19 and will continue to make decisions based on science, public health guidance, and applicable law and rules. We will also continue to update licensees and other stakeholders as new information becomes available.”

Canterbury Park Holding Corporation has become the latest organisation to implement temporary unpaid furloughs; taking additional action to help mitigate the financial impact resulting from the suspension of operations.

With action necessary due to “the duration of Canterbury Park’s temporary closure,” the company has implemented temporary unpaid furloughs impacting approximately 850 employees.

“Since suspending all operations at Canterbury Park on March 16, 2020, we have acted aggressively to preserve cash by reducing our operating expenses, suspending or delaying our 2020 planned capital expenditures, and suspending our quarterly cash dividend,” said Randy Sampson, Canterbury Park president and CEO.

“The additional actions we are implementing today are the hardest we have ever had to make given the impact on our dedicated employees for whom this situation is beyond our collective control. While this was an extremely difficult decision to make, the board of directors and I remain committed to taking the necessary actions that help ensure our employees’ health and safety as well as the company’s long-term future.

“We continue to work closely with Governor Walz, the Minnesota Department of Health and other government entities, and will seek their guidance on when Canterbury Park can reopen so that our team members’ way of life can get back to normal. We look forward to seeing our dedicated team members return to Canterbury Park once we reopen.”

Elsewhere, Spinola Gaming has been commenting on revenue falls across the land-based lottery sector due to the outbreak, offering its services to those in need in a bid to counter the slowdown.

The company suggests emerging markets are taking the biggest hit, with South America, India and China, which has seen sales decline 43.3 per cent, the heaviest hit. 

Furthermore, a series of drops has also affected the North American market, with Spinola insisting that the region has been “badly affected” due to COVID-19.

In Massachusetts, lottery revenue dropped by $1.3m in the second week of March, in Arkansas it dropped $3.6m from January to February, and in Ohio land-based lottery terminals in grocery stores are expected to be closed after being overrun with demand since the local casinos shut. Canadian-based operators Loto-Quebec and OLG have already completely suspended their land-based operations.

To help counter the threat, Spinola Gaming is offering a series of online webinars to show how its products and services can allow land-based operators to compete again.

Ade Repcenko, CEO of Spinola Gaming, explained: “In these circumstances, third party online operators become a real threat to the industry as players are turning to them in order to play the lottery games they normally get from the corner stores. 

“This threat, if prolonged, could make players change their habits and stick to online once the virus goes away, which will have long standing ramifications for the industry at large.

“We want to show operators how we can get them live in a matter of weeks with very minimal financial impact. 

“We have fast, cost effective solutions to allow operators to get back to business in a matter of weeks, with our market leading solutions enabling them to reach players in the comfort of their own home.”

The post Las Vegas Sands ups PPE donations as Spinola aims to offset declines appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The company, which continues to make progress on its Triple Crown Apartments development that is scheduled to open by November, closed its Canterbury Park entity last week based on the advice of Minnesota state and regulatory bodies.

As a result it has temporarily suspended all card casino, simulcast and special events operations at the property in response to concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The company asserts that the “overall discussion of historical 2019 results in this release may not reflect future results due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus”.

On a quarterly basis net revenue rose 4.7 per cent to $12.6m (2018: $12m), reflecting a $532,000 rise in card casino revenue related to an increase in table games revenue, as well as a $102,000 improvement in food and beverage revenue due to expansions. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in pari-mutuel revenues of $82,000 due to a decline in simulcast wagering.

Net income fell 76.7 per cent from $2.37m to $553,000, with adjusted EBITDA increasing to $1.71m, representing an 8.9 per cent rise to $1.57m.

Net revenue for the full-year increased slightly to $59.2m, net income fell 52.5 per cent to $2.7m from $5.7m and adjusted EBITDA decreased 19.8 per cent from $7.9m to $6.3m.

Relating to the former it is said that the increase reflects card casino revenue growth of $486,000 and an $877,000 improvement in its food and beverage segment. 

These increases were offset by an $806,000 decline in pari-mutuel revenues due to lower simulcast, guest fees, and live racing wagering partially resulting from three less live racing days in 2019, a $472,000 decline in other revenues reflecting the benefit to other revenues in 2018 from a one-time, short-term agreement related to the 2018 Super Bowl in Minneapolis, and a decrease in RiverSouth advertising revenues that were offset by a reduction in advertising expense.

“The fourth quarter concluded a productive year for Canterbury as we generated record fourth quarter revenue of $12.6m and adjusted EBITDA of $1.7m, reflecting year-over-year growth of 5 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively,” explained Randy Sampson, president and CEO of Canterbury Park. 

“The improved fourth quarter performance was primarily driven by initiatives we implemented in our card casino that we believe will help deliver consistent future growth in a normalised operating environment.

“At the same time, we made noteworthy progress on the development and monetisation of our extensive real estate holdings as the first phase of the new Triple Crown Apartments remains on-track for completion and initial occupancy in the 2020 second quarter.”

Adding: “Our operating performance in the 2020 first quarter continued to demonstrate momentum with strong revenue increases prior to the temporary suspension of all operations on March 16, 2020. However, our upcoming results will reflect this disruption to our operations.

“The temporary suspension of our operations at this time is critical to our ability to ensure the safety and well being of our team members and guests. We are closely monitoring developments and relying on information and advice from the Minnesota Department of Health and other government resources, and will make a decision on reopening Canterbury Park at the appropriate time.”

The post Canterbury Park monitoring developments after ‘a productive year’ appeared first on CasinoBeats.