Casinos had a record year in 2021

Casinos had a record year in 2021

America’s commercial casinos won $53 billion in 2021, their best year ever according to figures released Tuesday. The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry’s national trade group, released year-end figures showing that in-person gambling continues to be the main source of revenue for the gambling industry, even as Internet and sports betting continue to grow in the United States. The $53 billion won by casinos is more than 21 percent higher than the previous best year, which came in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. They also show that many gamblers have not been deterred from visiting a casino in person, even during the pandemic, when highly contagious variants of the virus were surging. The casinos have spent millions on health and safety protocols to try to limit the spread of the virus. In Massachusetts, the state Gaming Commission reported revenue figures for the state’s three casinos. The Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett generated $54 million in revenue for January, down from $62.4 million in December; this was the Wynn Resorts casino’s weakest month since June but it was still well ahead of the $48.6 million it reported for January 2020, before the pandemic interrupted the state’s casino industry. MGM Springfield reported $18.6 million in gross gaming revenue last month, making it the slowest month for the casino since last February. Likewise, the Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville reported $9.8 million in slot-machine revenue, also the slowest month for the facility since February. (Plainridge does not have table games.) — ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPACE TOURISM

Virgin Galactic stock climbs on news of ticket sales

Virgin Galactic shares soared more than 32 percent Tuesday after the space tourism company said it would open commercial ticket sales, marking a significant milestone in its path toward consumer flights. Customers can make an initial deposit of $150,000 when ticket sales open to the general public Wednesday, Virgin Galactic said in a statement. Reservations will cost a total of $450,000 for a 90-minute spaceflight, which includes “several minutes of out-of-seat weightlessness,” the company said Tuesday. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

PHILANTHROPY

Musk gives billions worth of Tesla stock to charity

Elon Musk gifted almost $6 billion worth of Tesla stock to charity late last year in one of the largest philanthropic donations in history. The world’s richest man donated more than 5 million shares in the electric-car maker from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The gift was worth about $5.7 billion, based on average prices the days he sold the securities. The filing doesn’t name the charity and shows an unidentified trust was involved in the transaction. A large gift to charity would help reduce what Musk has said would be the biggest tax bill in US history. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

MONEY TRANSFER

MoneyGram sold for $1 billion

MoneyGram International Inc., one of the largest money-transfer services in the United States, agreed to be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners for about $1 billion in cash. The private equity firm will pay $11 a share for Dallas-based MoneyGram, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. The price is 23 percent higher than the closing price Monday. Madison Dearborn also agreed to refinance $799 million of the target’s debt. MoneyGram has been a takeover target for years, as more people turn to online payments and away from old-school money-transfer services. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

AUTOMOTIVE

GM to resume making Chevrolet Bolts

General Motors says it will start making Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles again in early April after an eight-month pause due to a series of battery fire recalls. The automaker says Tuesday that battery supplier LG Energy Solution is now making enough to supply replacement modules for the recalls as well as to resume production. The company will start making hatchback and SUV versions of the Bolt on April 4 at a factory north of Detroit. Those should start reaching dealers a few weeks later. Vehicles on dealer lots at the time of the recalls can be sold once battery modules are replaced. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

AVIATION

FAA to approve Boeing 787 planes, not Boeing

Federal safety regulators say they will retain power to approve Boeing 787 airliners for flight rather than return that authority to the aircraft maker, which hasn’t been able to deliver any new Dreamliner planes since last May because of production flaws. The Federal Aviation Administration said it told Boeing of its decision Tuesday. The FAA said that once deliveries of 787s resume, it will perform final inspections and retain power to clear each new plane until it is confident that Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing “consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.” For years, the FAA has relied on Boeing employees to certify the airworthiness of planes by deputizing some company employees to act on behalf of the agency. The practice came under intense criticism after two deadly crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jets and revelations that FAA officials knew little about a key flight control systems implicated in the crashes. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

FOOD

Good thing you had your fill of guacamole on Sunday

As Americans assembled their ingredients for Super Bowl guacamole over the weekend, troubling news emerged from the US Department of Agriculture: Avocado imports from Michoacán, Mexico, had been suspended. The USDA decided to stop imports when one of its plant-safety inspectors in Michoacán purportedly received a threatening message on his official cellphone. The import suspension comes as avocado prices hit record highs, 100 percent more expensive than they were a year ago, according to David Magaña, a senior analyst for RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness. ‘’In a few days, the current inventory will be sold out and there will be a lack of product in almost any supermarket,’’ said Raul Lopez, Mexico manager of Agtools, which conducts market research of agricultural commodities. ‘’The consumer will have very few products available, and prices will rise drastically.’’ — WASHINGTON POST

POULTRY

Bird flu cases spark fear of outbreak

Farms that raise turkeys and chickens for meat and eggs are on high alert and taking steps to increase biosecurity, fearing a repeat of a widespread bird flu outbreak in 2015 that killed 50 million birds across 15 states and cost the federal government nearly $1 billion. The new fear is driven by the discovery announced Feb. 9 of the virus infecting a commercial turkey flock in Indiana. The 29,000 turkeys in the flock were killed to prevent the spread of the virus. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

FOOD DELIVERY

Grubhub partners with 7-Eleven to expand delivery service

Grubhub is expanding its convenience delivery service in collaboration with 7-Eleven and considering adding urban warehouses in a bid to boost customer retention amid intense competition from DoorDash and Uber. It’s rolling out Grubhub Goods to 3,000 locations across the United States, allowing customers to order on-demand some of 7-Eleven’s most popular items, from energy drinks to ice cream and personal care. The national expansion follows a pilot program with 7-Eleven at several locations in Manhattan. Adding more warehouses, known as dark stores, would also extend an existing model in New York, where the company operates a Grubhub Goods location to stock its own inventory and make deliveries faster. — BLOOMBERG NEWS