Indy Gaming: SCOTUS ruling favoring Texas tribal casinos has ‘wider implications’
Supreme Court ruling last week allows the Tigua Indians of El Paso to operate bingo at an El Paso entertainment center. It also benefits the Alabama-Coushatta tribe, which has been fighting with Texas officials over bingos on its reservation. Las Vegas Sands will work with the Legislature next year to put a casino referendum on the ballot in Texas. Last year, Texas lawmakers rejected a Las Las Sands-backed casino gaming proposal. WinStar World Casino and Resort is located in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on Interstate 35.
Sightline Payments filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Everi Holdings. The case was dismissed because the judge ruled Texas was the improper venue for the case. Sightline's lawyer found five infringements on their patents related to cashless gaming. Everis corporate offices are in Las Vegas, while its games division is in Austin. A spokesman for Everus declined to comment on the ruling.
Macau's casino industry is struggling after the latest COVID-19 outbreak. The government ordered a quarantine of more than 600,000 residents and closed most restaurants and businesses. Macau casinos reported a $410 million revenue in May. Las Vegas Sands had total debt of almost $15 billion at the end of March. The company has casino holdings in Macao. Fitch Ratings Service downgraded its view of Las Las Sands’ unsecured debt. It is not clear how much of it is un secured. Analysts had hoped June would boost Macaue's casinos.
Sports betting, online gaming set sail in deal between MGM and Carnival Corp. Passengers aboard the U.S. branded luxury ships operated by Carnival will soon be able to gamble online and bet on sports in international waters. The agreement was announced last week. Carnival shares rose almost 10 percent on Friday after the agreement. Carnival's stock price is down more than 55 percent year to date. Since June 2018, more $125 billion has been wagered on sport.
The Wheel of Fortune Casino will be an online gaming site based on the syndicated television game show. It will open in New Jersey, one of six states that allow legal and regulated online casino gaming. Nevada has one online poker site and does not allow for regulated gambling. iGT created more than 250 versions of the Wheel Of Fortune slot machine since the game was introduced more more that two decades ago.