| On the lighter side, new ideas are the life-blood of any industry and gaming is no exception. Particularly in times as trying as these, it will take new ideas and appealing to a broader audience for gaming to continue to grow. However, not all ideas are equal, nor are all new ideas good ideas. This idea from down under is a little startling and just may not be the best one to have surfaced this year. Las Vegas has an international reputation as "Sin City," but this takes the concept to a new level. The world's first listed brothel, The Daily Planet Ltd., wants to open a "sex theme park" in the international home of gambling, Las Vegas. The Daily Planet Chief Executive Andrew Harris said the group would have expanded regardless of last week's successful listing on the Australian Stock Exchange… "A number of things have changed as far as funding perception, people's willingness to deal with us and these opportunities have come forward and presented themselves very quickly to us," Mr. Harris told AAP. …He said that with around 35 million visitors a year, Las Vegas was the "ideal place to put this sex theme park". The Idaho Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Indian gambling initiative overwhelmingly approved by voters last fall. The high court this week said it lacks the "original jurisdiction" to hear the lawsuit. "The voters of Idaho and the State Supreme Court have spoken on this issue," Coeur d'Alene Tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar said Monday. "We hope that Indian gaming opponents will now honor the will of the people and the court, so we all can stop spending precious time and money in court and get on with our efforts to provide jobs and revenues for the people of Idaho." Associated Press, Las Vegas Sun, 6-6-03 A gaming pact was reached between the Pueblo and the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, which could mean more than $3 million a year income for Zuni. Dan Simplicio, tribal council member, said no casino will be on Pueblo of Zuni lands, either in Arizona or New Mexico. The tribe has more than 450,000 acres in New Mexico and Arizona, about 400,000 acres of it in New Mexico. The agreement allows the transfer of 475 slot machine licensing rights to the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, Ariz. The Gila River Indian Community has three Arizona gaming facilities, one in Wild Horse Pass, one in Vee Quiva and one in Lone Butte. The 475 slot machines the Gila River Indian Community can buy with the Zuni licensing rights will be added to the community's allocation. Simplicio said in return for the licensing rights the pueblo will get more than $3 million a year. Tom Purdom, Gallup Independent, 6-27-03 Any place on the planet that does not have a casino is probably considering one. Israel, Thailand, India and Guam are talking about it today. Any place that does have a casino is probably trying to figure out how to get more money from it. Every casino has more competition than it had last year and will have more next year. In general, the business is simply more complex, competitive and costly and the margins are deteriorating. The biggest players will continue to do well, and the rest of us will be trying to trade failed casinos for a piece of Pacific Ocean beach. This week Geoffrey Ainsworth, son of Aristocrat founder Len Ainsworth, said he (was) approached by parties claiming to represent American gaming company WMS Gaming, known in the industry as Williams. …The troubled poker machine maker, the second biggest in the world, has recently sacked its chief executive and chief financial officer while the chairman John Ducker resigned. UBS Warburg gaming analyst Anthony Aboud said further growth in Australia for Aristocrat is limited. "The Australian market at the moment is capped in every state except Queensland and there are measures in place which mean revenue from the machines is not as much as it used to be." …Aristocrat has issued three profit warnings this year with its share price falling from $4.22 in February to a closing low of 89 cents. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has lowered its corporate credit rating on Aristocrat to the junk rating of BB from BBB-minus, with the ratings outlook remaining negative. West Australian, 6-18-03 Days after stating his family would not sell their stake in Aristocrat Leisure unless a "phenomenal figure" was offered in a takeover bid, poker machine tsar Len Ainsworth appears to have found just such a figure, himself. Mr. Ainsworth, who founded Aristocrat and whose family still owns 40 percent of the company, yesterday told Channel Seven's Sunday Sunrise program he would consider launching a reverse takeover of Aristocrat through his new company, Ainsworth Game Technology, because Aristocrat's management had "lost sight of the ball." The news caps several weeks of speculation a takeover bid was imminent for the embattled gaming group, which has lost $1.5 billion of its market value so far this year. Colin Kruger, West Australian, 6-23-03 |
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