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The Platinum Pass promotion rolls on and PokerStars announced Wednesday that the final stop on the Moneymaker PSPC Tour will be at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., in November. The first of three coveted passes to the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship will be up for grabs during its Florida stop from Nov. 9-11.

Winners of the passes receive a $30,000 prize package that includes a $25,000 buy-in to the PSPC, a luxury stay at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas, and $2,000 for travel and expenses. The PSPC takes place in January, and the Moneymaker Tour has been crisscrossing the country since August awarding the passes.

As part of the 15th anniversary of Moneymaker’s historic win at the World Series of Poker Main Event, PokerStars is offering players a chance to win a pass for only $86 – the buy-in Moneymaker used to win his championship in 2003. The tournaments feature a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool and offer players the chance to win life-changing sums of money by parlaying an $86 buy-in into a Platinum Pass.

Starting flights will take place at 10 a.m. on Nov. 9 and 10, with Day 2 kicking off at noon on Sunday, Nov. 11.

“Bringing the Moneymaker PSPC Tour to Hollywood was a no-brainer and we’re eager to change the life of one of the property’s players,” Moneymaker said. “I will be on site and in the field for this can’t-miss event.”

That tournament is not the only opportunity to take home pass, however.

Two more Platinum Passes up for grabs

The two companies will once again team up for a charity poker tournament on Nov. 13. The $300 buy-in event features unlimited re-entry the first two hours with more than $50,000 in cash and prizes awarded – including a Platinum Pass. A player pre-party begins at 6 p.m. with the tournament scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Seminole and PokerStars ran a similar event in 2017 to raise funds for relief efforts following Hurricane Irma. The event raised more than $66,000 for the Feeding South Florida charity, which will also be this year’s beneficiary.

“PokerStars is delighted to once again work with Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood to raise money for Feeding South Florida,” said Sue Hammett, head of corporate giving at The Stars Group. “Last year we saw players getting behind a charity poker tournament in the wake of Hurricane Irma and this event will once again enable them to support a charity which makes an important difference in Florida.”

There will be one last shot at a Platinum Pass as part of the Seminole Hard Rock Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open. Those who play in any tournament from Nov. 14–27 will earn an entry in a drawing for a pass with the drawing set for Nov. 28. So far, PokerStars has awarded $330,000 worth of Platinum Passes to 11 U.S. players.

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World Series of Poker to World Series?

The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, is involved in another rumor about a possible sale. However, the particularly juicy tidbit to this rumor is that the off-Strip property may be torn down and replaced with a new Major League Baseball stadium.

The rumor comes courtesy of Vegas blog Vital Vegas. The blogger has been right often enough to warrant more than a glance.

We’ll up the ante on our Rio sale rumor with another juicy tidbit: As we’ve shared, could very well be a land play. New rumor suggests Rio could be demolished, site to be developed as (wait for it) Major League Baseball ballpark.

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) October 8, 2018

We cannot stress enough that this rumor is exactly that: a rumor. Though whispers of a Rio sale aren’t exactly new, there has been no confirmation from anyone at Caesars Entertainment about plans for the property.

However, Vital Vegas is also reporting that Rio is scaling back its food service operations dramatically. The property is reducing its room service availability and mostly shutting down the butler service at its Palazzo Villa suites.

The blog speculates that this drawdown is due to the impending sale. To ascribe that sort of causality seems a bit premature at this point, and the moves don’t really reflect any kind of preparation or cost savings for a potential buyer, but it is part of the scuttlebutt.

Golden Knights’ success may be paving the way for an MLB team

Though the mention of a Major League Baseball stadium seems to come out of nowhere, there is some credibility to the notion that the big leagues would come to Nevada. For starters, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said as much during a radio show last July.

On the July 17 edition of The Dan Patrick Show, Manfred had this to say about expansion to the desert:

“I think Vegas is a viable expansion alternative. I think it’s big enough.”

Manfred hedged on anything definitive beyond that statement, however. He said his biggest priorities were to address the stadium issues facing the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays.

Of course, since that time, Oakland has managed to solve its problem. The city tapped world-famous architect Bjarke Ingels to design and construct a state-of-the-art facility to house the city’s remaining professional sports team.

Ironically, Las Vegas is responsible for part of Oakland’s loss of sports franchises. The Oakland Raiders will move to the desert city in 2020.

Thanks to that move and the almost-overnight success of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas is rapidly becoming a sports destination. So, even though there’s nothing to take to court about a Rio demolition and subsequent stadium, there is some credibility to the notion.

On the other hand, Las Vegas has been home to a AAA baseball team for many years. In fact, the Las Vegas 51s are moving into an ultra-posh, brand-new ballpark in 2019, so it does stretch belief that a big league franchise and a stadium would show up so soon afterward.

Maybe, maybe not

A sale of the Rio would also create a complication regarding the home of the World Series of Poker. The pinnacle of the poker year has held court at the Brazilian-themed casino every June since 2005.

Back in early August 2018, Vital Vegas floated a rumor that the WSOP would move into the new Caesars Convention Center once construction on the $375 million property completed. At the time, a spokesman from Caesars flatly denied the rumors of a move for the tournament series, and that was the last word about the issue.

So, for now, whispers about big-time baseball in the desert will have to remain unconfirmed. However, another run at a Stanley Cup or a resurgent Raiders team in the Super Bowl might start the conversation for real.

Photo credit: RaksyBH / Shutterstock.com

The post Does Vegas’ Rumored Rio Hotel Sale Mean Hope For An MLB Stadium? appeared first on Play USA.

Bobby Baldwin has stood at the center of the poker universe for more than four decades. The 67-year-old poker pro and 1978 World Series of Poker Main Event champion turned casino executive, who championed the game before the boom and beyond it, is now stepping out of it.

On Thursday, MGM Resorts International announced that Baldwin will be leaving the casino and gaming giant later this year. Baldwin is currently Chief Customer Development Officer of MGM Resorts and CEO and President of CityCenter in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to an MGM statement:

“Few have played a more central role in the growth and transformation of the gaming industry than Bobby, and his contributions over more than three decades are immeasurable.”

As far as the game of poker is concerned, that ain’t the half of it.

A poker player first

The Tulsa, Oklahoma native first stepped into the poker spotlight when it was anything but bright. He won two bracelet events at the 1977 WSOP.

A year later, he won the 1978 WSOP Main Event. Back then, it came with the title of World Champion, but just a $210,000 first-place prize. At 28 years old, Baldwin was the youngest winner in WSOP Main Event history. The record has since been broken.

In 1979, he won his fourth WSOP bracelet. Three years later his career as casino executive began when Steve Wynn hired him at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. By 1984, Baldwin was Golden Nugget president.

When Wynn opened Mirage in 1989, Baldwin was its first president, and the property soon began hosting the biggest poker games in the world. In fact, in the legendary 1998 poker film Rounders, actor Matt Damon’s character correctly referred to the property as the center of the poker universe:

“The poker room at the Mirage in Vegas is the center of the poker universe. Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, the legends consider it their office. Every couple of days a new millionaire shows up wanting to beat a world champion. Usually they go home with nothing but a story.”

A new center of the poker universe

The legends moved their office to Bellagio (pictured) after it opened in 1998. Baldwin became Bellagio president and the highest-stakes poker games on the planet moved to Bobby’s Room, a glass-encased salon at the back of the poker room named for Baldwin himself.

Poker’s popularity boomed in the early 2000s and the poker room at Bellagio became the place to make or break the game’s top players.

Wynn left Mirage Resorts to start Wynn Resorts and Baldwin became Mirage CEO. When MGM bought the company and it became MGM Mirage, Baldwin took the helm of its new CityCenter project.

The massive casino resort project opened to the public in 2009 with ARIA Resort & Casino as its focus. ARIA’s poker room launched with a Bobby’s Room of its own, named Ivey’s Room, after top poker pro Phil Ivey. However, the poker room clearly had Baldwin’s signature all over it.

Nosebleed cash games still play out at Bobby’s Room in Bellagio, but ARIA has become the home for some of the biggest buy-in tournaments in the world. Plus, the ARIA poker room has become the preferred Las Vegas destination for many poker players. In fact, it’s fair to say ARIA now shares the title of center of the poker universe with Bellagio. It’s no stretch to say Baldwin is a big part of the reason why.

A commitment to the game

Poker’s popularity may have waned since it’s peak in the mid-2000s, but Baldwin’s commitment to the game has not. Several poker rooms built in the wake of the boom have closed, with casino executives coming to the realization slot machines earn more per square foot than poker ever will.

However, Baldwin has always found a way to see value in treating poker players well and keeping them coming back.

Baldwin leaving MGM behind could possibly mean MGM leaving poker behind. It could ultimately mean Bellagio and ARIA cease to be the center of the poker universe. The poker world will have to wait and see.

MGM thanked Baldwin for all he has done for the company and all he has meant to the industry. It wished him the best for the future. Poker players can only hope MGM’s future includes honoring all he has done for poker by continuing to support the game in the manner he has.

Although, with rumors that Baldwin’s exit at MGM comes after years of internal tension that may have surrounded his dedication to poker over almost everything, there’s no guarantee it will.

In fact, with Baldwin not at the center of the poker universe anymore, that center may soon be hard to find.

The post Does Bobby Baldwin’s Departure Mean That MGM Is Leaving Poker Behind? appeared first on .

The New England casino market got a little bit bigger in August. And even though MGM Springfield was only open for business for nine days it generated nearly $10 million in gross gaming revenue.

That sent total slot revenue at the region’s eight casinos over the $170 million mark for the month. And next month promises to be even better.

Not only will MGM have a full month of revenue to report, but the new Twin River casino in Tiverton officially opened its doors on September 1. The new Tiverton casino is expected to outperform the property it’s replacing, the dated Newport Grand.

A closer look at this month’s slot revenue

MGM posted solid, but somewhat unremarkable revenue numbers during its first week.

Instead of becoming one of the top casinos in the region (as many expected), MGM Springfield is looking more like a second-tier property, with revenues well below Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods and Twin River.

New England slot revenue August 2018:

• Mohegan Sun Casino – CT: $53,323,982
• Foxwoods Casino – CT: $41,448,573
• Twin River Casino – RI: $38,823,566
• Plainridge Park Casino – MA: $15,380,183
• Oxford Casino – ME: $7,971,072
• MGM Springfield – MA: $7,347,491
• Hollywood Casino – ME: $4,040,262
• Newport Grand Casino – RI: $3,665,294
• Total: $172,000,423

Here’s how each facility stacks up:

	# Slot Machines	Average RTP
MGM Springfield	2,550	90%
Plainridge Park	1,200	92%
Foxwoods	4,100	92%
Mohegan Sun	4,800	92%
Twin River	4,200	85%
Newport Grand	1,100	85%
Oxford Casino	950	90%
Hollywood Casino	725	90%

A closer look at this month’s table game revenue

Based on the early returns, when it comes to table game revenue, MGM Springfield will likely slide into the number two spot behind Twin River.

Table game revenue August 2018:

• Twin River Casino – RI: $10,370,796
• MGM Springfield – MA: $2,109,485
• Oxford Casino – ME: $1,618,142
• Hollywood Casino – ME: $788,689
• Total: $14,887,112

Here’s how each facility stacks up:

	# Table Games	# of Poker Tables
MGM Springfield	120	23
Plainridge Park	N/A	N/A
Foxwoods	250	100
Mohegan Sun	300	42
Twin River	100	22
Newport Grand	N/A	N/A
Hollywood Casino	18	4
Oxford Casino	28	N/A

Update on new and proposed casinos

The New England casino market is still a work in progress.

Even though its parent company is still being investigated, Encore Boston Harbor appears to be on track for its June 2019 opening, but the same cannot be said for proposed tribal casinos in the region.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s First Light Casino project in Taunton, Massachusetts was recently dealt yet another blow by the Department of Interior. That said, the tribe is still fighting, which means the project is still stuck in legal limbo.

The proposed Mohegan-Foxwoods satellite casino in East Windsor, Connecticut was recently dealt a major setback of its own. Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia ruled against the tribes and the state of Connecticut, finding no legal standing to force the DOI to accept the satellite casino revisions to the tribal compacts.

And if things weren’t tumultuous enough, there is also the fallout from the stunning resignation of Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby to contend with.

State-by-state casino revenue breakdown

Massachusetts

Opening week at the billion-dollar MGM Springfield doesn’t appear to have impacted Plainridge Park’s revenue. In fact, Plainridge’s slot revenue grew by 7 percent year-over-year.

That’s good news for the region, since cannibalization was a major concern.

Connecticut

August saw slot revenue ticked down slightly at both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. But the emergence of MGM Springfield is just the beginning of the storm the region’s two powerhouse casinos will have to weather.

MGM Springfield and Twin River Tiverton will both act as traffic chokepoints for the Connecticut casinos. When Encore Boston Harbor opens next year, it will be on a size and scale to rival the two tribal casinos.

The two tribal casinos are really going to be put to the test over the next 12 months.

Rhode Island

Twin River’s Rhode Island casinos are playing the role of the little engine that could, and it will be really interesting to see how the Tiverton property performs compared to the now-defunct Newport Grand.

There’s also the soon to be completed 136-room hotel at Twin River’s Lincoln casino, an amenity long overdue at the property.

Maine

Like the rest of the region, there was no discernible impact at either Maine casino from the opening of MGM Springfield.

That’s not too surprising. The Maine casinos are more of a convenience for locals. They are unlikely to lose a lot of business to an attraction that’s still several hours away.

 

The post MGM Springfield Provided A Nice Boost To New England Casinos In August appeared first on Play USA.