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MGM Springfield Swinging For The Fences When It Comes To Entertainment

MGM has a new marketing campaign called “Welcome to the Show” that focuses on the non-gaming entertainment options at its casino properties.

MGM recently commissioned research into the importance of entertainment in people’s lives. Not surprisingly, it was very important.  Chief Experience & Marketing Officer for MGM Resorts International Lilian Tomovich explains:

“MGM Resorts has long been committed to creating moments guests can’t find elsewhere. This research reinforces our belief that entertainment is critical to the human experience and provides the backbone of our new corporate marketing campaign, ‘Welcome to the Show.’ With our 78,000 employees around the world, we are committed to wowing guests at every turn.”

No shortage of entertainment options at MGM Springfield

Entertainment is a key component at MGM Springfield. The Massachusetts commercial casino is slated to open in September.

In addition to the usual array of casino entertainment, MGM announced the Springfield casino will contain:

  • A cinema
  • Bowling alley
  • Topgolf Swing Suite

“We’re super excited about this partnership and we think it rounds out our entertainment programming but there is still more to come,” Sarah Moore, MGM Springfield’s vice-president of marketing and retail, told MassLive.com. “It provides golf enthusiasts with year-round golf play. No longer will golf enthusiasts be at the mercy of the seasons and the weather.”

The Topgolf space is the first in Massachusetts. Additionally, MGM Springfield will be the third MGM property with Topgolf. It joins MGM Grand in Las Vegas and MGM Detroit.

The MGM Springfield Topgolf experience

According to MGM, the 2,800 square-foot Topgolf Swing Suite will house three simulators, a bar and lounge, and access from the property’s outdoor plaza.

In a statement to MassLive.com, a representative or Topgolf summed up the Swing Suite as:

“An immersive social experience offering guests a comfy lounge to play and enjoy fantastic food and beverage service. With a massive screen and a selection of exciting virtual games, the Topgolf Suite delivers a one-of-a-kind simulation that’s fun for golfers and non-golfers alike.”

MGM’s focus on entertainment

The Welcome to the Show campaign first debuted in late September.  However, MGM delayed the full rollout following the tragedy at Mandalay Bay on Oct. 1.

The campaign is an attempt to shift the company’s current image from hospitality and gaming to entertainment by “turning the spotlight on the incredible array of entertainment experiences that form the nexus across the company’s 27 distinctive resort destinations.”

As MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO Jim Murren said in September:

“Our new Welcome to the Show campaign is an epic invitation, designed to declare our point of view to the world and tie together our deep and diverse portfolio of resorts, from those that define the famed Las Vegas Strip to those across the U.S. and around the world.”

Photo courtesy of stock_photo_world / Shutterstock.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post MGM Springfield Swinging For The Fences When It Comes To Entertainment appeared first on Play MA.

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The Hot New Trend In Gaming Is Buying A Pennsylvania Casino

When asked about gambling hotspots in the United States, few people would think of Pennsylvania. But, at over $3 billion annually, the Pennsylvania casino market is the second-largest in the country, trailing only Nevada.

The Pennsylvania gaming market is expected to grow even larger thanks to a comprehensive gaming expansion law. That law passed in October, allowing for online gaming, VGTs, and mini-casinos, to name a few. As the Pennsylvania market expands, so do the opportunities. Naturally, multiple gaming companies are jumping at these opportunities.

One-third of casinos change hands

In the six months since the state passed its gaming reform law, four Pennsylvania casinos have undergone a change in ownership.

In all three instances the new owners mentioned, and in at least one case highlighted, the new opportunity presented by the legalization of online gaming.

Penn National sees the opportunity

Penn National’s acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment was a blockbuster deal, with national implications.

Even though the sale wasn’t Pennsylvania-centric, Penn National made a point to mention online gaming opportunities.

In a press release announcing its acquisition of Pinnacle, Penn National said:

“The combined company will benefit from additional promotional opportunities in online and social gaming, which will help provide an additional boost to property level performance.”

Boyd Gaming sees the same opportunities

Unlike the Penn National-Pinnacle deal, the purchase of Valley Forge by Boyd Gaming has everything to do with Pennsylvania and the new opportunities in the market.

Following his company’s acquisition of Valley Forge, Boyd Gaming President and CEO Keith Smith said:

“…  With this acquisition, we will expand into the second-largest gaming state in the country, establishing a presence in a densely populated, high-traffic area just west of Philadelphia.

“And thanks to Pennsylvania’s recent passage of gaming expansion legislation, there are new opportunities to drive incremental growth at Valley Forge through the expansion of the property’s slot capacity and the introduction of new forms of gaming.”

CDI positioning itself to be a major player in online gaming

Earlier this month, Churchill Downs purchased Presque Isle. Even more so than Valley Forge, the acquisition of Presque Isle is all about the passage of online gaming legislation.

Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen was very blunt about his company’s targeting of Presque Isle, saying:

“Presque Isle will give us a foothold in Pennsylvania which has recently passed legislation authorizing real money online gaming.”

Churchill’s website touts its experience with online gaming thanks to its TwinSpires advanced deposit wagering platform. That’s followed by the following statement about other online gaming opportunities:

“CDI’s investment in online wagering technology and customer support systems also positions the company to take advantage of additional Internet gaming opportunities, such as online poker, as those activities are authorized at the state or federal level.”

How CDI’s online gaming will manifest is anyone’s guess.

And Sands’ blockbuster sale makes it four casinos

A year ago, Sands Bethlehem was ahead of the curve. The company talked extensively with MGM Resorts International about an acquisition.

Given Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson’s revulsion and opposition to online gaming, getting out of PA was a no-brainer. Especially when other Pennsylvania properties are generating big price tags.

The buyer is surprising. Wind Creek is a regional chain of Southern casinos, with a couple of properties in the Caribbean. Additionally, not one of its properties even offers table games. To jump into the PA market with one of the top two casinos in the state is a huge and expensive risk.

However, Wind Creek thinks it is a risk worth taking. And, as we see, they are not alone by any means.

The post The Hot New Trend In Gaming Is Buying A Pennsylvania Casino appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.

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Parytpoker Makeover Includes New Tables And Bigger Guarantees

Partypoker has updated its dot-com player pool online poker software with a new table design and several other tweaks to improve the player experience.

The new update is not available on its regulated US poker room in New Jersey. However, players can expect similar improvements once the dot-com version’s international launch went well. Additionally, the update needs to pass any regulatory inspection by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).

The key software changes are:

  • Re-introducing the oval table shape as an option alongside the existing table design
  • New and improved player plates with larger fonts
  • Improved player notes display
  • Completely new time bank indicator
  • Several additional minor enhancements to improve the table look and feel

The update has been in the works since mid-2017 and is phase three of a substantial improvement program for the software platform.

The company unveiled Phase One in August 2017. It included major changes to the tournament lobby as well as preliminary changes to the poker tables. The main features were:

  • Improved game navigation
  • Collapsible filters to allow more space to view game choices
  • New darker lobby and table theme
  • Updated Sit & Go HERO lobby to differentiate between 3- and 4-handed games
  • Removal of the one-click lobby 

Phase Two released in December. The update added:

  • Full-screen functionality for the lobby
  • Live events tab
  • Currency switcher
  • Tournament search functionality

New Power Series

On March 5, partypoker launched its new Power Series with $10 million of guaranteed tournaments every week.

Partypoker ambassador Patrick Leonard explained:

“Almost every tournament schedule I’ve seen over the last 10 years of playing poker has outdated structures and tournaments that shouldn’t be there but are just because “they’ve always been there”. Removing every tournament on the site and building a logical & balanced schedule based on feedback from the regular players that also makes it different and exciting for amateur players every hour and every day is fantastic.”

Alongside the new series, there is also a new leaderboard promotion which pays out $60,000 a week in prizes. There are three leaderboards for low, medium and high buy-in levels. The top 20 places receive a prize.

Partypoker Managing Director Tom Waters commented:

“We know that our players were expecting our 2018 Leaderboard promotion to start immediately after Powerfest, however we want the players to benefit from the enhanced playing experience on the new tables when working towards the leaderboard prizes. Therefore we have decided to delay the Leaderboard promotion until Monday 5th March to coincide with the launch of the new MTT schedule. We wanted to ensure that the players do not miss out on any value and therefore we have doubled the Leaderboard giveaway for the first month.”

New Jersey players get their due

The development of partypoker’s software platform and increasing tournament guarantees come from a change of strategy after GVC acquired partypoker.

While the improvements are mainly targeted at the international player pool, the site is not ignoring New Jersey players. This month, on March 18, the Spring 2018 Garden State Super Series (GSSS) begins with $365,000 in guaranteed tournaments.

This is notably much more than the recent PokerStars New Jersey guaranteed for its Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOOP).

The TCOOP offered $250,000 in guarantees. However, both series were outdone by 888/WSOP New Jersey in its New Jersey Poker Classic. That series guaranteed $800,000 over 57 events.

What we are seeing is sites offering New Jersey players large incentives as the major licensed operators compete for market share. This is a competition which partypoker and its partner BorgataPoker are determined to win.

The post Parytpoker Makeover Includes New Tables And Bigger Guarantees appeared first on Play USA.

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Poker Industry PRO: Online Poker Growth Trend Spanned All of 2017

Online poker tournament popularity fueled growth in European markets throughout 2017, and growth is expected to be even greater in 2018 with shared liquidity.

Revenue figures released from the Spanish and French regulators show that European online poker, even in segregated markets, returned to growth in 2017 following years of decline.

Q4 market data released last month by France’s ARJEL and Spain’s DGOJ, the highlights of which are available in PRO’s Market Monitor: Spain Q4 and FY 2017 and Market Monitor: France Q4 and FY 2017, clearly shows online poker revenue for licensed operators in both markets rose year-over-year in every quarter during 2017 as a result of the slowing decline in cash games and the continuing upward trend in tournaments.

Read the full article on pokerfuse →