Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque further told media during recent briefings that no private entities should challenge the President’s ban on developing casino gambling businesses on the popular tourist hub.
Boracay is undergoing an environmental rehabilitation after a review by environmental authorities found that multiple businesses discharged untreated water into the sea, thus polluting the surrounding environment and threatening the health of locals and visitors. It also became known that there were a number of illegal structures on the island, which President Duterte threatened to blow up.
Boracay was closed in late April and is expected to reopen for business on October 26. It has become clear from previous comments made by President Duterte and members of various government departments that the island might still look to attract international tourism. However, casino gambling would not be allowed, as repeatedly pointed out by the country’s top official.
The casino gambling comments have been made in relation to a recently announced project for the development of an integrated resort with a gaming floor. The project was introduced by Macau casino and hospitality operator Galaxy Entertainment Group and its local partner Leisure & Resorts World Corporation (LRWC). The two companies announced late last year that they planned to build a $550-million resort on the island.
They received a provisional license from PAGCOR, the Philippine gambling regulator, earlier this year and acquired a 23-hectare site where the property will be built. Commenting on Boracay’s closure and how this would affect their project, a LRWC official said over the weekend that the resort remained on track for 2021 opening, despite the island’s ongoing environment cleanup and the fact that no groundbreaking date has been decided on.
Casino Gambling a Vice
The President’s spokesperson said in series of comments from the past few days that the official does not like casinos as they promote gambling, which is a vice and “contrary to good morals.”
The latest comments could mean that Boracay would still be open to business and international tourism after its cleanup is completed, despite previous statements made by President Duterte that the island could be subjected to an agricultural reform that would aim to return land to its residents.
The President has said that the government would have to decide how to determine who owns what portion of Boracay’s land and to make sure that the distribution of land would be fair.
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Bally’s Wild Wild West have started accepting sports bets on Monday morning, while its sister casino Harrah’s Resort will open its doors to punters on Wednesday, according to CEC. This makes the twin gambling facilities the third and fourth casinos to offer sports betting in Atlantic City.
In a regulatory filing, Genting Hong Kong estimated that its consolidated net loss for the first six months of 2018 to be around US$150 million to US$170 million. The estimate is lower than the US$205.4 
According to Galaxy, “[The] Mentorship Scheme is intended to identify and give the coming generation of IR professionals in Japan a first-hand look at what it takes to develop and operate the world’s most successful IR—Galaxy Macau.”
After some clashes at the poker table, poker pro Antonio Esfandiari and popular comedian turned avid poker player Kevin Hart are set to storm the boxing ring, Esfandiari himself told a TMZ Sports reporter over the weekend. 
With three gold bracelets from the World Series of Poker and two WPT Main Tour titles, Esfandiari is one of the big stars of global poker. The player boasts live tournament earnings of over $27.6 million. That amount includes his first-place prize of $18,346,673 for taking down the 2012 $1,000,000 BIG One for ONE DROP and outlasting some of the world’s most seasoned pros, including heads-up opponent England’s Sam Trickett. 
GEG’s local partner, Philippine-listed gambling operator Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC), pointed out that the six-month rehabilitation of Boracay has not affected its casino project in the island since they were able to finish what they needed to do prior to the closure of the island.
games and place bets with real money from anywhere. While it sounds like it would be an enticing and viable solution to virtually anyone, there is one catch that might make things a little complicated—to play or collect winnings, the gambler must conduct the transactions while physically at the 
Ireland’s Revenue has issued enforcement letters to a number of illegally operating casino facilities across Dublin giving them 21 days to remove gambling machines from their premises, The Times reported earlier this week. 
The Irish Amusement Trades Association (IATA), which represents both licensed and unlicensed arcades, has responded quickly to the pending crackdown, saying that it was considering legal actions against Revenue’s ruling. The association has long been lobbying for the ban on casino-style gambling in Dublin to be lifted. 
The LRWC official further explained that they have been working closely with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which is in charge of the ongoing rehabilitation process, as well as with other government agencies, and that they are getting updates on the process from the Boracay task force. 
State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) confirmed on Thursday that it recently granted LIDL a provisional license for the construction and operation of its $1.5 billion integrated resort in Manila.
Simon Lam is the brand new member of WPT’s club of Main Tour Main Event champs. The player outlasted the 584-strong field of the inaugural edition of the WPT Gardens Poker Festival $5,000 Main Event for his first title from the popular poker series. 
Lam was the chip leader at the time heads-up between him and Schindler kicked off. And the player never really lost his momentum, despite his opponent’s efforts to improve. 
MGM Chairman and CEO James Murren, in a conversation with Japanese media this past Wednesday, said that the company can make a “full contribution” to Japan only if it is 
The WPT Gardens $5,000 Main Event final table was set early today after a long Day 4 of the tournament. Six players are set to return later today at the host venue, the Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens, Southern California, to play down to a champion. 
Day 4 of the WPT Gardens Main Event kicked off with 46 hopefuls still in contention. Saya Ono was leading the survivors. While the local player failed to keep her lead throughout the day, she managed to secure her spot at the official final table. She currently occupies the fifth spot in the temporary leaderboard with a stack of 3.445 million, good for 57 big blinds. In other words, even though she stands near the bottom of the chip counts chart, she is still running pretty deep. 
The market reacted negatively with 
Yusho Oki of Japan-based Paraisu Corp., apparently met with Saipan Mayor David Apatang. Apatang said that the businessman was somewhat elusive on what his plans are, but added that he will be making a return visit in August to discuss the possibilities in more detail. Oki did specify, however, that he was considering a casino in Saipan and the neighboring island of Rota, about 46 miles north of Guam.
Reuters reported that 
A new hotel and casino complex might spring up in the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip after two Israeli hoteliers bought earlier this month the 1960s-era Motel 8 and hinted at plans to bulldoze the site to make room for a new development, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Mr. Gabay told the Review-Journal that their plans for the now shuttered Motel 8 and its nearby Mr. Deli convenience store involve razing those and making room for a hotel and casino complex. The businessman declined any further comments on what the future of the one-acre site would be, but hinted that more details might be revealed in the coming months. 
Cambodia’s leading casino operator 
Chinese police has recently cracked down on yet another illegal gambling ring that used WeChat to provide users of the extremely popular messaging app with the opportunity to punt on virtual red envelopes, the South China Morning Post reports citing information obtained by the Xinhua. 
The Xinhua reports that gambling on red envelopes can take place in various ways on WeChat. Chat groups are one popular way. For instance, a given gambler could be required to pay out to everyone in a given group for picking the red packet with the smallest amount. 
given to the operators whose licenses expire first in an effort to gain time while the whole licensing scheme is hashed out by legislators. It looks like Macau lawmakers are being more proactive on the issue and are said to already be reviewing a proposal on how the renewal process should be handled.
