The casino news of the week delivers a diverse set of headlines, starting with a power outage incident in Macau that sparked questions of security. That’s where we’ll start this week’s recap of the news:
Power Outages Hit Macau Casinos
Is Daniel Ocean (or his sister) hitting up the Macau Casinos? The thought has crossed several people’s minds recently after a number of casinos in Macau lost power. Multiple instances were reported on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s a bizarre string of incidents when you consider that casinos are supposed to be ironclad.
On Saturday, the Ponte 16 and Golden Dragon casino outlets endured prolonged power outages. On Sunday, four venues operated by Sands China were significantly affected with more than 90 gaming machines being suspended from operation. This came from a report from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. Local media organizations tried to contact Sands China for further comment, but were not able to get a response at press time.
The outages affected games at the Casino Venetian, Casino Sands Cota Central, Casino Plaza, and the Casino Parisian Macao.
All of these occurrences bring into question the reliability of Macau’s power and utility system, and how much casinos might have to do to address the problem internally without reliance upon government or public-sector assistance. It has raised the question of whether these casinos need to pay money for their own internal sources of electricity or not. Of course, they could get their own backup power sources, which would improve security, but would also cut into their profit margins.
Evolution Gaming and DraftKings Agree To Deal
Evolution Gaming, a live casino company, has agreed to a deal which will attempt to increase the online gambling arm of DraftKings. Based in Stockholm, the company has announced that it will supply DraftKings with a live casino package of products from Evolution’s live dealer studio in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
DraftKings had been solely a fantasy sports operator, but is seeking expansion into new realms of gaming. It immediately dove into sports betting and is now a leading operator in the United States after the Supreme Court opened the door to legalized sports betting in the country. Last December, DraftKings’ New Jersey location unveiled an online casino product for the very first time.
A launch date for the new DraftKings casino has not been announced as of yet.
Barona Resort Slot Player In San Diego Wins Over $703,000
The American Dream in a casino is to walk in with a little and walk out with a lot. That’s exactly what happened for one lucky man in San Diego after a $5 slot machine play turned into a $703,783 payday at the Barona Resort and Casino.
A longtime Club Barona member named Tara (her last name withheld) played the Johnny Cash Ring of Fire slot machine and struck it rich. The casino has often suggested that this particular slot is one of the loosest in San Diego, encouraging other players to come and play, but that claim hasn’t been verified.