From Phil Mickelson’s gambling addiction to a responsible gaming line that’s gone nationwide, a lot happened in the casino world this week. Here are the top headlines we’ve been tracking.
MGM Agrees To Sell Mississippi Gold Strike Casino
It looks like we are going to be seeing a new operator for the Gold Strike Unica casino in Mississippi. MGM Resorts International has just announced that they are going to be selling the operations to Cherokee Nation Entertainment Gaming Holdings. The agreement will have the new operator pay $450 million in cash to acquire the casino.
Gold Strike has been a strong casino in the Mississippi market. At the end of 2021, it was reported that they brought in a net income total of $81.1 million.
Gold Strike has been around since 1994 and got bought out by MGM Resorts in 2005. They were one of the key figures in a great state gambling market that brought in a total of $2.67 billion in gambling revenue throughout 2021. Outside of the Gold Strike Tunica casino, the state has 28 other casinos to help bolster their gambling profits.
New Jersey Gambling Addiction Hotline Set To Go Nationwide
As gaming grows around the country, so does the need for responsible gaming.
The National Council on Problem Gambling has just come together to announce a new six-year license agreement that will help problem gamblers. The partnership will include the Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey and will use a hotline to help people who are suffering from something like this. The hotline was previously only available for use in New Jersey but now it is going to be used throughout the United States.
The hotline number is currently 1-800-522-4700, or 1-800-GAMBLER. All of the organizations involved in creating this hotline are committed to supporting people who have started to have a gambling problem. They are hoping to help people across the nation to ensure that everybody has the help they need.
This likely couldn’t have come at a better time. Currently, there are over 30 states that offer sports betting in some way. On top of that, there have been estimations that 2-4 percent of all people in the United States have some form of gambling issue.
Mickelson Says His Gambling Problem Is Under Control Now
Phil Mickelson is one of the most prominent sports athletes to talk about gambling addiction but it looks like he’s finally over it. He had opened up about his addiction last week after it was confirmed that he lost roughly $40 million in about a five-year span. Mickelson said that he had become “reckless” and that “it’s embarrassing.”
Mickelson admitted that he didn’t like how people knew of his gambling problem but also that he has had enough support around him to get over the issues that once plagued him.
A couple of months ago, Mickelson found himself under fire after he was candid regarding the human rights abuses from his business partner at the time. Sponsors had quickly cut ties with him. On top of that, an investigation of insider trading uncovered his financial losses in gambling and even sent somebody to prison. Luckily, he wasn’t hit with any charges of his own.