Our weekly roundup of this week’s casino news starts off in Las Vegas where one of the original casinos is finally finishing up its facelift. Is it going to be a new hot spot that customers flock to? We’ll start with that story as we recap the important casino headlines of the week.
Completion Of Palace Station’s Renovation Expected Soon
One of the old-school Las Vegas stalwarts has been getting a makeover and it appears to be nearing completion. The Palace Station, which is in the midst of a $192-million renovation, is expected to unveil to the public a new section that includes the casino as well as parts of the property’s east end.
The renovation has been more about an expansion as the former casino was just 5,000 square feet. The new Palace Station Hotel & Casino will be 220,000 square feet, which means it has increased in size by over 40 times. In total, the new space will have more than 1,800 video poker machines and more than 43 table games.
The challenge is that Palace Station is still off The Strip while most of the action is on it. Palace Station is located at the north end of The Strip, about a 25-minute walk west of Circus Circus. Some hotels like the Rio, the Hard Rock and the Trump Hotel have been able to find success away from the main hubs. However, other hotels at that end of The Strip have had a tough time of late, including the SLS, which can’t seem to generate much traction.
Finnplay Earns Romanian License
The Romanian market has welcomed a new player as the Finnish iGaming platform maker Finnplay has earned an operating license in Romania. This is a Class II license, which will allow it to provide its platform to companies that want to operate in Romania. For the most part, it focuses on casino games, holding a portfolio that includes over 4,000 games. Its platform is also integrated with over 40 payment operators, meaning money flows in and out quite easily.
The license was a key acquisition for Finnplay, which is now compliant for gaming in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Malta, Hungary, Belgium, Curacao and Mexico.
ATG Selects Partner
Evolution Gaming is having quite a year so far. On the heels of winning a pair of EGR B2B awards, Evolution Gaming has added another feather to its cap. On Monday, it was announced that ATG – a horse racing operator in Sweden – has selected Evolution Gaming for a content partnership. As a result, we’ll see ATG start to have access to and offer its customers selections from the Evolution Gaming portfolio. This will go into effect January 1, 2019, when Sweden’s new gambling laws will go into effect.
This is just one of many new business deals announced by Evolution Gaming of late, including the launch of a second Dual Play Roulette table in London at the Hippodrome Casino.