Regional casino giant Penn National Gaming, which owns M Resort, announced plans Friday to enter San Diego’s Indian gaming market.

The company, which is based in Wyomissing, Pa., announced an agreement to build a $360 million Hollywood-branded casino project for the Jamul Indian Village. The development, which is expected to break ground later this year, is roughly 20 miles east of downtown San Diego.

In a statement, tribal officials said that the environmental review process for the site was completed and the tribe is working with California and San Diego County agencies to address potential environmental impacts.

The project is planned as a three-story, 200,000-square-foot casino with 1,700 slot machines and 50 table games, restaurants, entertainment amenities and a parking structure.

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A gambler wishing to remain anonymous hit the statewide Megabucks slot machine jackpot, totaling more than $17.3 million, over the weekend at M Resort.

International Game Technology officials confirmed the jackpot Monday.

M Resort officials posted notice of the win on the hotel-casino’s Facebook page.

IGT operates the Megabucks system, which is located on slot machines inside casinos throughout Nevada.

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Speaking of the M Resort … Wow, not sure how all the #WPBT bloggers in town missed this (ha!) … the lighting this weekend of the biggest (cut) Christmas tree in the USA. Seriously, it was going on right down the street and yet the idea of going South for free hot chocolate and Christmas caroling never came up once!

The 109-feet-tall, 11-ton White Fir from Oregon may be the biggest bush in town, but I guess it’s still not large enough to be seen from inside the Imperial Palace Geisha bar.

See how this recent addition at the very bottom of the Las Vegas Strip stacks compares to other arboreal monster stacks here.

This (long) weekend’s #WPBT festivities are coming to a close … and as I type the poker bloggers are gathered for Sunday football at Lagasse’s Stadium in the Palazzo. There some of them are experiencing, for the first time, what many say is the future of gambling: handheld, semi-portable real-money action.

A new-ish device, “eDeck”, lets you gamble Blackberry/iPhone-style theoretically from anywhere, but currently within the confines of three Las Vegas casinos — the Venetian, Palazzo, and M Resort. Global Gaming Business Magazine named it Best Table Game Product or Innovation for 2009. And none other than Doyle Brunson has been pimping it:

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The M Resort & Casino’s 12-table poker room that opened on March 1st began hosting daily No-Limit Hold’em tournaments last week.  They start at 10 am with a $55 buy-in ($50+5), 3,000 starting chips, 30 minute levels, and have a $1,500 guaranteed prize pool.

For more info contact the M Poker Room at 702-797-1777.