Fun while it lasted … [Photo: M Resort]

M Resort closed its 14-table poker room [earlier this month] to make space for additional slot machines that will be used for tournament play.

Rina Foster, a spokeswoman for the casino, said employees displaced by the closure were offered other jobs, although she wasn’t sure how many were moved to new positions.

M Resort is owned by Penn National Gaming.

She said the space layout is still be reconfigured and M Resort has not determined how many slot machines will move in the space. Foster said the property’s customers wanted a better location for slot tournaments.

“Currently tournaments are held in a ballroom and with the new area, guests will be able to play on our floor with better access to our amenities and easy access to self-parking,” Foster said.

M Resort still plans to host custom poker events, such as the Hollywood Poker Open that was held at the end of June. The $500,000 tournament featured players who qualified at Penn National properties across the U.S.

The tournament was held in the M Resort convention area.

Foster said next year’s Hollywood Poker Open is already being planned for M Resort.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at [email protected] or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.

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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The chief executive of Deutsche Bank Securities was elected to serve as a director of the American Gaming Association, the Washington D.C.-based lobbying arm of the casino industry.

Richard Byrne, previously director-elect, was elected for a one-year term as an at-large director.

William Newby, global head of gaming investment banking at Jefferies & Company Inc., was selected by the AGA board as a director-elect for the coming year.

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Texas lawmakers will again take up the issue of gaming expansion during the state’s biannual legislative session that begins next week.

And, as in previous years, a gaming bill has as much chance of passing through both Lone Star State legislative houses as the Dallas Cowboys have of winning the Super Bowl with Tony Romo at quarterback.

Slim and none.

“There are a host of detractors and hurdles standing in the way of Texas passing gaming expansion anytime soon, from religious groups, out-of-state gaming interests, a conservative Legislature, and animal rights groups,” Union Gaming Group managing director Bill Lerner told investors.

National gaming expansion talks always focus on Texas when that state’s Legislature convenes for roughly five months in odd-numbered years.

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What fiscal cliff?

Gaming stocks were oblivious to investor worries that the lack of a year-end agreement in Congress to avoid wide-ranging tax increases and spending cuts would push the economy over the edge.

The sector closed out 2012 on a positive note in December.

Of the 12 gaming companies followed by Las Vegas financial adviser Applied Analysis, 11 showed marked increases in their average daily stock prices during the month.

Eight of the companies finished 2012 with a higher average daily stock price than in 2011.

Applied Analysis principal Brian Gordon told the firm’s clients Monday in a research report that investors believed a compromise would likely take place in Congress concerning federal revenue enhancements and other measures.

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Steve Wynn is going to bid for the last casino license in Philadelphia.

The chairman of Wynn Resorts Ltd. proposes to build a 150,000-square-foot casino with 900 slot machines and 100 table games and a 300-room hotel on about 60 acres of waterfront property, a company spokesman confirmed Thursday.

Michael Weaver, senior vice president marketing strategy at Wynn Resorts, said the company will file for a casino license by the state’s Nov. 15 deadline. The Las Vegas-based gaming company had proposed building a $600 million casino in the spring of 2010 in Philadelphia before pulling out.

“We are excited about Philadelphia and the opportunity afforded by our piece of property on the banks of the Delaware River,” said Wynn, who is also his company’s CEO. “It allows for a luxury hotel complex and the introduction of the Wynn brand to Philadelphia.”

Wynn said his assignment was to build a resort that attracted visitors to the city.

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Exactly two weeks to the day after Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) announced its acquisition of M Resort, a casino workers labor union, UNITE HERE!, issued the following press release that might be of special interest to investors who paid nearly $40/share. (So far, after short-lived giddiness, their stake continues to drop like a rock.)

Read below for the official announcement:

The overwhelming majority of shareholders at Penn National Gaming, Inc. voted last week to change the way the company’s directors are elected. 40 million out of 67 million shares were cast for a shareholder resolution that nominees to the board must receive a majority of the votes cast in order to be seated. Under Penn’s current bylaws, a nominee needs only a single affirmative vote to be elected in uncontested director elections.

“A majority vote standard transforms the director election process from a symbolic process to a meaningful voice for shareholders,” ISS Proxy Advisory Service wrote in a report criticizing Penn National Gaming, Inc. on May 23, 2011. More…

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) announced yesterday that following its October 2010 purchase of all of the outstanding debt of M Resort for $230.5 million and the receipt of requisite regulatory approvals, it has acquired the business in exchange for the debt. Penn National purchased the M Resort debt from Bank of Scotland plc in October 2010 at which time the Company also secured the right to acquire the business of M Resort in exchange for the property’s outstanding debt obligations. M Resort was developed by Anthony Marnell III, who will serve as President of the property following its acquisition by Penn National.

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Hello good people of Pokerati. Here’s what I hope to make a weekly digest of what I think are the most interesting and/or relevant stories (not necessarily the same thing) happening online and around the world:

1. PokerStars turns off Washington players – This is the first US state to be turned off by PokerStars. Major Stars competitors have not responded in-kind. This was not prompted by any change in state law in Washington (the ostensible reason was the result in the Rousso v. Washington judgment handed down on September 23^rd). This may signal that Stars is not going to be as aggressive as others in maintaining a presence in all jurisdictions in the US. [Casino City Times]

 

2. HR 2267 – People continue to try to read the tea leaves to determine what’s going to happen with the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act. Every utterance from Reps. Frank or McDermott or from Senator Reid sends the online forums and poker press into overdrive. The House is now adjourned until after the November elections. If HR 2267 is to pass, it must be done during the lame-duck session starting after the mid-terms and ending before the start of the 112^th Congress in early January. I continue to believe that it’s more likely than not that the current version (as amended) will not pass before the start of the next session, but remember that a lot can happen in a few days. [GovTrack.us]

 

3. Betfair IPO – This is one of the biggest public offerings in gaming in some time, so it’s no surprise that it’s getting quite a lot of attention. Betfair is apparently not raising new money on the float; shareholders are selling off approximately 10% of their holdings before over-allotment. Initial media reports had suggested a valuation of as high as £1.5B, but this appears to have been discounted. [Wall Street Journal]

 

4. Penn National coming to Vegas – Penn National Gaming purchased the outstanding debt of the M Resort in Las Vegas for $230.5M. This is seen as Penn’s way of eventually owning the asset, giving it its first Las Vegas property. The M was built at a cost of $1B, so most appear to be congratulating Penn for effectively purchasing a nice asset at a fraction of cost. [LVRJ]

 

5. PokerStars Licensure – Stars continues to build up gaming licences in various jurisdictions; it now has operating licences in France, Italy, and Estonia, as well as its ‘main’ international licence from the Isle of Man. This may be a sign of the kind of regulatory fragmentation that owners will face in future (especially in Europe) as different countries open up their markets to licensure and operations. [Gaming Zion]

Gaming attorney and expert Stu Hoegner follows the poker and casino industries from a tax- and law-minded perspective @GamingCounsel.