Business and Commerce

WynnBET Expansion Lights Fiscal Path for Wynn Resorts

WynnBET Expansion Lights Fiscal Path for Wynn Resorts

An announcement that Wynn Resorts is in the process of investing heavily in its online gambling product, combined with the news that a COVID-19 vaccine may be in the offing, resulted in a mammoth win for the resort and entertainment giant (NASDAQ: WYNN) as its stock price surged more than 22% Monday […]

After Authentic and John Velazquez captured the Breeders' Cup Classic, the 3-year-old Kentucky Derby champion rides into retirement. He'll open the 2021 breeding season at Spendthrift Farm. (Image: Darron Cummings/AP)

After Breeders’ Cup Classic Win, Authentic Rides Off to Retirement

After watching his gate-to-wire victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, it took Authentic’s owners barely 24 hours to retire the three-time Grade 1 winner at the end of his 3-year-old season. The Kentucky Derby champion heads to Spendthrift Farm, the large Kentucky breeding farm and majority owner of Authentic. He […]

ESPN Eliminates 500 Jobs, 300 Through Layoffs

ESPN Eliminates 500 Jobs, 300 Through Layoffs

ESPN’s financial woes, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have resulted in a massive layoff of 300 staffers along with the elimination of 200 currently unfilled job openings.  The layoffs will be spread throughout the sports cable empire, with on-air personnel being spared initially, according to a memo from ESPN Chairman […]

Las Vegas properties like the Venetian are still struggling during the pandemic, while Asian casinos are bouncing back. (Image: Venetian.com)

Las Vegas Sands in Talks to Sell Strip Properties for $6 Billion

Las Vegas Sands is considering selling its casino properties on the vaunted Las Vegas Strip. According to sources, Sheldon Adelson’s company is in talks to sell the Venetian, the Palazzo, and its convention center. Once Adelson’s crown jewels, the Venetian and Palazzo casinos are now but a small piece of […]

Former ESPN media technology leader is making the jump into the gambling industry by signing on with BeetMGM. (Image: ESPN)

BetMGM Signals Shift to Content and Social with Key ESPN Hire

In a move that portends an emergence as a content and social media juggernaut, BetMGM Tuesday hired Ryan Spoon, ESPN’s senior vice president of digital and social content. Spoon will depart ESPN’s Bristol headquarters to step in as chief operating officer at BetMGM, the New Jersey-based sports gambling venture owned […]

The Circa Sportsbook opened on Wednesday, and is billed as one of the largest facilities in the world. (Image: Tony Paul)

Circa Sportsbook Grand Opening: See Las Vegas’ New High-Tech Betting Palace

Circa Sportsbook opened Wednesday with the goal of being the biggest facility in the world, and owner Derek Stevens certainly believes he has accomplished that objective. The avid sports bettor has reinvented downtown Las Vegas with his new facility. The Circa Sportsbook spans three stories and has a 78-million pixel […]

Derby City Gaming HHR machines in Louisville played their parts in fueling a $2.26 billion industry benefiting Kentucky racing and breeding. (Image: WDRB.com)

Kentucky Horse Racing Industry Goes on Offensive for HHR Machines

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association petitioned to file an amicus brief this week, seeking a return of the historical horse racing (HHR) machines recently outlawed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The petition comes on the heels of an amicus brief filed last week by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce illustrating the […]

At least one bettor scored big when World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen lost to Jan-Krzysztof Duda in Round 5 of Norway Chess. (Image: Lennart Ootes/Altibox Norway Chess)

Chess Betting Flourishes Alongside Online Events During COVID-19 Pandemic

When Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the fifth round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament on Oct. 10, it caused a sensation in the chess world. The victory ended Carlsen’s 125-game unbeaten run in classical play, the longest known streak in chess history. The result also […]

Undefeated Nadal Heading to Japan to Begin His Stallion Career

Undefeated 3-year-old multiple stakes winner Nadal will head to Japan for his stud career, Japanese breeding farm Shadai Stallion Station announced Wednesday. The announcement ended speculation on where the $700,000 Blame progeny would stand after his once-promising racing career prematurely ended in May. The one-time Kentucky Derby points leader, Nadal […]

Red Sox and Liverpool Could Go Public in SPAC Acquisition

Red Sox and Liverpool Could Go Public in SPAC Acquisition

Billy Beane’s SPAC could acquire both the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club. RedBall, a blank-check investment company, has been looking to buy a professional sports team. Instead of one team, however, the SPAC could end up with two world-class franchises — if it can raise more cash […]

The playful Into Mischief is all business in the breeding shed. The sire of Kentucky Derby champion Authentic will command a $225,000 stud fee in 2021. (Image: Coyle Photo/Spendthrift Farm)

The Stud of Studs: Into Mischief’s Fee Raised to $225,000

One of the many byproducts of Authentic’s Kentucky Derby win came this week when Spendthrift Farm increased Into Mischief’s stud fee to $225,000 for the 2021 breeding season. The sire of Authentic, Into Mischief’s 2020 published stud fee was $175,000. To give you an idea of how sizzling hot Into […]

Authentic and John Velazquez's Kentucky Derby stretch duel with Tiz the Law came in front of an empty Churchill Downs. Yet, a September Derby boosted the month's and quarter's racing handle. (Image: Horsephotos/Getty)

September Derby Brings Bettors, Handle Boost to Racing Economic Totals

A September Kentucky Derby produced stronger third-quarter numbers in 2020 vs. 2019, according to the Equibase Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing. Horseplayers wagered more than $3.2 billion in the third quarter. That represents a 12.7% bump from 2019’s figures of $2.92 billion. At the same time, America’s most wagered upon […]

Kentucky Downs Director of Marketing John Wholihan plays one of the facility's HHR machines. One type of machine was ruled illegal in a state Supreme Court ruling. (Image: Grace Ramey/Bowling Green Daily News)

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules Against Purse-Fueling HHR Machines

While horseplayers and horse connections from Santa Anita to Belmont Park were prepping for a huge weekend of stakes races, a decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled some historical horse racing (HHR) machines are illegal, sending a chill through Kentucky racing. A chill that depressed Churchill Downs Inc. stock […]

Caesars Entertainment already owns 20 percent of William Hill US, but Apollo may have more cash. (Image: Robert Alexander/Getty)

Both Apollo and Caesars Revealed as Potential William Hill Buyers

Apollo Management International and Caesars Entertainment are each courting William Hill. William Hill has received proposals from both companies in what could be the first steps of a takeover. Shares of the sportsbook soared more than 40% on the news. On Friday, William Hill issued a statement confirming it received […]