Vegas draws record visitors; BetVictor, Mahjong Logic ink deal

axl-rose-las-vegasLas Vegas‘ 2012 figures are slowly coming in and for the most part, it’s been more robust than just plain ‘ol bust for Sin City. On the same day the state Gambling Control Board announced a record sports bet handle that reached $3.45 billion, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority also made its own announcement: a record 39.7 million people came to Las Vegas in 2012, beating the previous record of 39.2 million set in 2007. Moreover, the 2012 figure also saw an increase of 2.1 percent from the previous year’s 38.9 million recorded visitors.

December 2012 was a particularly busy month for the city with 3.04 million visitors, a 2.8 percent increase from the 2.96 million that visited the city in December 2011. That figure also translated to an improved occupancy percentage of 75.8 percent compared to 73.1 percent a year ago. For the entire year, citywide occupancy also saw an increase, albeit a small one, from its 2011 percentage, accounting for 84.4 percent occupancy compared to 83.8 percent in 2011.

All in all, Las Vegas visitors are stronger than ever before and while 2012 still failed to reach the 40 million visitors threshold the state is aiming for, there’s little reason why the city can’t hit that mark for 2013.

Mahjong Logic partners with BetVictor Games

In other gaming news, Mahjong Logic, a prominent peer-to-peer online mahjong software provider, made its own announcement involving a deal signed with BetVictor Games that would allow the latter to offer online mahjong as part of its drive to expand into the ever growing Asian market. With mahjong taking its roots in Asia, the game still has a strong player base in the region and thus, creates enormous potential for BetVictor Games to introduce online mahjong into the market place. That much was alluded to by BetVictor CEO Michael Carlton who, in a recent press release announcing the deal, commented about the company’s desire to expand into Asia. “”We have a well established and very knowledgeable team of people working in Asia,” Carlton said before adding that the company sees Asia as a key territory that can help drive BetVictor’s plans for global expansion. “We are excited by the potential that lay ahead.”

For their part, Mahjong Logic also saw the potential of being associated with a brand as recognized as BetVictor, something company CEO Jonas Alm remarked as a partnership that allows the BetVictor to take full advantage of a game that “fits their vision of proper market expansion utilizing games familiar in the Asian region”.