What a year 2019 has been. We’re taking a look back at all of our top stories to reminisce about the good and the bad that we experienced in the last year. Here’s the five casino stories that got the most clicks from you, our readers.
Singapore VIP refuses to pay tab over dealer errors
Have you ever handed over a blank check to a casino and had the time of your life? That’s what Wong Yew Choy did at the Star Gold Coast Casino in Queensland, Australia. The businessman expected a week of high stakes gambling and high living, racking up a $30.6 million bill.
Problem is, the check bounced. Wong refused to pay his gambling debts, citing frequent dealer errors that ruined his experience. The casino wasn’t buying that story and filed a case against him in Singapore.
Woman denied jackpot for past misdeeds
Tamara Bean decided to play the penny slots one day at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She won big, hitting a $1,733 jackpot.
The casino refused to pay her though. In 2002, she was given a lifetime ban from the casino for being caught with weed in her posession. She’d only managed to evade the ban by getting married and changing her last name.
Whatever the story was, Mrs. Bean’s past preference for the marry jane was enough to keep her from taking home the jackpot.
Ocean Resort Casino bought up by mysterious new owner
The Ocean Resort Casino, formerly owned by the AC Ocean Walk LLC and majority owner Bruce Defik, had been struggling for a long time. That made the January news that it had a mysterious new owner an exciting prospect.
Since then, we’ve found out the new owner was the Luxor Capital Group and Bruce Defeik tragically died in a car crash. Luxor’s hoping big investment will turn the ship around.
Resorts World Las Vegas goes on a hiring spree
The Genting Group has had ambitious plans to open up a massive new integrated resort in sin city for years now, and have targeted 2020 as the grand opening. To hit that target, the company went out and hired three former MGM executives in September.
Former COO and President Scott Sibella, CFO Chris Nordling and HR manager Michael Peltyn came on board. Genting commented at the time that they were expected to bring the new resort across the finish line.
What investor doesn’t like a dividend payout? When Genting Bhd decided to create an interim dividend in October, we got a lot of clicks, so apparently most do enjoy sudden money.
Genting hasn’t had a perfect year, but strong performances by enough of its subsidiaries created enough profit for the payout. We hope they have more, because it’s good business for us too.
