June was pretty amazing for the casino industry as we were able to witness many exciting stories and news. This article will be a brief overview of the top five stories related to casinos that we were able to read about (or even witness?) last month. Without further ado, let’s take a look at them and how they changed some lives forever.
The Millionaire Progressive Jackpot
We already covered this piece of news which is about an ordinary man called Sean Barry who walked into The Venetian Las Vegas one night only to become a millionaire. He won the so-called Millionaire Progressive with a total sum of $1,010,155, after being dealt a club royal flush which is the hand required to win the progressive jackpot. The Millionaire Progressive paid out five times in less than a year, meaning that five people got very lucky in a very short period. Las Vegas Sands’ casino will continue to offer this progressive jackpot which always resets to $1 million.
First Fifty Honors Gala
With the 50th Annual World Series of Poker currently in progress, the WSOP officials decided to host a gala evening where they would award some of the best players in the history of this tournament. The event took place on Saturday and was filled with positive emotions, as some of the legendary poker players received accolades for their work. The poker community was brought together as they celebrated the best 50 players in the WSOP history.
Caesars and Eldorado Merge
Perhaps the biggest news for the past month was the fact that Eldorado Resorts bought Caesars Entertainment and the two companies merged in order to create the largest gaming company in the US. The two companies combined now offer guests access to more than 60 land-based casinos that are located in 16 US states. Eldorado decided to also pay off Caesars’ debts and accept the Caesars brand to be the official one.
The merger happened as a result of Carl Icahn buying the largest share of Caesars. Icahn is famous for his investments which end up with mergers, so he started pushing the company for sale. The Board of Directors was also willing to accept the sale, and Eldorado proved to have the best offer, although they were rejected a couple of times. The new business will have much power and influence, and its future looks bright at the moment. On the other hand, nobody knows what the future brings.
Encore Boston Harbor Grand Opening
A small city located in the Boston area will once again come back to life due to the fact that a long-awaited casino is finally opened. The Everett resort cost a total of $2.6 billion dollars, and it is huge. It will feature 671 rooms and suites, a huge gaming floor with 3,000 slot machines and 143 table games, and a poker room with 88 tables.
The locals of Everett, a small industrial town near Boston, waited for this for a very long time, as they have been on the brink of bankruptcy. The town once had a chemical industry, which was the main source of income for most residents. However, successful, chemicals left a trace on nature around the town. After the factory was shut down, the ground was sterilized, and all harmful chemicals were removed, creating a suitable ground for a casino.
The process of building the casino was a long one, but it came to an end, and now people from all over the US will start flowing in, hopefully revitalizing not only Everett but Boston as well.
