Spin Cycle: Millions For Canada, Billions For Caesars Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Aim Canada

On the heels of a 2025 visitation report that showed travel to Las Vegas was down 7.5% compared to 2024, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) approved Tuesday a three-year, $3.5 million marketing agreement aimed mostly at attracting tourists from Canada to Sin City.

Visitation from Canada to Vegas was down in 2025 by more than triple the percentage of the full tourism drop-off, owing in part to the unfriendly rhetoric, relations, and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. So the LVCVA will be working with Reach Global Marketing through June 2029 — with an option for an extension to 2031 — to try to entice Canadians to come back to Vegas.

Ahead of the LVCVA news, some casino operators began implementing their own marketing strategies aimed at Canadian customers. Standing out from the pack was Derek Stevens, owner of Circa, D Las Vegas, and Golden Gate, who promoted a deal allowing Canadian dollars to be used at a one-to-one exchange rate at his properties in January, stretching a Canadian’s money much further than would otherwise be the case. Stevens said the result was about triple the typical number of Canadian visitors that month.

The LVCVA and the Toronto-based Reach have not yet revealed specifics of their new marketing plan.

Seizing Caesars?

In February there was smoke, and now the temperature is ratcheting up on the potential takeover of Caesars Entertainment by Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta, who has emerged as a potential buyer.

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, a 10-figure deal has taken on a more concrete shape. Per the WSJ, Fertitta Entertainment is in exclusive talks to acquire Caesars for roughly $7 billion, or about $34 per share, a 31% premium to where the stock was trading, after topping an all-cash offer of approximately $33 per share from Carl Icahn’s firm.

The deal would include Caesars’ digital assets, including Caesars Sportsbook and other online brands including Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, Tropicana Online Casino, Harrah’s Online Casino, and WSOP.com. The WSJ cautioned that “an announcement between the two sides isn’t imminent, and it is possible the talks won’t result in any deal.” Icahn’s bid hasn’t been formally rejected, leaving both proposals in play for now.

— Brett Smiley

Meeks not going meekly

Former professional boxer and frequent high-stakes poker player Curtis Meeks, one of the alleged organizers of mob-tied rigged underground poker games involving such noteworthy ex-athletes as Chauncey Billups and Antonio Gates, was recently arrested for violating his bail, according to a PokerNews report.

New court documents reveal that U.S. Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky last week ordered Meeks be remanded into custody ahead of trial after discovering that he had “repeatedly violated” the terms of his home arrest.

In response, Meeks argued in a written statement on his own behalf, “Defendant is not a flight risk and has never missed a court date. Defendant is a licensed boxing manager and real estate business operator whose lawful employment requires flexibility and responsiveness.”

Meeks is facing charges of money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy. At least 12 defendants, among the 31 in the case, are expected to take plea deals. For those who don’t take a deal, a trial start date of November is targeted.

Free tuition

The sports betting consumer-focused advocacy group American Bettors’ Voice (ABV) and Analytics.Bet announced a partnership this week to bring — for no charge — “Foundations of Sports Betting” lectures to U.S. regulators, lawmakers, and problem gambling organizations. The initiative aims to give policymakers a rigorous, math-based understanding of how sportsbooks actually operate because, as ABV CEO Richard Schuetz (also a columnist around here) puts it, “You can’t regulate what you don’t fully understand.”

“Analytics.Bet’s mission is to bring clarity and rigor to an industry often clouded by misconception,” said Professor Harry Crane, PhD, instructor at Analytics.Bet and ABV board member. “Our goal is to foster an industry that is sustainable for the long term. By making our coursework available to regulators and responsible gaming leaders, we hope to support data-driven decision-making that ultimately protects the consumer and strengthens the integrity of the market.”

— Brett Smiley (disclosure: Smiley is a former ABV advisory board member)

House Rules: Insights from around our network

PROBABILITY AND INABILITY: We built a gambling economy and forgot to teach anyone how to gamble [by Jeff Edelstein]

POINTS TAKEN: NCPG comes out in support of POINTS Act [by Chris Altruda]

CULTURE CLUBBED: Tribal casinos: The latest front in America’s culture wars [by Brian Joseph]

THE REEL WORLD: Living the stream: ‘Vegas Matt’ stars in new FanDuel docuseries [by Eric Raskin]

CUT THE MUSIC: Ruddock Report: The record scratch arrives [by Steve Ruddock]

TREATMENT PLAN: Kindbridge-Axis partnership uses old tools in new way: Against gambling addiction [by Brant James]

LAND OF BINKIN’: Winning Mega Millions ticket worth $533 million sold in Illinois [by Jeff Edelstein]

THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR: Virginia iGaming bill gets effectively pushed to 2027 [by Chris Altruda]

RAW DEAL: Cardrooms sue to block new California regulations [by Brian Joseph]

HOOSIER HALT: Indiana Gov. Braun signs anti-sweepstakes bill [by Chris Altruda]

IT’S NEVER EASY: Gambling attorney: Maryland online casino legalization complicated on multiple fronts [by Brant James]

LATTE LAUGHS: Drinker: My year as a degenerate coffee consumer [by Jeff Edelstein]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, I welcomed my former co-host, Jeff Edelstein, for a conversation spanning the buyer’s remorse some have expressed over the legalization of online gambling, the need for more and better gambling education, Danny Funt’s recent book Everybody Loses, reporter Mike Seely getting booted from Jontay Porter’s USBL debut, gambling superstitions, and more.

I also fire off a quick rant about inappropriate use of the euphemistic term “gaming,” and I share the details of a Huff N’ Puff Highrise win that illustrates my mastery of the game.

Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

ROYAL FLUSHING: A new casino is coming to Queens, with high stakes for the neighbors [The New York Times]

EARS AND EYES: Top casino scam of 2025: Hidden camera in Mickey Mouse T-shirt [CDC Gaming]

LOCALS’ LAMENT: Fairfax casino opponents urge Spanberger to veto bill [Patch]

FLIGHTS GROUNDED: Time to end casino PILOT program, Atlantic County executive says [Press of Atlantic City]

MASS MONEY: Gov. Healey wants to spend more casino revenue on boosting local tourism [WGBH]

THE TABLES HAVE TURNED: Mt. Airy Casino Resort settles lawsuit with table games dealers for $2.3M [The Times-Tribune]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week.

• Fanatics Casino announced Thursday that it is stepping into the squared circle, partnering with WWE and White Hat Studios on the new online slot WrestleMania: Road to Gold. The game features Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, and 18 other WWE stars, along with the voice of broadcaster Michael Cole. “This new WWE-branded experience on Fanatics Casino reflects our strategy to leverage the power of Fanatics IP assets to offer customers a premium, differentiated experience,” said Conor Grant, president of the casino division at Fanatics Betting and Gaming. There was no comment offered on whether the outcomes of the slot spins are scripted.

• In somewhat related news:

• Not to be outdone on the branded online slots front, BetMGM announced Thursday a line of exclusive Survivor titles, in the midst of the reality competition show’s 50th season airing. BetMGM partnered with Jogo Global and Banijay Rights, and the initial release includes two games — Survivor Triple Challenge and Survivor Outwit-Outplay-Outlast — with more titles to come.

• Congratulations to our gambling media colleague — well, former gambling media colleague — Jess Welman, who revealed on social media Wednesday that she is now working in the RG/PG sector, joining Brianne Doura-Schawohl’s consulting business. “I know this career switch will probably catch many of you offguard,” Welman explained in her post, “but I made it because I believe in the regulated industry. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be trying to change it. I would just give up. My goal isn’t to tear the industry down. My goal is to make the industry better.”

• I’m not sure if this quite qualifies for Sports Illustrated “This week’s sign of the apocalypse” billing, but we’re at least in range of that with Vanity Fair posting a video titled “Kylie Jenner Teaches You How to Play Poker.”

• You think you’re lucky? (You probably don’t. Most people don’t. But, just play along.) Well, you’re not as lucky as a player at Mohegan Sun who won two slot jackpots in a single night last week. As the New Haven Register reported, the anonymous player won over $80,000 on Mo Mummy, and then more than $122,000 on Dollar Storm. Who says lightning doesn’t strike twice?