Spin Cycle: Fabulous Vegas, Responsible Operators 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 …

Sin City becomes Spin City

It’s been a busy week in Las Vegas, in terms of trying to boost the city’s struggling tourism industry and in terms of trying to defy the reports that the city is struggling in the first place.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced Thursday a new effort to counter reports that Las Vegas is overpriced, unveiling the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” campaign that is being featured in advertisements and across social media. A 60-second spot aired during the Eagles-Cowboys Thursday night game that opened the NFL season. And all around Vegas, the word “fabulous” is being promoted, with an effort to depict Vegas as having something “fabulous” for every price point.

Also Thursday, MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle spoke at the Bank of America Securities 2025 Gaming and Lodging Conference in New York City, and he insisted that despite an 8% drop in tourism in Vegas so far in 2025, “We’re far from dead.” Hornbuckle continued, “We let the narrative get away from us in the context of value. Las Vegas is and remains a huge value for consumers at all levels.”

Going ROGA

The American Gaming Association’s Responsible Gaming Education Month is now underway, and the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) kicked it off Tuesday by announcing a partnership with the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) to launch a certification program for regulated U.S. online operators.

“A sustainable online gaming industry must be built on evidence-based best practices, and this partnership with RGC will advance this mission by building a trusted and independent assessment to certify robust responsible gaming standards,” said ROGA Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Shatley in a statement.

The program will cover such areas as self-exclusion, marketing, staff RG training, and customer support tools.

“The new certification program will build on years of evidence-based work and experience building RG Check as a trusted standard,” said RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy. “By working together, we are creating a more transparent, accountable, and player-focused industry.”

Frankie say RLX

Hard Rock Bet Casino announced a new partnership Thursday, making a deal to bring RLX Gaming’s portfolio of titles to its New Jersey online casino.

RLX is the U.S. arm of Europe-based Relax Gaming, and its top slots games include Temple Tumble, The Great Pigsby, and Bill & Coin.

“Partnering with Hard Rock Bet Casino marks an exciting milestone for RLX Gaming as we expand our presence in North America,” said Matthew Hockenjos, RLX’s commercial account manager for North America. “Hard Rock Bet’s commitment to providing exceptional entertainment aligns perfectly with our mission, and we look forward to delivering engaging slot experiences to players in New Jersey.”

Added Hard Rock Bet Vice President of Casino Rich Criado, “Our players are at the center of everything we do at Hard Rock Bet, and this partnership with RLX Gaming means even more exciting choices for them. From fan favorites to the newest releases, we’re thrilled to bring a wider variety of engaging and entertaining games to players in New Jersey, all within our top-rated Hard Rock Bet Casino app.”

House Rules: Insights from around our network

WHALE WATCHING: Fanatics pushes August NY mobile handle above $2 billion [by Chris Altruda]

TEXAS TOAST: Gambling expansion in Texas unlikely as Lt. Gov. Patrick announces reelection bid [by Jeff Edelstein]

DIDN’T THROW THE BOOK AT HIM: Judge goes easy on repentant illegal bookmaker Bowyer [by Jill R. Dorson]

TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: Crypto casinos: 10 things you need to know [by Eric Raskin]

GUT AND AMEND … AND AMEND AGAIN: Amendments made to California anti-sweeps bill to protect non-gaming operations [by Chris Altruda]

STOCK ANSWER: Prediction markets are the investification of gambling [by Dustin Gouker]

POINTS OF ENTRY: There are many ways sportsbooks can get into event contracts [by Daniel O’Boyle]

REP’D OFF: The challenge Beasley faces moving on post-scandal [by Brant James]

EIGHT IS ENOUGH: Resetting the New York casino rankings [by Chris Altruda]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, my co-host Jeff Edelstein and I welcome Joel Simkins, the founder and CEO of XST Capital, for a wide-ranging conversation covering prediction markets, AI’s potential impact on gaming, apps to watch for this football season, Spygate, and more. Here’s a taste:

Jeff and I also discuss the latest avalanche of prediction market news — including Underdog getting its paw in the door, Kalshi introducing parlays, and Polymarket arriving in the U.S. — plus we broker a deal regarding the $1.7 billion Powerball jackpot. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

WE’RE BACC, BABY: Baccarat win fuels Las Vegas Strip’s 5.6% gain in July gaming revenue [CDC Gaming]

BULLDOG BULLISH: Legalized gambling backers optimistic ahead of 2026 General Assembly session [The Valdosta Daily Times]

OWN YOUR MISTAKES: Mohegan Sun says ex-Hollywood mogul who lost $5M in one day of gambling has no right to jury trial [CT Insider]

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: New M Resort tower doubling hotel capacity to open soon [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

ROCKFORD SMILES: Hard Rock Casino Rockford celebrates first year as it preps for a second act [Rock River Current]

TAUNTON TAUNTIN’: Can you buy alcohol at Taunton casino? No — despite liquor license OK. Here’s why [Taunton Daily Gazette]

CASE DISMISSED: Judge tosses whistleblower complaint against Light & Wonder [SBC Americas]

DEALER’S CHOICE: Hundreds enroll in Petersburg casino deal school in hopes of getting a job [12 On Your Side]

The Bonus Round

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

• That tweet above is specifically about poker, in case you didn’t know, so let’s go from that straight into some happy poker-world news: Pros Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov got married at Burning Man, they announced on social media Monday. The bride wielded a flamethrower in photos (as one does, I suppose, when one weds at Burning Man).

• A quick news hit from Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), which announced Wednesday the acquisition of Compliable’s automated license compliance management platform. The combination creates “an unparalleled, all-in-one solution for legal US sportsbooks, iGaming companies, and their suppliers and vendors,” IC360 wrote in a release.

• It is officially football season (and spitting season, and hazardous lightning season, apparently), so let’s end with a football-adjacent social media post: