The year 2014 saw a variety of changes in the gambling world from three and potentially four casino closures in the former mecca of Atlantic City, to furthered Downtown revitalization in Las Vegas, plummeting profits in Macau, and the complete closure, then re-opening, then closing again of casinos in Kathmandu offering just a taste of the turmoil.
At least two deals for acquisition and consolidation saw private capital with their largest leveraged investments in any metric ever occur this year as well as listed lottery Giant GTECH taking over world leader IGT. From “slots in a box” and neighborhood slots cafes to the UKGC shake down of the GRA’s perceived authority, the year provided a whirlwind of news that moved so fast that entire franchises were created to try to keep up with it.
You found much of it here on the World Casino Directory, and we’ll be recapping the year in the next few short weeks before it closes. We’ll tie up loose ends, and report on further developing stories. Unlike “Year end reviews” of the past where editorial boards retired to their respective holiday happenings and left some poor temp in the office to sift and sort, we’ll be taking a hard look at the news as it happens. We’ll be looking for things we may have missed, and will present balanced and fair perspectives as well as occasional editorial opinions.
It’s our pleasure to have you as a reader, and we look forward to bringing you the cutting edge in 2015.
