Dakota
Sioux Casino expansion plans still uncertain
As
reported by The Associated Press
WATERTOWN,
South Dakota - As the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate builds
a $7.9 million hotel at its Dakota
Sioux Casino north of here, it awaits a gambling compact
with the state that could mean even more expansion.
The
five-story, 93-room hotel is the first of what tribal
leaders hope is a five-year expansion plan that would
include an indoor music and entertainment facility, an
indoor water park and a 24-lane bowling alley.
But
without the ability to add more slot machines at Dakota
Sioux, many of the expansion plans might not be feasible,
tribal chairman James Crawford said.
"If
the tribe is unsuccessful in getting more devices, then
those were just good ideas," he said. "Without
that, it wouldn't be feasible at this point."
Tribal
representatives and Gov. Mike Rounds are scheduled to
meet again Thursday to discuss a gambling compact that
outlines how many slot machines will be allowed.
Although
the number of slot machines the tribe wants to add has
been proposed at 250, Crawford said earlier he doesn't
want to put a hard figure on the number. The casino now
has 200 slot machines.
Rounds
has said he has concerns about the impact tribal gambling
expansion could have on the state's revenue from video
lottery.
"The
overall concept - whether it's Sisseton-Wahpeton, Standing
Rock, Oglala or Rosebud tribes - we have to balance all
the competing interests for gaming revenue," Rounds'
spokesman, Mark Johnston, said.
William
Hill May Buy Stanley Outlets for $945 Million
As
reported by Bloomberg.com
United
Kingdom - William Hill Plc, the U.K.'s second- largest
bookmaker, may buy Stanley Leisure Plc's betting shops
for more than 500 million pounds ($945 million) as it
seeks to supplant Ladbrokes as the country's industry
leader.
Shares
of Stanley Leisure, the biggest U.K. casino operator,
rose as much as 14 percent to a record after London-based
William Hill said in a statement it's in talks to buy
about 600 outlets in the U.K. and Ireland to create a
chain of about 2,200 bookmakers. Ladbrokes runs about
1,900 betting shops in the U.K.
``William
Hill should be able to improve shop profitability significantly,
as Stanley's operating profit per shop is around half''
as much as its competitor's, Lou Pirenc, an analyst at
Morgan Stanley in London, wrote in a note to investors.
William
Hill is pursuing the betting shops to boost earnings growth
after raising annual profit by 19 percent.
The
company, which has about 1,600 betting outlets, is focusing
on bookmaking after the government limited the potential
to expand into casinos.
The
shares fell as William Hill delayed a proposed 453 million-pound
return of capital while it looks at the shops.