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What is Polar Paws?
EDITOR’S NOTE: A new “Vegas Myths Busted” publishes every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today’s edition originally ran on Jan. 15, 2024.
In the 1960s, back when Las Vegas’ Meadows Addition neighborhood was nice, showgirls lived there. They liked to sunbathe au naturel at their apartment pools because they didn’t like tan lines.
That’s the commonly told story of how the Naked City, a community of low-rent apartment buildings and houses in the shadow of the Stratosphere just north of the Las Vegas Strip, got its nickname.
What is Polar Paws?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published a report setting out red-flag risk indicators across the gaming and gambling sector. The indicators cover money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
FATF released the report – Risks of Gaming and Gambling – on Wednesday. It updates the body’s 2009 analysis of the casino sector. In addition, it draws on questionnaire responses from 80 jurisdictions and written comments from a further 29, alongside industry consultation.
The report identifies land-based and online casinos and sports betting as carrying the highest money laundering exposure. By contrast, lotteries and scratchcards present lower risk.
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If the latest extension had not been granted, Bally’s would have had to close its temporary casino at Medinah Temple until the permanent venue was completed. That would have resulted in multiple months with no revenue in the market, but Kim told iGB at the East Coast Gaming Congress in April that a closure of the temporary site was “not the end of the world”.
Meanwhile, Bally’s is forging ahead with an even bigger project to the east, its $4 billion Bally’s Bronx resort in New York City. The company was one of three NYC licence winners last year, alongside Resorts World New York City and Hard Rock’s Metropolitan Park.
Bally’s announced on Monday that it has secured a total of $560 million worth of financing from WhiteHawk Capital Partners “to fund further development of the Bally’s Bronx project and general corporate purposes”. The funding will close this quarter, the company said.