Investments in the casino and gambling fields have diversified in the last few years and are no longer concentrated only in the city of Las Vegas as it used to be traditionally. This has permitted the development of new attractive destinations for players around the world, who have better and more varied services to choose from when planning their vacations.

Using Las Vegas as an inspiration, other destinies that have gambling centers as their main attraction, have emerged to attract tourists. Among them shines Macao, which has transformed itself in the Asian giant in terms of gambling and has over passed Las Vegas in terms of profits related to this industry, projecting itself as the biggest world potency in the gaming industry.

Since Japan announced that it would change its strict gambling laws so as to attract rich Asian tourists, the most important casino operators have started to race for a place in the country’s vast market. Japan would be one of the last countries to joint the gambling boom that is taking place in the region.

“Nowadays casinos are not considered to be evil places, whereas they might have been considered so 20 years ago,” analyst Aaron Fischer explained. “Across Asia over the last few years you've been seeing legalization of casinos including in Singapore and Macau.”

In the last few years, Macau has become the biggest Asian region in terms of economic and tourist growth due to the huge investments received in the fields of gambling and casinos.

The casino industry has exploded in Macau since 2001, when the government terminated the monopoly run over the industry until that moment by Chinese businessman Stanley Ho, which permitted the arrival of prestigious foreign operators such as MGM, Las Vegas Sands, Australia’s Crown and Hong Kong’s Galaxy among others.

Four men wearing black suits robbed the Grand Casino in Brussels on Sunday night. The robbery only lasted two minutes and 46 seconds, as recorded by security cameras and according to Peter Ketzer, a spokesperson for the Casinos Austria in Brussels, the robbers stole approximately 820,000 euros.

As explained by witnesses, while one of the robbers stood at the entrance, other two approached the cash area and ordered the staff to give them the money. The fourth one, meanwhile, watched the gaming floor.

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Casino Aztar in Caruthersville, Missouri from an affiliate of Columbia Sussex Corporation. Officials for Isle of Capri Casinos have revealed that the purchase price is approximately $45 million.

The contract is subject to the approval of the Missouri Gaming Commission and satisfactory completion of due diligence by the Isle of Capri, among other conditions. Columbia Sussex Corporation has hired Banc of America Securities LLC as its financial advisor.

Owners of the Sahara Hotel and Casino have agreed to sell the aging property to an investing group.

Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment Group LLC and San Mateo, Calif.-based Stockbridge Real Estate Funds have entered into a contract to purchase the Moroccan-themed casino and hotel from Gordon Gaming Corp.

"The Sahara is one of the last remaining original properties on the Las Vegas Strip, and we are thrilled with the possibilities that it presents," Sam Nazarian said.

Daniel Andrews, the Australian Minister for Gaming, said that new laws to reinforce the integrity, scrutiny and transparency of the review of lotteries and gambling licenses would be introduced into Parliament this week.

Mr. Andrews also explained that the Gambling License Review Panel will be in charge of looking at the processes for reviewing the regulatory structure that will apply after the existing gaming licenses expire, report on the processes for awarding new licenses and present a report that will be available to the general public.

Bets are still flowing just a few days away from the anticipated ceremony; the Oscar awards in Hollywood is the perfect event to gamble: Forest Whitaker, Jackie Earle Haley, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Huston and Martin Scorsese are some of the strongest names when we talk Oscars.

According to the bets made on Internet by movie fans and aficionados, Penelope Cruz has low chances of winning the valued award. According to the bets, Helen Mirren would be the winner and for each euro bet for her, people would gain €1,07. Mirren shares the nomination for Best Actress with Meryl Streep (25 to 1), Judi Dench (30 to 1), Kate Winslet (48 to 1) and Penelope Cruz (65 to 1).

Spanish spend about 210 euros per year on official betting such as Primitiva, el Gordo, Bonoloto or Euromillon. Those bets are set using cell phones, with an average of 3.75 euros in each operation, that is according to a study that has been made public by Lotojuegos.com.

On that study about the Spanish habits on the use of their cell phones, Lotojuegos.com has analyzed the bets made using this object. The results show that the mobile phone has been consolidated as the channel to make this kind of operations and it is thought that in 2007 about three million euros will be perceived from it.

The U.S. government carried out a special operation before and during the Super Bowl to stop all online bets. The operation was part of a campaign leaded by federal prosecutors and agents in the FBI’s organized crime unit against Internet gambling.

The campaign toughened in the weeks previous to the Super Bowl, as Americans prepared to wager more than $5 billion on the game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. Super Bowl Sunday is considered the biggest betting day of the year.