The reels are always spinning in the gambling industry, and “The Double Down” is here every Friday to catch you up on all of the week’s biggest news. Sports Handle’s “Get a Grip” rounds up everything on the sports betting side, and US Bets provides the best of the rest: brick-and-mortar happenings, online casino developments, poker headlines, horse wagering, and more. So pull up a chair, crunch the numbers, and slide forward another stack of chips.

Expo-nential coverage

The 2023 edition of the Global Gaming Expo — or G2E, as it’s better known — is over, having drawn more than 25,000 gaming industry professionals to Las Vegas this week, according to event organizers.

“Gaming is stronger than ever, and the products and ideas displayed at G2E this week will enhance our industry’s offerings not just here in Las Vegas, but around the world,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller in a statement when the conference wrapped up on Thursday. “G2E does more than convene the industry — it unites us. This year’s show truly highlighted the innovation and collaboration that is driving gaming’s current growth and paving the way for our future.”

A few numbers shared by G2E organizers: The event featured 368 exhibitors and participating companies, including 128 making their G2E debut, and attendees came from more than 125 countries, territories, and regions with regulated gaming.

Among those attendees were four members of the US Bets editorial team, who spent the week attending panels, meeting with industry analysts, and gathering intel. Matt Rybaltowski, Bennett Conlin, Mike Seely, and Jill R. Dorson all contributed to our weeklong running blog, which touched on everything from the reveal of Light & Wonder’s SQUID GAME slot machine to the future of iCasino legalization.

The horse betting industry was represented in a keynote session Tuesday with Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen, who was one of many acknowledging the major threat cyberattacks pose to the gaming business. 

Online payment processing was another focal point, and Fifth Third Bank Treasury Management Officer Josh Dunaway said during a panel discussion Wednesday that he expects credit card use to be phased out, but “debit will always be there.”

Naturally, there was much talk about the past, present, and future of the sports betting side of things as well during G2E, and our sister site Sports Handle covered that extensively from both the regulator perspective and the player point of view.

Next year’s dates have been announced, with education sessions running from Oct. 7-10, 2024, and the expo hall open from Oct. 8-10. And, as always, US Bets will be in the house, bringing all the pertinent information to readers.

This week on Gamble On …

Every Thursday, US Bets drops a new episode of the Gamble On podcast, and this week’s welcomed US Bets Associate Editor Mike Seely, direct from G2E, to offer further insights on what he saw and heard, particularly regarding one negative topic that was looming large:

The casino cybersecurity issue cast a pall on G2E this past week, and the conversation among insiders was "all doomsday stuff," as @mdseely tells #GambleOn: https://t.co/WG8aNgHtq2 pic.twitter.com/NXbiT2Yots

— US Bets (@US_Bets) October 13, 2023

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VP Harris lends support to Vegas culinary workers

Several thousand casino hospitality workers picketed on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday evening, as negotiations continue on a new union contract.

Members from the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 protested outside eight MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment casinos Thursday, several weeks after union members voted to authorize a citywide strike. The union, which represents about 60,000 Nevada hospitality workers, is pushing for wage increases, enhanced job safety protections, and higher severance pay for certain laid-off workers, under a new five-year contract.

Protection of healthcare benefits is also an important issue for the union. At present, the union views its benefits as among the most generous in the nation. Workers do not pay out of pocket for health coverage for themselves, their spouses, and their children.

“We’d like to keep that, that’s really the bottom line,” a cocktail waitress who has worked at The Flamingo for the past 34 years told US Bets at Thursday’s rally.

Earlier Thursday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with union representatives at their Las Vegas headquarters. Asked if she will lend support to the union if there is a strike, Harris provided affirmation, according to union leadership.

Here's @KamalaHarris speaking about the Culinary Union today after visiting their HQ in Las Vegas.

"When they are in this fight, all people, all working people really do benefit. So I applaud them." pic.twitter.com/gGBmr41V2S

— Brett Forrest (@brettforrest89) October 13, 2023

Harris’ appearance came two days after MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle commented on the impasse at G2E. “If you’re a tipped employee in today’s environment in Las Vegas with the rise in prices, you’re doing better than you’ve ever done,” Hornbuckle said.

While Hornbuckle is optimistic that a deal can be reached in the coming weeks, he insisted that the casinos will not agree to something “irrational.”

— Matt Rybaltowski

Eastern Kentucky gambling venue to open Oct. 26

Kentucky’s growing legal gambling scene will expand eastward on Oct. 26 with the opening of Sandy’s Racing & Gaming in Ashland near the West Virginia border.

It’s fair to say that without the runaway success of historical horse racing (HHR) — slot-like machines with results based on past horse races, with prizes paid out from parimutuel pools — in Kentucky, Sandy’s may not ever have come into being. With 700 HHR machines onsite, Sandy’s will eventually play host to the state’s first quarter horse racetrack, with construction on a 182-acre parcel of land set to begin in 2024.

Upon opening, Sandy’s will also feature a BetMGM sportsbook, along with several dining and live entertainment options. Spearheaded by Revolutionary Racing, Sandy’s counts the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association among its stakeholders.

— Mike Seely

More from around the gambling biz

GOLDEN STATE, INDEED: $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot goes to lucky lottery player in California [Associated Press]

PLAYING NICE: MGM sends special offers in wake of September cyberattack [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

LADY LUCK: Female slot players a growing demographic [CDC Gaming Reports]

TAKING STOCK: Las Vegas casino stocks are flirting with a bear market — that might be a sign an economic downturn is coming [Yahoo! Finance]

MIXED BAG AT MEDINAH: Bally’s temporary casino at Medinah Temple nets $6.7 million and 80,000 visitors in first few weeks [Chicago Sun-Times]

ANOTHER ONE RIDES THE BUS: LVCVA approves new bus contract for casino employees during Las Vegas Grand Prix [KTNV.com]

DANVILLE DEETS: More than a year after breaking ground, Caesars Virginia casino is on schedule for late 2024 opening [Danville Register & Bee]

Image: Blundell Design