Casino Planned For Israel. The Israel Land Administration has agreed to give twelve acres of land to Israel’s first casino project. The Israeli Tourism Ministry has said that it will be on the north shore of the Red Sea, an area visited by many tourists due to its dry climate, pleasant sea breezes, beaches and interesting scenery. In particular, it will be near Eilat, the southernmost city of Israel. Eilat’s tourism has suffered recently due to casinos in neighboring countries, and a legal casino should help increase its tourist numbers.

The casino project should also help eliminate the rampant illegal gambling happening in Israel, which is estimated to total around $3.6 billion per year. “A casino would downsize … illegal gambling operations in Israel as well as related criminal activities” said the Tourism Minister for Israel, Yitzhak Aharanovitch.

This casino is apparently the first of many future legal casinos for Israel.

Good Year for Detroit Casinos.  Detroit’s casinos (MotorCity, MGM Grand, Greektown) made $1.34 billion in revenue last year, making 2007 their best year ever. This is despite worse economy than previous years, and also despite renovations that had parts of even all of two casinos closed for several days at a time.

MGM Grand built an entire new facility and closed their old one completely. Despite this, they still brought in a whopping $513.5 million, which was over $20 million more than the previous year. Motorcity had problems too, dealing with nearby road closures that prevented easy access to its facility. Despite this, they still earned revenues totalling $480 million, over $10 million more than 2006.

Greektown’s revenues were actually down slightly from 2006, and this was probably due to competition from MGM Grand and MotorCity’s new facilities. This should be corrected in late 2008, when they are due to finish construction of a new hotel and entertainment complex themselves.

Wireless Communications Networks Planned for Foxwoods Resort Casino.  Foxwoods Casino Resort Casino has announced plans for a new property that will add two million square feet of overall space, to be completed mid-2008. The development is projected to cost $700 million, and it features additional space for entertainment and gaming. There will be increased hotel and restaurant venues, and more space will be available for corporate meetings and conventions.

WPCS International Incorporated has been chosen to implement a wireless communications network at the resort. It will be used for specialized voice communications, which should increase efficiency in both security and operations systems.

Proposed MGM Grand for Atlantic City.  A development permit has been filed for an MGM Grand Atlantic City casino resort in New Jersey. The resort is proposed to have 3000 rooms, 5000 slot machines, 200 table games, and a poker room, all at a cost of $5 billion. Also in the plans are a large theatre, a convention centre, nightclubs, a spa, and the obligatory restaurants and retail space.

MGM already owns 14-acres in Atlantic City’s marina district. It wants 60 acres for its new resort, and its projected opening would be in 2012. Although they have already submitted their development application, it could be months before they receive approval.