A replica of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign greets visitors outside Dina Titus’ third-floor congressional office in the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C. It serves as a reminder that the Strip is one of her constituents.

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Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who is proud of her Hellenic heritage, often feels like the Greek mythology figure Sisyphus while pushing legislation on behalf of the gaming industry — eternally rolling a massive boulder up a steep hill. 

For example, Titus spent more than a decade seeking to increase an antiquated threshold requirement on reporting slot machine jackpots. The change was slipped into last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

But she wasn’t satisfied. The increase from $1,200 to $2,000 was much smaller than she had hoped. 

Last month, Titus filed a discharge petition — a congressional maneuver meant to circumvent the House speaker and force a vote — on her FAIR Bet legislation, which would restore the 100 percent gambling loss deduction that was removed as part of last summer’s bill. Her legislation has found widespread support among the gaming industry. However, as of Monday, she and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) have been the only House members to sign the petition — far from the 218 member signatures she would need to move the idea forward.

Now, with prediction markets moving in for a rather large piece of the gaming industry’s action, Titus, whose district includes the Strip, told The Nevada Independent that gaming operators can’t afford another lengthy battle to their bottom line. On Feb. 11, she introduced HR7477, which would eliminate prediction market contracts on sports.

The businesses, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, offer “yes or no” contracts — the term to describe their wagering activities — on the outcomes of current events, politics, pop culture, elections and sports. On Monday, Axios reported that Kalshi signed an agreement with The Associated Press to license election data from the news service.

However, it’s the sports wagering component that has drawn nationwide attention.

Regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the businesses don’t pay gaming taxes to any state. Last month, Titus introduced legislation to ban prediction markets from offering event contracts on sports.

“This is not just to protect the gaming industry. This is to protect people who bet on these platforms and have no recourse if something goes wrong,” Titus said. “There is no regulation to protect the consumer or programs for problem gambling. There’s no employment in the state to create jobs. They make no contribution whatsoever.”

Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who led the six-year legal fight that led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the nationwide ban on sports betting, labeled the companies “rogue cowboys.” Christie is advising the American Gaming Association leadership in their public spat with prediction markets. 

Titus said the CFTC, which regulates derivative markets that enable farmers to lock in a price for their crops, and utility companies or airlines to hedge the costs of fuel, is ill-equipped to serve as a nationwide gaming regulator because it does not have the resources or expertise.

She criticized comments last month from CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, who threw the agency’s support behind prediction companies in the legal battles with states.

“You have the head of an agency that’s supposed to be regulating pork bellies saying they’re able to regulate gaming,” said Titus, adding that the 40 states that have legalized sports betting are better equipped to regulate the activity.

“I’m not saying you can't have prediction markets,” Titus said. “I’m just saying if they move from [commodities] to sports betting, then they have to follow the local rules.”

Nevada sportsbooks in 2025 reported revenue of $601.4 million from sports betting, up almost 25 percent from $482.1 million in 2024. Total wagering on sports was $8 billion, up almost 2.3 percent from $7.9 billion in 2025. 

In February, the state’s sportsbooks saw their lowest collective wagering total on the Super Bowl in 10 years — $133.8 million, a nearly 12 percent decline from the 2025 Super Bowl, which many analysts blamed on prediction markets. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour told CNBC the platform “exceeded $1 billion in Super Bowl trading volume.”

The Gaming Control Board filed a cease-and-desist order against Kalshi a year ago in federal court. Since that time, gaming regulators in more than 20 states have filed legal challenges against Kalshi and other prediction market companies. In a few instances, the markets were temporarily blocked from offering sports contracts in those states.

Nevada gaming regulators have turned to fighting prediction markets in the state’s court system. 

Last month, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Nevada could block Kalshi from the state, the control board filed a civil enforcement action with the Carson City District Court, which could render a decision this week. Kalshi, the board said, is the only prediction market currently operating unlicensed wagering in Nevada, which gaming regulators believe will force the company to suspend operations in the state.  

Titus wants Congress to step in and back up state gaming regulators. 

“States that have legalized sports betting have adopted strong safeguards for consumer protection, responsible gaming, anti-money laundering compliance, and independent integrity monitoring,” Titus said in a statement when she announced the legislation. 

“Prediction market companies are evading these protections, leaving consumers, players, and the integrity of sports at risk,” she added. “My legislation would end this illegitimate practice.”

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$206M expansion boosts M Resort’s revenue in just one month

At the ribbon-cutting for M Resort’s newly opened expansion in December, Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden said he’s done with turning away group business because the Henderson resort lacked the necessary space.

Penn, which has 43 casinos and racetracks in 20 states, spent $206 million to double M’s hotel to 765 rooms and add other non-gaming amenities. M Resort is now the second-largest property in the company’s portfolio.

On last week’s quarterly earnings conference call, Snowden said M Resort had recently booked two of the largest group reservations in the property’s history.

“We’re capturing previously unmet demand,” Snowden said. “In December, the property achieved record gaming volumes. And in January, we generated record net revenue.”

M Resort is included in Penn’s western division, and the hotel-casino was responsible for a 6.3 percent increase in revenue.

“When you look at occupancy and [average daily room rate], you don’t realize that we doubled the number of rooms,” Snowden said. “Occupancy has been almost as strong as it was prior year. We're feeling really good about M Resort.”

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Gaming commission approves Sandoval, Burnett for Resorts World board

Nevada Gaming Commission member Brian Krolicki used the outset of last week's monthly hearing to provide a civics lesson in state government. 

Ahead of approving former Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval for licensing as the chairman of the board that oversees Resorts World Las Vegas, Krolicki wanted to clear up any misunderstandings about Nevada's political structure and how closely related their work was. 

While he was Nevada’s lieutenant governor during Sandoval’s first term as governor, they were elected separately.

“Many states do it differently. For the outside world, I just want to make that clear,” Krolicki said before voting as part of the five-member commission to approve Sandoval, now president of UNR, and former Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett, now a partner with the McDonald Carano law firm, to serve on the board. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Brian Sandoval for 30 years,” added Krolicki, who was deflecting any discussion about a potential abstention from the vote. Krolicki was elected to two terms as Nevada treasurer and was first elected lieutenant governor in 2007.

Sandoval served as gaming commission chairman before being elected as Nevada attorney general. He was a federal judge before his two terms as governor.

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What I'm reading

Record number of travelers expected across the U.S. this spring — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes

Study projects that U.S. airlines will carry 2.8 million passengers daily from March 1 through April 30.

Spirit Airlines plans life after bankruptcy with creditor deal — Dean Seal, The Wall Street Journal

Once one of Harry Reid International Airport’s top carriers, Spirit’s passenger totals in Las Vegas have fallen 74 percent in the last 12 months.

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News, notes and quotes

🏨 Boyd to sell one of its Louisiana casinos

Boyd Gaming is selling its Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Bally’s Corp. for an undisclosed price. Bally’s operates a Shreveport casino and hotel adjacent to the property. Boyd will retain the name Sam’s Town, and the Shreveport casino will be rebranded to avoid any confusion since the company owns Sam’s Town Las Vegas. The casino has been owned by Boyd since 2004. CEO Keith Smith said the sale “is consistent with our continued focus on refining our operating model and our nationwide property portfolio.” Following the sale, Boyd will operate 27 casinos in 11 states.

🏗️ General manager named for Hard Rock Las Vegas

Developers of Hard Rock Las Vegas have named Justin Wyborn senior vice president and general manager of the redesigned resort that will replace The Mirage on the Strip by the end of 2027. Wyborn most recently served as president of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati. He joined the company in 2013 and has more than 25 years of international hospitality experience. He will report to property President Joe Lupo. Hard Rock paid more than $1 billion for The Mirage but has not provided a price for the remodel, which includes a 42-story, 675-room, guitar-shaped hotel tower.

⚾ Illegal bookie becomes 38th member of the Black Book

The Nevada Gaming Commission needed less than 10 minutes to add former minor league baseball player and illegal bookmaker Wayne Nix to the state’s List of Excluded Persons, which is commonly referred to as The Black Book. The five-member panel unanimously approved Nix becoming the book’s 38th member without any discussion. Senior Deputy Attorney General Michael Somps told the commission, “Nix wagered millions of dollars in illicit proceeds to pay off casino markers.” His ties to MGM Resorts International led to an $8.5 million fine for the company last year and the banishment of former executive Scott Sibella from the gaming industry. Nix, a convicted felon, did not contest his inclusion.