The strike at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is continuing as the standoff between management and laborers seeking higher pay and benefits showed no signs of resolution. With no new talks scheduled, the open-ended strike—Nevada’s first of its kind since 2002—continues to disrupt operations just a week before the high-profile Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Culinary Workers Union, representing roughly 60,000 members across Nevada, is pushing for wage increases and benefit improvements similar to those negotiated at other Las Vegas casinos last year. Approximately 700 workers, including guest room attendants, food servers, bartenders, and kitchen staff, joined the picket lines at Virgin Hotels.

The timing of the strike could have significant implications for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, as the upcoming Formula 1 race is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of fans to the area. However, no new discussions are in sight, with both sides remaining firmly entrenched.

Virgin Hotels described the terms of union agreements reached by other casinos, which included 32% salary increases over five years, as “economically unsustainable.” The company said it is committed to achieving a “reasonable agreement” for its 1710 employees and accused union leadership of refusing to engage in “meaningful negotiations.”

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Union spokesperson Bethany Khan confirmed that no negotiations were scheduled between the parties. To support striking workers, the union is offering $500 per week to those who participate in picketing shifts. The union previously staged a 48-hour job action at Virgin Hotels in May, urging management to agree to a new five-year contract.

Virgin Hotels recently reached a contract agreement with the Teamsters Union, covering 105 employees, including front desk, valet, and call center staff. The Culinary Workers Union’s strike, however, underscores a broader labor push in Nevada’s hotel and casino sector.

Delaware North, a global hospitality and entertainment company with a portfolio of regional casinos and an interactive gaming division, has selected leading online gaming platform, content and services provider Playtech to power its Betly mobile sportsbook and casino.

Playtech is the new platform provider for the Betly sportsbooks, starting with Betly Ohio, which launched this month and replaces MVGBet in an affiliate license partnership with Miami Valley Gaming, a Delaware North joint-venture property located between Cincinnati and Dayton. The Betly sportsbooks in Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia, a state where Betly also offers an online casino in addition to sports betting, will be migrated to the Playtech platform in the coming months.

“We are very pleased to partner with Playtech to provide Betly customers with an enhanced mobile sports betting and online casino experience powered by an industry leader,” said Lee Terfloth, chief interactive gaming officer for Delaware North. 

“Not only that, but our team can now offer players robust promotional features through the Playtech platform, which will allow Betly to offer customers an array of enticing and personalized offerings, including bonus bets, boosts, drawings and tournaments. As a result, customers will experience tailored content to engage them based on their historical betting activity,” Terfloth said.

Responsible Gaming

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Betly is committed to promoting and encouraging responsible gaming and offering users informational resources to support and identify problem gambling, as well as promoting intelligent tools that allow players to set deposit, loss, session time and money-spent limits.

With the migration to the Playtech platform, Delaware North has access to the suite of Playtech’s responsible gaming solutions. This includes BetBuddy, which features best-in-class responsible gaming technology that provides enhanced insights into potential at-risk player behaviors and supports operators with the insights to enable early intervention and personalized messaging for those exhibiting at-risk behavior.

Delaware North has also partnered with Birches Health, a leading national behavioral addiction program providing online treatment for addictions to gambling, sports betting and other activities. Through this relationship, Delaware North will integrate customized behavioral health assessments into the Betly application. This will provide individuals on the platform a real digital resource to gauge their relationship with gaming and seek help from certified mental health counselors. Birches Health will provide all Delaware North staff with clinician-led responsible gaming training and access to curated responsible gaming content.

The Betly Sportsbook Ohio statewide mobile sports betting app is now live on Apple App Store for iOS, Google Play Storefor Android and on desktop at oh.betly.com.

Additional Features

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Betly Sportsbook Ohio is expanding its customer support services with a larger team available via phone support for an optimized experience and reduced wait times for customers. Betly now also features an enhanced customer onboarding process, a variety of payment options, player journey automations, diverse bonusing capabilities and enhanced responsible gaming and customer intervention.

Wagering capabilities include same-game parlays, regional curated odds boosts, a variety of pre-match and in-play player props, minimized suspension times on in-play sporting events, teaser bets and automated promotional functionality on results-based outcomes. Betly Sportsbook Ohio will feature official National Football League data via Genius Sports.

Full House Resorts, Inc. announced that it has named Jeff Michie as vice president and general manager of its Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun, Indiana, subject to customary gaming approvals. Mr. Michie will replace Angi Truebner-Webb who, as previously reported, will become the general manager of the Company’s Silver Slipper Casino Hotel in Hancock County, Mississippi.

Mr. Michie joins Rising Star from Casino del Sol, a large casino resort in Tucson, Arizona. As the chief financial officer of Casino del Sol, Mr. Michie oversaw the property’s finance, surveillance and golf course departments. Mr. Michie has also served in senior management positions at several casinos that directly compete with Rising Star, including as the senior vice president of operations and finance of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, and as assistant general manager and CFO for Belterra Casino Resort & Spa. During his extensive career, Mr. Michie has also served as general manager for several properties, including the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Horizon Casino & Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and public administration from San Diego State University. He has also been a long-time resident of nearby Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

In connection with his hiring, the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors (the “Compensation Committee”) approved a grant of an inducement equity award of 19,921 restricted shares to Mr. Michie. Subject to his continuing service through the vesting dates, one-third of the total number of shares granted will vest on each of November 11, 2025, 2026, and 2027, the anniversary dates of Mr. Michie’s commencement of employment and the grant of restricted shares.

Additionally, in connection with their hirings, the Compensation Committee approved grants of inducement equity awards to two additional employees: Kimberly Bender and Katelynn May were each granted 4,107 restricted shares. For both Ms. Bender and Ms. May, one-third of the total number of shares granted will vest on each of November 12, 2025, 2026, and 2027, subject to their continuing service through the vesting dates, which are the anniversary dates of the grants of restricted shares.

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The awards were granted outside of the Company’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan and were approved by the Compensation Committee in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) as a material inducement to the above individuals’ entry into employment with the Company.