Casino News Roundup: Las Vegas Bids For MLS Team & Kalshi Raises $1bn
Welcome to the Casino Daily News Roundup - your briefing on the latest news from the global casino industry. We bring you the biggest stories from across the sector, covering everything from major business deals and revenue figures to new openings and regulatory developments.
Las Vegas Bids For MLS Team As City's Sports Roster Keeps Growing
Las Vegas is closing in on yet another major professional sports franchise.
A group led by local businessman Grant Gustavson has submitted a formal bid to Major League Soccer to buy the Vancouver Whitecaps and relocate the team to Southern Nevada.
The offer is reported at $500million, with Gustavson proposing that a soccer-specific stadium be built entirely with private financing - no public funding required.
Gustavson is the 30-year-old grandson of Public Storage co-founder B. Wayne Hughes and son of Forbes 400 member Tamara Gustavson, who holds an $8billion net worth and an 11% stake in Public Storage.
No site for the proposed stadium has been publicly disclosed, though the bid specifies it would be built to MLS standards and funded privately.
If approved, the move would give Las Vegas an MLS team to sit alongside the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Las Vegas Aces, and the incoming Athletics baseball franchise - which is due to begin play at its new ballpark on the Strip in 2028.
The city's transformation from an entertainment destination into a genuine major league sports market has been one of the defining stories of the past decade, and a soccer franchise would add yet another dimension to a sports ecosystem that is already drawing enormous interest from broadcasters, sponsors, and bettors alike.
MLS has been publicly open to expansion and relocation discussions, and Las Vegas - with its stadium infrastructure, growing population, and high-spending visitor base - is considered one of the more credible relocation targets in the league's current review.
For those who enjoy betting on the action, the best online casinos in Nevada and beyond are perfectly positioned to add soccer to their growing sports wagering menus.
Hard Rock Las Vegas Begins Recruiting Senior Executives Ahead Of 2027 Opening
The Hard Rock Las Vegas project is moving from construction into operational mode.
The company has begun recruiting for senior executive roles at the former Mirage site on the Las Vegas Strip, confirming that the ambitious $4bn to $5bn development is now targeting a second-half 2027 opening.
The Guitar Hotel - which completed its structural topping-off ceremony on May 1, reaching 660 feet and 42 storeys above the Strip - will be one of the most distinctive properties in Las Vegas when it opens, clad in blue glass and designed to resemble two back-to-back electric guitars.
The executive search covers resort leadership, gaming operations, hotel management, and entertainment programming.
Hard Rock president Joe Lupo said at the topping-off ceremony that the project will employ around 6,000 Las Vegas residents when fully operational.
The recruitment push is the clearest signal yet that Hard Rock is serious about its 2027 timeline - and that it intends to arrive on the Strip as a fully staffed, fully operational competitor from day one.
Those wanting to sample what Hard Rock's digital gaming offer looks like in advance will find online slot machines for US players available through the group's existing platforms right now.
Kalshi Raises $1 Billion At $22bn Valuation As Prediction Markets Hit Record Volume
The prediction markets sector is attracting capital at a pace that shows no signs of slowing. Kalshi has closed a $1bn Series F funding round valuing the company at $22bn - one of the largest financings in prediction market history and a significant step up from its previous valuation.
Institutional trading volume on Kalshi has grown 800% over the past six months, the company disclosed alongside the raise, reflecting the rapid professionalisation of a sector that was barely on Wall Street's radar 18 months ago.
The funding will be used to expand block trading, build institutional integrations, and deepen relationships with professional trading firms and financial institutions.
The broader market numbers are equally striking. Total US prediction market weekly notional volume hit over $7bn last week - just $350m short of an all-time record - with Kalshi accounting for more than 90% of that activity.
The American Gaming Association hit back this week, citing new data showing the majority of sports prediction market activity is taking place in states where online sports betting remains illegal.
"That's a blatant dismissal of voters' decisions and state laws that chose not to legalise online sports betting," the AGA said.
Legal pressure continues on multiple fronts: while Kalshi secured a preliminary injunction in Arizona this week, Minnesota's Senate has advanced a bill to ban prediction markets from operating in the state entirely - the latest in a growing list of state-level challenges the sector faces as it scales.
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Kalshi & Polymarket Open Hantavirus Pandemic Contracts As Regulators Look On
Kalshi and Polymarket have both launched trading contracts on the 2026 hantavirus outbreak - the latest in a series of moves that critics say are taking prediction markets well beyond their stated purpose as price-discovery tools.
The markets allow traders to predict whether the WHO will declare hantavirus a public health emergency of international concern before December 31.
Polymarket's market has attracted $4m in volume, with traders currently implying an 8% probability of a pandemic declaration.
Kalshi's equivalent market gives slightly higher odds at around 17%, with over $174,000 in volume recorded on Friday alone - the highest of any market that opened that week on the platform.
The contracts emerged after incidents on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship where three people died from the disease, though health officials have described the broader risk of a global outbreak as low.
The hantavirus markets are drawing fresh scrutiny from regulators and responsible gambling campaigners, who argue that prediction markets are increasingly offering wagers on human suffering rather than legitimate financial instruments.
The episode is likely to add fuel to the ongoing congressional debate over how event contracts should be regulated - with the CFTC's own framework still under construction and multiple state attorneys general already pursuing legal action against the major platforms.
