The Jungle Empire

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Although Bally’s takeover of Evoke may have prompted a slightly discounted price and a quick decision for GiG to buy 888Africa, the continent has been part of GiG’s plans for a while Richards insists. “We received the information memorandum in Q2 2026,” Richards adds. “Africa has long been a market that our CEO Richard Carter has admired and his insight enabled us to move quickly to be able to announce the principal commercial terms at our results at the end of August.”

Both Richards and Ahlberg state this acquisition doesn’t reflect a turnaround story for 888Africa, with a management team led by industry veteran Christopher Coyne and a footprint in some of the continent’s fastest-growing markets.

“It has real market positions already, including a market-leading position in Mozambique and a growing presence in Angola and Tanzania, so we are buying established local relevance rather than starting from zero,” Richards continues.

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Hockey fans heading to Vegas Golden Knights games can now partake in way-cheaper stadium eats than the Athletic Club will offer. SMKD (Smoked Meats, Killer Drinks) BBQ has launched an upper-concourse food cart at T-Mobile Arena. Spearheaded by Top Chef Season 7 alumnus and Beat Bobby Flay champ Chef Alex Reznik (in partnership with Ogden Hospitality), the expansion builds on the success of SMKD’s brick-and-mortar location, which opened in November 2025 at 10895 S. Eastern Ave. in Henderson.

Caesars Palace welcomes Barcelona’s SIPS Drinkery House, regarded by many as one of the world’s best bars, for a two-month pop-up at the Vista Cocktail Lounge from Oct. 31 through Dec. 31.

Stix Asia—the 18,000-square-foot food hall replacing the former Sundry food hall at UnCommons in southwest Las Vegas—announced its first three restaurants this week, all of which began in Tokyo: Ginza Bairin, founded in 1927; the Ramen Bario ramen spot; and Nanamusubi. The food hall is expected to open over the winter with a dozen concepts representing cuisines from around Asia.

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Lottomatica will absorb Cirsa through an EU cross-border merger, with Lottomatica as the surviving entity.

Angelozzi was asked about previous cross-border M&A that had failed to deliver on initial expectations and why he felt this time was different.

He said Cirsa wass already a well-managed company and in previous deals, it had tried to make too many changes to an asset. “First of all, in many cases you had M&A which was of assets that were second tier. The promise was to completely change the nature and the competitive position of the asset, in many cases, a turnaround.