Industry News
Sandy’s Racing & Gaming Celebrates Grand Opening
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear helped open the doors Thursday at Sandy’s Racing & Gaming – a $75 million entertainment facility in Eastern Kentucky that creates nearly 250 new jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenues.
With nearly 700 historical horse racing games, two performance stages and a BetMGM Race & Sportsbook, the 75,000 square-foot facility is unlike anything else in the area.
“Last year, we promised to bring a first-class facility to Boyd County,” said Larry Lucas, Chairman of Revolutionary Racing Kentucky, which is making the investment together with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “Today, we can say – promises made, promises kept.”
The project will also include Kentucky’s only quarter horse racetrack and an equestrian center, located on 182 acres behind Sandy’s. While track construction is officially set to begin in early 2024, Thursday’s festivities included a ceremonial blast, leveling some of the hills at the track site. The first races are set to happen there in 2025, marking continued growth for Kentucky’s thriving horse racing industry.
“Sandy’s Racing & Gaming is bringing top-tier racing, gaming and entertainment to Northeastern Kentucky, along with hundreds of new jobs for the people who call Boyd County and the surrounding region home. Congratulations to Revolutionary Racing and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for creating this exciting destination,” Gov. Beshear said.
Last summer, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission awarded the state’s ninth and final horse racing license to Revolutionary Racing Kentucky. Construction began in April and was led by Lexington’s D.W. Wilburn Construction and the Tri-State Building Trades. More than 300 local union workers were employed throughout the project and 90% of all materials and supplies were made in the US.
Amenities include a 5200 square-foot sportsbook, which features dozens of leather recliners and three cinema-sized screens. Daily entertainment will take place on two stages, which include dueling pianos, as well as local and national performers. Country star and Boyd County native Cole Chaney starred as the opening-night headliner, while last year’s “American Idol” winner Noah Thompson delivered a surprise performance.
A craft-focused kitchen offers multiple dining options, with all meat locally sourced from AW Meat House in Argillite. Menu highlights include the Big Sandy Burger, flatbreads, root beer floats made with The Peddler in Huntington, West Virginia and Sandy’s Ale – a craft beer made by Mikerphone Brewing in Illinois, which is only available at Sandy’s.
AI
Blacklyte unveils AI-powered desktop gaming “Teammate” companion
Blacklyte has announced the Blacklyte AI Teammate, an AI-powered desktop gaming companion the company says is designed to react to gameplay and provide coaching-style assistance. Blacklyte said the product will be shown in base colors at LVL UP EXPO.
According to the company, the AI Teammate can guide players through levels, provide feedback on playstyle, and suggest alternative moves based on analysis of in-game decisions and potential outcomes. Blacklyte positions the device as a desk-based companion that integrates with its broader lineup of desks, chairs, and accessories.
“We at Blacklyte are excited to bring the Blacklyte AI Teammate to life. By creating this new desktop teammate, we are giving people a new way to connect with games. The Blacklyte AI Teammates are not just another robot; they are true partners who understand gamers, games, and how to get the win.” said Alex Liu, Blacklyte Founder and CEO. “Beyond gaming, the Blacklyte AI Teammate is a true partner who supports, adapts, and upgrades their new owner’s life. They are always there when needed, on the desk, in a game, and beyond.”
On hardware, Blacklyte said the device has a silicone body with a steel core for poseability and an LED face screen intended to display emotions and responses. The company said it connects to PCs through the Blacklyte app available on the Apple and Play Store, with the app supporting controls and firmware updates. Blacklyte also said additional colors and collaborations are planned in the future.
The post Blacklyte unveils AI-powered desktop gaming “Teammate” companion appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Andrew Cardno
Quick Custom Intelligence Launches QCI Metrics
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI) a leading provider of casino operational intelligence software, announced the launch of QCI Metrics, a new anonymized data-sharing program that enables gaming and hospitality operators to benchmark performance using yesterday’s operating data—providing timely, actionable insights without exposing customer, financial, or personally identifiable information. This innovative solution extends beyond gaming machine ranking into host performance standardization.
Available through the Chatalytics.com portal and integrated into the QCI Platform, QCI Metrics transforms operational data—including game performance and host effectiveness—into standardized performance indexes.
While traditional benchmarking solutions rely on limited datasets or delayed reporting cycles, QCI Metrics delivers insights based on yesterday’s data—giving operators a timely, continuously updated view of how they are performing against peers across both gaming and player development.
All data shared in QCI Metrics is:
• Aggregated and normalized
• De-identified
• Abstracted at the property level using internal IDs
No transaction-level, player-level, or campaign-level data is ever shared.
“QCI Metrics gives operators the ability to see how they stack up against peers across player development and gaming in near-time, without compromising privacy. It’s a practical, secure way to unlock industry-wide insights,” said Andrew Cardno, Co-Founder and CTO of QCI.
QCI Metrics is designed to help operators quickly identify performance gaps, respond faster to trends, and adopt proven strategies in a highly competitive environment.
The post Quick Custom Intelligence Launches QCI Metrics appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Industry News
RAW iGaming unveils RAW Riches: A site-wide progressive jackpot overlay built for scale
RAW iGaming announces today the launch of RAW Riches, a site-wide progressive jackpot overlay designed to deliver jackpot moments without adding operational complexity.
Launching as part of the RAWVerse ecosystem, RAW Riches introduces a new approach to jackpots, prioritising seamless integration, player engagement, and operator control.
A fully embedded experience
RAW Riches introduces a multi-tier progressive jackpot layer deployable across an operator’s entire portfolio, regardless of game supplier. Unlike traditional jackpot mechanics that require separate integrations or fragmented systems, RAW Riches operates as a fully embedded experience within the operator’s brand, creating a single, unified jackpot.
Tom Wood, CEO of RAW iGaming, said: “The industry built jackpots in silos. We built one that connects everything.
“RAW Riches gives operators a site-wide jackpot running across every entity and every game supplier, configured to their exact needs and brand, all from a single solution.
“We pride ourselves on producing the industry’s most distinctive and disruptive game concepts and RAW Riches is no different.
“This is the kind of product that changes how operators think about jackpots entirely.”
A seamless player experience
Players opt in and continue playing as normal. When triggered, the jackpot experience takes over instantly. Every trigger results in a win, with no losing outcomes, before the player is returned to their original game to continue playing.
Scaleable without complexity
RAW Riches solves one of the industry’s most persistent operational challenges in scaling jackpots across multiple providers, brands, and markets. Key features include:
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Single deployment across all games and brands
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Full operator control over jackpot configuration and branding
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Multiple delivery options, including bespoke branded game builds
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Seamless deployment within any existing RAW integration or delivery partner
RAW Riches is available today across regulated markets in Europe.
The post RAW iGaming unveils RAW Riches: A site-wide progressive jackpot overlay built for scale appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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