Reporter:
Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019.
Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News.
Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk.
Contact Steve at [email protected].
Areas of Expertise
1982 stories by Steve Bittenbender
Retired Steve Wynn Still Active in Politics, Gives $770K to GOP House Campaign Fund
Republicans in Washington are working to take back the House of Representatives in next year’s elections, and they’re getting a nice chunk of Steve Wynn’s money to achieve that goal. The now-retired casino magnate was one of 11 individuals who contributed $771,900...
Elon Musk’s Boring Company Gives Time, Cost Estimates for Vegas Loop Trips
The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop still has yet to take its first official passenger from one end of the complex to the other. But Elon Musk’s The Boring Company is already moving forward with plans to expand the underground people mover...
GameCo Announces Three Strategic Hires as Vegas Company Lands New Investments
Less than a month after bringing on a new chief executive, GameCo announced on Wednesday the hiring of three additional gaming industry veterans to help the company across its different verticals. Michael Low has joined GameCo, where he will serve as its...
Charlie Side Hustle: Pete Rose to Give Baseball Picks to UPickTrade Subscribers
Legendary baseball player Pete Rose turned 80 on Wednesday, and if you’ve read this far, you probably have a pretty good idea what this story involves. Baseball’s banished hit king celebrated his birthday by signing on with sports betting tout service UPickTrade.com....
Senate Subcommittee Hears How COVID-19 Hurt Las Vegas, Gaming Industry
Las Vegas and the gaming community had the ear of US senators on Tuesday, as the Senate Commerce subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion met for the first time. Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors...
Bally’s Gets on the Strip with Tropicana Las Vegas Deal
Bally’s Corp. announced Tuesday morning it has agreed to buy the Tropicana Las Vegas from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. in a transaction valued at more than $300 million. The sale-and-leaseback arrangement for the iconic casino now gives the Rhode Island-based gaming...
North Carolina Lawmakers Say Expanded Sports Betting Can Generate $50M for State
Less than three weeks after the first retail sportsbooks opened in the state, two North Carolina lawmakers filed a bill this past week to expand the opportunity statewide for a very noble reason. On Wednesday, state Sens. Paul Lowe Jr. (D-Winston Salem)...
New York Budget Saves Jobs for Upstate Casinos, Offers Potential for Downstate
Lost in the hoopla over mobile sports betting last week, when New York lawmakers passed a $212 billion fiscal year budget, were a couple of provisions tied to the casinos across the state. First, the budget calls for the New York State...
Las Vegas Convention Officials Show Off $52.5 Million Loop for First Time
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) used Friday to showcase the Convention Center Loop. That's the $52.5-million underground people mover built by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to help shuttle people across the recently expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. Media...
Miss America to Take Place at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun for Next Three Years
Miss America is headed back to Connecticut. The Mohegan Sun announced Friday it reached a three-year agreement with the Miss America Organization (MOA). The deal means the world-renowned pageant competition and scholarship organization will hold events, including its finals competition, at the...