Casino City's Friday Five: Billions of dollars edition

The Parq Vancouver.

It's that time of week again, and we've got it all – compacts, debuts and (our personal favorite) multimillion-dollar jackpots.

1. California ratifies compact with Wilton Rancheria Tribe
Early this week, the California State Assembly and California State Senate ratified a tribal-state gaming compact with the Wilton Rancheria Tribe. This compact will allow the tribe to build and operate a casino resort in Elk Grove, California.

Boyd Gaming will develop and manage the casino on the tribe's behalf. Construction is anticipated to begin in mid-2018.

2. Parq Vancouver set to debut in September
Based on what we've heard so far, the Parq Vancouver is sounding like a must-visit destination.

British Columbia's largest private development will feature. . . well, according to the press release, "everything."

Two luxury hotels, decadent culinary options, high-tech gaming, a curated art collection and over 600 slot machines are just the beginning.

The property will also host a full-sized Douglas fir replica encased in glass within the lobby, representing a nature-city balance, and 30,000 square feet of outdoor space that highlights British Columbia's natural beauty.

3. Panamanian woman wins $30 million Florida Lotto jackpot
Join us here at Casino City as we lament yet another lottery jackpot that could have been ours, if only we had played.

Sixty-year-old Dominguez Canto from Panama won her $30 million fortune after signing up for TheLotter, a lottery ticket messenger service that enables players from around the world to play U.S. and European lottos.

Canto chose to receive her prize in the form of a $20,948,543 lump sum.

4. New York resident wins over $1 million at Resorts Casino
Continuing on the jackpot track is one James C. from New York, who grabbed a little over $1 million while playing at Resorts Casino Hotel. He won the sum on his second handle pull on the Elvis Shake Rattling Reels slot.

The Golden Nugget.

5. Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta to buy Houston Rockets
Tilman Fertitta, owner of Golden Nugget casinos and Landry's, a Texas-based restaurant, has agreed to purchase the Houston Rockets for a total of $2.2 billion. That's a worldwide record in the world of professional sports.

As you may have guessed, Fertitta has been called World's Richest Restauranteur by Forbes and has a net worth of something like $2.4 billion.

Former owner Leslie Alexander, another businessman with a mind-boggling bankroll, will miss the team dearly.

He said in a statement, “It’s been my great joy and honor to own the Houston Rockets for the past 24 years. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to witness true greatness through the players and coaches who have won championships for the city, been named to All-Star and All-NBA teams, enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, and done so much for our franchise and our fans.”

But you know what they say about the times: They are a-changin'.