Shortly after the International Casino Exhibition (ICE) conference which was held in London in late January, rumors starting circulating which seemed to point to a new era in online gaming in the United States.

The ICE convention brought some of the major players in the online and live gaming industries together such as Bodog, Playtech, the Ongame Network and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

According to a recent report which is of particular interest to American players, Party Gaming has inked a major deal to supply at least two big Las Vegas Casino operators with the gaming platform for online gaming.                                                                                                                                                                   The Daily Mail reported that Party Gaming in fact signed a deal on the 26th January, which was the first day of the conference, to team up with these two US Casino companies to provide an online gaming portal if and when the country’s government regulates and licenses the online gaming industry.

The firms mentioned by the Daily Mail as possible suitors for Party Gaming in the deal are MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, Boyd Gaming and Las Vegas Sands Corporation.  The newspaper mentioned that it is a “lucrative deal” but refused to divulge any financial information.

MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands and Boyd Gaming all actively trade on the New York Stock Exchange while Caesars Entertainment is a private company.

Party Gaming was booted out of the Unites States after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006 and was forced to pay a huge fine by the DOJ.  After paying their fine and leaving the United States Party Gaming was able to leave the door open to re-enter the US market if and when online gambling is ever legalized.  Party Gaming has since merged with the Austrian based company, Bwin, and is now in a perfect position to become a major force in the US.

Since the news of a possible deal, Party Gaming has seen its shares on the London Stock Exchange jump, starting at 185 pence and ending the day at 196.7.  However, by the end of trading on Tuesday it had come back down at 178.3.  MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and Boyd Gaming are still showing increases in their stock prices.

None of the players in the game are prepared to comment on whether there is any truth in the deal.