NEWS & NOTES

Casinos in Alberta, Canada, will join theaters and churches in reopening a week ahead of schedule on June 12. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said last week that active cases of coronavirus have declined about 70 percent in the last month.  • Wynn Las Vegas is offering a free one-night stay to first responders. The promotion, which runs Monday through June 30, is available to hospital and medical workers, police and firefighters. “We have so much gratitude for all of our first responders and it is a privilege for us to be able to offer a token of our appreciation,” said Wynn Las Vegas President Marilyn Spiegel in a news release. •  Chinese businesspeople or officials sponsored by “government agencies” can now apply for inbound travel to Singapore. Despite the move toward normalizing travel for that country following the initial Covid-19 emergency, Singapore’s two casino venues, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, are still closed. • First responders in Hancock County, Mississippi evacuated about 100 employees of the Silver Slipper Casino who were stuck at work after flooding from Tropical Storm Cristobal. The evacuations took place between 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on June 7. • Hard Rock Atlantic City announced last week that it will extend employee benefits through June and provide a third round of $100 ShopRite Gift Cards to more than 3,000 full-time, part-time and on-call personnel. Two gift card distributions took place in May for team members who made less than $50,000, including those who are tipped and toked. • Crown Perth in Western Australia recently opened eight of the property’s 35 restaurants and bars under strict social distancing guidelines. The gaming floor is still closed, said CEO Barry Felstead, adding, “Obviously we’re pretty keen to get the main part of the property open.” At the time of its closure, Crown Perth employed about 5,500 people, making it the largest private employer in Western Australia. • Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California started hosting small-scale entertainment events last week at the outdoor concert venue as well as in lounges inside the casino. Mandatory face covering and social distancing protocols remain in place. Larger live entertainment events will return in October when Chaka Khan plays the 3,700-seat Special Events Center. • CES, Las Vegas’ largest annual trade show, is set to return to town in January. The show is set for January 6 -9, according to the Consumer Technology Association. CTA plans to expand the show’s digital reach amid the pandemic, with more livestreamed content and “other engaging digital and virtual opportunities.” Products — some of which aim to provide solutions for day-to-day challenges created by the pandemic — will be showcased both physically in Las Vegas and digitally. • The Miracle Mile Shops on the Las Vegas Strip reopened on June 9, after postponing the original date of June 4. “We look forward to welcoming you back to an environment that exceeds the CDC guidelines,” the Shops stated. Miracle Mile will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. • The Camelot Group, operator of the U.K. National Lottery recently reported that it returned £1.85 billion to good causes, up 12 percent from 2018-19. The increase is “even more significant at this critical time,” Camelot noted, and will see up to £600 million in funding directed to “U.K. charities and organizations to help tackle the impact of Covid-19.” • Sands China has announced a new permanent non-gaming attraction covering 54,000 square feet of floor space at the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo. Due to open June 15, teamLab SuperNature Macao is described as “an immersive interactive experience” featuring “cutting-edge art installations in a massive, three-dimensional space.” • Ukraine will take its draft gambling law to its second reading this month, which if passed, would legalize both online and land-based gambling. Under the proposed legislation, 11 licenses would be issued by a gaming regulator.   • A citizen’s group named “Recall Movement Starting With One” which opposes the development of integrated resorts in Japan, will start collecting signatures for a petition to recall Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi. Representative Yumiko Hirokoshi criticized the mayor for not changing her IR policy in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. • The Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corp. (PAGCOR) has paid an additional PHP5 billion in cash dividends to the national treasury in support of Covid-19, for a total of PHP17 billion (US$341 million). “There’s a need to infuse more funds to the government’s effort in battling the Covid-19 pandemic,” said PAGCOR Chairwoman and CEO Andrea Domingo. “We might have suffered huge revenue losses but we can’t afford to lose the fight against this global health crisis.” • Junior lightweight contender Mikaela Mayer has tested positive for Covid-19 and won’t fight in the co-main event of Las Vegas’ first major boxing card since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Mayer made the announcement two days before her scheduled bout against Helen Joseph in the Top Rank show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. • Casino commissioners in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have filed a complaint against Imperial Pacific International, operator of the sole casino on Saipan island, for failing to contribute $40 million in community benefits and funds between 2018 and 2019. Commission chief Charlie Atalig, seeks to suspend IPI’s license until all payments are paid in full. In his complaint, Atalig said IPI has contributed only $3 million to the community fund in the two years. Under its license agreement, IPI is required to contribute $20 million a year. •  Grand Korea Leisure Ltd., a South Korean operator of foreigner-only casinos, said in a filing that its May casino sales fell 73.7 percent year-on-year. Gaming operations resumed on May 6, after a 43-day casino shutdown.