NEWS & NOTES

The year 2020 will explode in real time on New Year’s Eve, when the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority livestreams a real-time demolition of a 2020 sign and sponsors a contest for people to win a trip to Las Vegas. A 15-second teaser video shows the implosions of the New Frontier, the Stardust, the Landmark and the Dunes with the text, “out with the old, in with a boom, we feel the same about 2020.” ● The Global Licensing Group, which had been planning to bring back its annual Las Vegas convention in May, has rescheduled it to take place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center August 10-12. An online event will follow shortly after August 24-25. ● Sands China has renewed an agreement with parent company Las Vegas Sands for LVS to provide marketing services in the international VIP and leasing, management, public relations, sales and marketing services for the hotels, MICE venues and retail malls in Sands China’s Macau resorts. The US$33 million agreement, slated to run through 2023, also provides for cross-promotion of the companies’ Macau and Las Vegas resorts to Sands Rewards Club members. ● Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon, California, recently donated more than $70,000 to 21 different charities during its 2020 Holiday Gift Giving Celebration. Among the recipients were the Alzheimer’s Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters San Diego County, the Juvenile Diabetes Relief Fund and Serving Seniors San Diego. ● Rhythm City Casino in Davenport, Iowa has presented a check for more than $20,000 to the March of Dimes, a charity that advocates for children’s health. The casino hosted the March of Dimes Donate & Play every Wednesday in the month of October to benefit the local chapter. ● Hard Rock Live, a music venue at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was named 2020 Casino Theater of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa will accept the award as part of the 55th Annual ACM Awards in 2021. ● A professional poker player from Texas faces five years in federal prison after he failed to pay income tax on more than $1 million in gambling win. Guy Smith of Shelton, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion this month, was a regular at casinos in Connecticut and other locations around the U.S. and the Bahamas, according to authorities. ● Macau’s Judiciary Police recently arrested the alleged operators of illicit iGaming sites. The ring allegedly disguised itself as an “advertising and design company” and made profits of at least MOP100 million (US$12.5 million) prior to the police action. ● The Las Vegas Planning Commission has approved a company called Main Street Investments II LLC to move forward with its tentatively named Urban Food Lot, a food truck park planned for Downtown Vegas. The open-air food lot will include up to 10 food trucks on a 7,400-square-foot vacant lot near California Street, according to project documents. ● Unless economic conditions improve, Southwest Airlines may furlough 384 Las Vegas-based employees in 2021. The furloughs would affect pilots, flight attendants, customer service agents and ramp agents. In a December 3 letter to the Nevada Department of Employment, the airline said the coronavirus has “devastated domestic air travel and tourism,” causing it to lose billions in revenues this year. ● Vietnam logged 3.82 million international tourist arrivals in the first 11 months of 2020, a year-on-year decline of 76.6 percent, according to the Vietnam News Agency. International travelers are critically important for the country’s casino industry, as the majority of its gaming halls do not serve locals. ● NagaCorp founder Chen Lip Keong has become Cambodia’s largest individual donor in the fight against Covid-19, donating US$5 million for the procurement of vaccines. His contribution of “is invaluable and will always be remembered in the history of the people of Cambodia,” said Prime Minister Hun Sen. ● A continuing spike in Covid-19 cases among Transportation Security Administration employees at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas has caused concern among their colleagues. As of December 9, 101 TSA employees have contracted the virus since the pandemic began. ● Circus Circus Las Vegas has debuted a new thrill ride at the Adventuredome amusement park called NebulaZ. The property’s first new ride since 2013, the attraction has eight gondolas that rotate at high speeds. Shana Gerety, vice president of marketing at Circus Circus called it “just what we needed to put the Adventuredome experience over the top.” ● According to the Airports Council International, global air traffic was down about 64.2 percent, from 9 billion in 2019 to 3 billion in 2020 due to the coronavirus. The Asia-Pacific region is recovering most rapidly; the ACI predicts that global air traffic will not return to 2019 levels until 2023, and it may take up to two decades for the industry to return to the pre-Covid projected traffic levels. ● Macau’s Responsible Gaming Promotions program has increased awareness of responsible gambling practices among residents from 16.2 percent in 2009 to 64.4 percent in 2020, according to Hon Wai, director of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS). The IAS 24-hour Online Gambling Counselling Services hotline has handled more than 1,600 online counseling cases between January and September and fielded 900 calls for help. ● The Swedish Court of Appeals (Kammarrätten) has rejected an appeal by Casino Cosmopol and regulator Spelinspektionen against a fine levied on Svenska Spel’s land-based casino brand. Casino Cosmopol aimed to have its $305,316 money laundering fine dismissed, while Spelinspektionen looked to have the penalty increased. However, the court dismissed both challenges, saying the punishment was proportionate. In 2018, Spelinspektionen found Casino Cosmopol failed to comply with license requirements for money laundering and terrorist financing for a seven-month period. ● Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino will be the new home of the Phoenix Rising FC’s stadium and training facilities, which should be ready in time for the 2021 USL season in May. The move will increase the number of spectators by 35 percent, add training fields and allow for future expansion. Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis commented, “We are very much looking forward to having Phoenix Rising be the first to play its games within our community.” •