NEWS & NOTES

Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada will remain closed, although the pandemic-inspired lockdown has been lifted over much of the province. A Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Ltd. spokesman said, “We are not reopening Rama and Innisfil for the time being, as they are designated in the red zone, and there is the issue of variants of concern, specifically B-117. Health officials have confirmed Covid-19 variants detected in the province. Casino Rama has been closed for nearly a year. Officials say the 50-person capacity limit it would have to operate under are “impractical.” • French casino giant Partouche Group has extended its partnership with sports betting platform provider BetConstruct for five years. BetConstruct supplies Partouche with a white-label sportsbook for the regulated French online betting market. The contract gives Partouche access to a high-powered platform, 75,000-plus pre-match and 45,000-plus live sports and horse racing events on a monthly basis. ● Bally’s Atlantic City temporarily closed last week for a technology overhaul that includes the installation of a new rewards program. Assistant General Manager Michael Monty said the program will provide “greater rewards for Bally’s AC’s loyal players and guests, enhancing their overall gaming experience, while maintaining players’ current tier status.” Bally’s was sold in November for $25 million from Caesars Entertainment to Rhode Island-based Twin River Worldwide Holdings, which subsequently changed its name to Bally’s Corp. ● A new exhibit featuring artifacts from the Moulin Rouge Casino and Hotel are going on display at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. The first integrated gaming property opened in 1955, when other casinos on the Strip were segregated. The Moulin Rouge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ● New Jersey’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has approved modifying Steel Pier Associates’ $14.3 million loan to allow the company to skip most 2020 payments without late fees. Like other attractions on the historic Atlantic City Boardwalk, the amusement pier was forced to close for months last year due to Covid-19. “In the past, Steel Pier made all payments in full and on time,” said CRDA Executive Director Matt Doherty. Under the negotiated deal, Steel Pier will pay 15 percent of the amount owed up front, with the balance added to the loan principal. ● Station Casinos has announced that it has converted its Grand Café restaurants to the Lucky Penny brand at Red Rock Casino and Green Valley Ranch and to Brass Fork at Boulder Station, Santa Fe Station and Sunset Station. Each café, serving guests 24/7, will feature “a playful menu of modern American cuisine with a twist of worldly flavors and the traditional café classics for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.” ● Boot Hill Casino and VenuWorks of Dodge City have agreed to a 10-year extension of the naming rights for the Boot Hill Casino & Resort Conference Center, a 6,800-square-foot meeting and entertainment space. The new agreement extends the original 10-year partnership, signed in 2016, to the year 2036. ● Philippines construction firm Megawide has won a combined Php26.3 billion (US$544.2 million) in contracts as part of the development of Suncity Group’s hotel and casino project at Manila’s Westside City Resorts World. Megawide holds a 43.5 percent stake in the project’s parent company, Suntrust Home Developers Inc. ● Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip is being renamed Michelob Ultra Arena under the terms of a deal between beverage giant Anheuser-Busch and Mandalay Bay parent MGM Resorts International. Terms of the agreement, described only as “multiyear,” were not disclosed. The 12,000-seat facility, which has hosted rock concerts, UFC contests and sports awards shows, the Latin Billboard Awards and Latin Grammys telecast and the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, currently is home to the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Association. ● Due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on live entertainment, several shows scheduled for spring and summer at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in New York have been canceled, including the Motown Extreme shows. Patrons are advised to continue to check Seneca Gaming Corp. websites for up-to-date information. ● Some gaming enterprises are actually hiring, including Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino in Coarsegold, California, which will hold a job fair at the end of the month. The casino is looking to fill 50 full-time and part-time positions, including guest room attendants, night cleaners, and stewards and cashiers, among others. ● The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has opened two factories that will be able to produce up to 200,000 surgical face masks per day. The Cherokee Nation will be among few manufacturers in the U.S. to make N99 masks, a medical-grade mask the tribe anticipates will be the adopted standard of the future.