NEWS & NOTES

The Republican National Committee has given its expected endorsement to Charlotte, N.C., over Las Vegas to host the party’s 2020 national convention. Las Vegas, the only other finalist for the event, had earlier withdrawn from contention citing conflicts with existing bookings at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Center. • Israeli hoteliers Asher Gabay and Benny Zerah have purchased the Motel 8 at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip for $7.4 million. The pair said they plan to raze the 57-year-old property, which covers around one acre, and replace it with a casino and hotel. • Three restaurants at Las Vegas’ Venetian and Palazzo resorts—Carnevino Italian Steakhouse, B&B Ristorante and Otto Enoteca e Pizzeria—completed their planned closures on July 22. Owner B&B Hospitality Group announced the shutdowns after sexual misconduct allegations were lodged against celebrity chef and B&B founding partner Mario Batali. • No date has been determined for the launch of a light rail transit system in Macau, despite an announcement that the Taipa metro line would begin a trial run in June 2019, says the Office for Transport Infrastructure. The original statement, by MTR Macau head Weller Chan, was “preliminary,” said the GIT. ● Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands has launched a “learning leave” program that gives full-time staff members two days paid leave from work to study language, communications, service excellence and information technology. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has spent nearly $9 million on training programs since 2013, the equivalent of more than 3.69 million hours of instruction in more than 150 course, a statement said. ● Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office has received reports of 1,128 suspicious transactions from gaming operators in the first half of 2018, compared to 1,074 from last year. But the STRs fell as a proportion of total complaints handled by the office, from 70.3 percent to 51.6 percent. The reporting threshold for STRs in Macau is much higher than in most jurisdictions, MOP500,000 (US$62,323); the international standard is US$3,000. ● Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group has received the Cross-Strait-Four-Region Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility Award at a ceremony in Hong Kong. It’s the second award for GEG, and given in recognition of its “obligations towards shareholders, commitment to customers, caring of employees, community and society relations, environmental protection and leadership ability.” ●  Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem reported nearly $18.7 million in table games revenue in June, a more than 6 percent increase from about $17.6 million a year earlier, according to figures released last week by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The casino had recorded year-over-year declines in table games revenue in March, April and May, the first time the figure had dropped three months in a row at Sands Bethlehem. Early on in that cold spell, Sands Bethlehem faced bad weather that affected transportation from nearby population centers. • Two Monarch Casino Resorts properties in Nevada and Colorado earned record highs in slots revenues in the second quarter, although they weren’t as high as analysts forecast. The Monarch Casino Black Hawk and Atlantis hotel-casino in Reno earned the company a net $9.2 million for the first quarter, up from $7.2 million last year. Revenue for the year was $59 million, up 2.9 percent. EBITDA rose 0.6 percent to $15.9 million from $15.8 million, reflecting higher labor costs.