NEWS & NOTES

More than 1 million Nevadans have received coronavirus vaccines since doses first arrived in December, according to Governor Steve Sisolak. Since the start of the pandemic, 300,415 residents have tested positive for Covid-19 and 5,157 have died. Starting April 5, residents 16 and older can sign up for the shots. ● Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear attended the recent groundbreaking for a new $145 million grandstand at Turfway Park, which will include 1,000 historical horse racing machines. The facility will also have a large simulcasting area, where players can bet on races at tracks all around the country. It’s scheduled to open in the summer of 2022. ● Sources say entertainer Katy Perry will begin a residency at the new Resorts World in Las Vegas, which contains a 5,000-seater venue. The venue is being run in partnership with promoter giants AEG. Resorts World is set to open this summer, and the residency is expected to begin towards the end of 2021 and run into 2022. ● Macau quarantines for people arriving from Hong Kong have been shortened from 21 days to 14 days, reflecting the latest easing of restrictions around Macau’s borders. The 14-day period is to be followed by a seven-day stay-at-home period. Some 36,400 people in Macau had received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by March 21, with another 75,500 people registered. ● Minnesota’s White Earth Tribal Council has approved a new $16 living minimum wage for all tribal entities, including the Shooting Star Casino. “Our success would not be possible without every team member,” said White Earth Tribal Chairman Michael Fairbanks. “We could not be happier to provide this pay increase.” ● The U.K.’s Cheltenham Festival 2021 attracted record viewership its first day. ITV Racing drew an average of 1.1 million viewers, with 1.5 million tuning in to watch the Champions Hurdle. The viewership spike has been attributed to more people working from home or on furlough due to the ongoing pandemic, in addition to the absence of spectators at the actual racecourse. ● Organizers of the World of Concrete, a convention that routinely draws 60,000 people to Southern Nevada, has received permission from the Nevada Department of Business and Industry to stage their show from June 8-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It may be the first major show to return to the city, which lost the bulk of its 2020 convention business to Covid-19. ● In Macau, work has begun on the new MOP 3.5 billion rail line connecting Cotai with Zhuhai. The Macau-Hengqin Light Rail Transit (LRT) project is expected to be complete in 2024. ● The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians plan a three-day Virtual Career Expo on March 29-31 as it continues its quest to fill thousands of jobs across the enterprise. San Manuel Casino in Highland, California is one of the largest employers in the Inland Empire with more than 5,000 team members currently. ● Genting’s Dream Cruises recently welcomed the 100,000th cruise passenger to the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore since relaunching cruise operations from the Singapore bases in November. Genting Cruise Lines launched its first “cruise to nowhere” from Singapore aboard World Dream on November 6. Its maiden voyage was limited to 1,400 passengers, about 50 percent of total occupancy. ● TAO, a 10,000-square-foot pan-Asian restaurant has opened at Mohegan Sun Resort Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. TAO serves “authentic Hong Kong Chinese, Japanese and Thai” cuisine, said Paul Goldstein, one of TAO Group Hospitality’s managing partners. Mohegan Sun President and General Manager Jeff Hamilton said, “People will come from all over the region to eat at TAO. This is a world-class offering.” ● The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has come out against a proposed US$350 million non-gaming resort near the UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. The plan was floated by Hong Kong-listed casino investor NagaCorp Ltd., operator of the NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh. The project was planned by two architectural firms, U.S.-based Steelman Partners and Gensler, and may have included three hotels, the Naga Water World park, an indoor Digital Theme Park, a non-motorized boating canal system, MICE facilities, and a China Town food street. ● Macau and Qatar authorities are looking at regular flights between the two destinations as the Covid-19 pandemic loosens its grip. Macau hasn’t recorded new cases of local Covid-19 infections for nearly a year. Qatar has initiated a vaccine campaign, but has also reported a spike in recent new viral cases, bringing its total to more than 174,200 since the start of the pandemic. ● Remodeling plans for Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium include space for a casino. Club President Florentino Pérez says the €575 million overhaul scheduled for 2023 would pay for itself. The renovation also will feature a restaurant, museum, shops and 360 screens, including a video scoreboard, to capture the action on the field. ● Online gaming in France generated record revenue for 2020 amid the disruption of land-based gaming due to Covid-19. French regulator L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) reported online gambling revenue of €1.74 billion for 2020. “In many ways, 2020 is an extraordinary year and a turning point for the online gaming industry; it is both a year of change and a record year in terms of activity levels,” ANJ reported, according to iGaming Business. • Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has bought a majority stake in bingo chain Buzz Bingo from Caledonia Investments. The purchase was made for what has been described as a “nominal amount” after Covid-19 restrictions placed a halt on Buzz’s ability to trade for much of the last 12 months. Caledonia invested £22 million into Buzz Bingo in summer 2020. • Slot players in New Zealand spent a record amount on pokies in the final quarter of the year in the country’s pubs and clubs, showing significant pent-up demand after the first-half closures. According to figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs, gaming machine profits for the final quarter of the year were NZ$252 million, the highest quarterly figure since records began in 2007. The profit figures are for money spent on machines outside of New Zealand’s casinos. ● Emerald Queen Casino in Washington has partnered with Seattle Sounders FC on a sleeve sponsorship making the casino the club’s Official Casino and Entertainment Partner through 2027. The casino is owned by the Puyallup Tribe. The casino logo will be placed on the right sleeves of Sounders FC’s primary and secondary jerseys.