NEWS & NOTES

Nevada gaming regulators have OK’d Circa Sports to open a sportsbook inside the Pass Casino in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson. Formerly owned by Boyd Gaming and known as the Eldorado, the Pass reopened in April under new ownership with $7 million in improvements. ● Resorts World Las Vegas has been awarded star accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council for protocols to keep the property safe from infectious diseases when it opens in June. The accreditation assures workers, customers and stakeholders that properties have a “proven system in place” to maintain a clean and healthy environment. The council is a division of ISSA, a leading trade association for the cleaning industry worldwide. ● Success Dragon International Holdings, Hong Kong-based company involved in finance, IT and metallurgy, is closing its gaming division after the division reported a 94 percent decline in revenue for the six months that ended December 31. The company provided electronic gaming equipment management services in Macau but is exiting the business due to competitive pressures and the impacts of Covid-19. • Talk about pent-up demand. In minutes, Bruno Mars sold out all six of his July performance dates at Las Vegas’ Park Theater. Mars is the first resident headliner on the Strip to return after the pandemic shutdown. Park Theater has been dark since March 2020. Lady Gaga, Cher and Aerosmith are all expected to announce their returns to the theater this year. ● Sands China’s Sands Cares Ambassadors have contributed more than 130,000 hours of voluntary community service in Macau since the program’s founding in 2009. President Dr. Wilfred Wong said Sands Cares is “part of Sands China’s commitment to the local Macau community and to the promotion of social integration. We are grateful to our Sands Cares Ambassadors for their continued dedication and spirit of service to our community.” ● New property openings in Macau may help to create greater demand for local employment, with six job fairs offering around 1,000 new jobs, according to the Macau Labor Affairs Bureau. Unemployment in the SAR increased from December 2020 to February 2021, with jobless numbers rising by 600 to 11,500. Construction and gaming are the two sectors seeing the highest amount of job losses. ● Last year, the Seminole Tribe of Florida launched its Seminole Real Estate Fund. Since then, it’s acquired two apartment buildings in Dallas. The fund also owns a third property in North Carolina. According to SemREF’s website, the fund’s strategy “is to invest in stabilized class A multifamily assets featuring best in class amenities located both in urban and suburban core markets around the United States.” ● Three new cases of Covid-19 linked to the hotel quarantine system in Western Australia forced Crown Resorts forced to close Crown Perth on May 3, just two days after reopening on May 1. Food and beverage service also was suspended until May 8. ● Imperial Pacific International, operator of a casino in Saipan, has agreed to pay $105,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed in 2019 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC alleged that IPI subjected some female employees to “unwelcome physical and verbal sexual conduct by male patrons and engaged in sex discrimination” when they imposed extra work duties upon these female employees. The casino is currently closed due to the Covid-19. ● Universal Entertainment Corp. says adding guest rooms at its Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippine capital is its “highest priority” for that venue. It also plans an “expansion of the gaming area, including the addition of a casino exclusively for VIP guests,” will open more restaurants and enlarged the shopping mall “in order to attract an even larger number of guests.” ● Low-cost bus line FlixBus will test a premium version of its Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles route for the Memorial Day holiday week, between May 27 and June 7. Premium trips will include expanded leg and elbow room and complimentary snack and beverage service on each trip. Each bus will have an onboard attendant, free wifi, power outlets at every seat and onboard entertainment options. ● Health authorities in Danang, Vietnam have ordered a limit on public gatherings to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which is looking to make a comeback in the country. On May 3, the People’s Committee of Danang City issued a letter suspending all non-essential activities until further notice, closing casinos, bars and theaters. Casinos in Danang include the Crowne International Club, Club One Opera, Club 88 and Club 99. ● Casinos in the Indian state of Goa extended lockdown measures from May 3 to 10 May as part of efforts to halt a massive outbreak of Covid-19 sweeping the country. India reported another more than 328,000 new cases of Covid-19 on May 3, taking the national tally since the start of the pandemic to almost 20 million. Goa recorded 2,703 cases on the same day. Before going into lockdown last week, the Goa government had imposed a night curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. with casinos, restaurants, bars and cinemas allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity during opening hours. ● Denmark-based sports betting affiliate Better Collective has acquired sports media company Action Network for $240 million. The acquisition is expected to increase Better Collective’s U.S. revenue to more than $100 million by next year. Action Network will continue to operate under its own brand. The purchase gives Better Collective a leading affiliate position in the U.S., and a strong foundation for profiting from the continued regulation of U.S. sports betting.