NEWS & NOTES

The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas will reopen July 1, the company announced last week. Executive Chef Jason Duarte has designed a new menu to be served at 16 food stations. A handful of other Vegas buffets have reopened, including those at Caesars Palace, the Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand and South Point. Other companies such as Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos have stated that their buffets will not reopen. ● MGM China has decided to postpone the debut of its new residency show, MGM Awakening Lion, from July to October due to pandemic precautions. The 70-minute dance-drama was created in cooperation with the Guangzhou Song and Dance Theatre. ● The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has awarded a $3 million contract to Intersection Media to assist in the advertising and marketing of the Las Vegas Monorail and Boring Co.’s underground transportation system. The LVCVA chose the New York-based agency over five other firms. Intersection has worked with other transportation-related groups such as the Chicago Transit Authority, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and United Airlines. ● Kangwon Land, the only casino resort in South Korea permitted to offer bets to locals, reportedly will soon be allowed to increase its maximum guest capacity for the casino floor to 50 percent. The casino now may welcome 1,200 guests, or 20 percent of normal capacity. ● Flutter’s FanDuel led iGaming operators in May in social media engagement and web traffic data, according to David Katz of Jefferies’ Digital Gaming Brand Matrix. DraftKings remained second while Bet365 fell from first to third in terms of engagement and traffic data. ● Live entertainment is returning to Las Vegas, with a number of acts announced for the new Virgin Hotels complex through the end of the year. Virgin marked its opening weekend with Christina Aguilera, Flo Rida, Deadmau5 and others. ● Famous Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer is joining The Athletic as a sports betting consultant. Holzhauer famously won 32 straight matches on the game show in 2019. Before Jeopardy!, Holzhauer was a full-time sports bettor, using Excel spreadsheets and overlooked lines to build his bankroll. ● Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis’ suite at Allegiant Stadium is set for a $688,000 renovation project. Davis said the finishing touches should be in place in time for the 2021 NFL season. Davis hasn’t attended an event in the space and vowed to skip home game as long as fans were banned due to Covid-19. The first event with a large crowd is July 3 with EDM star Illenium. ● Saipan casino investor Imperial Pacific International has asked for a judicial review of its license suspension. Its license was suspended in April when IPI failed to comply with the terms of its license agreement, including paying millions of dollars in mandatory fees. IPI was given six months to pay up or risk having its license revoked. ● The Philippines’ National Capital Region, which includes Metro Manila, will remain under general community quarantine until the end of June. Manila’s Entertainment City casino district is home to casinos including Solaire, Okada Manila and City of Dreams Manila. ● IGT’s 20-year contract extension with the Rhode Island Lottery is official. Governor Dan McKee signed the deal extending the contract through 2043, giving IGT exclusive rights to lottery technology and up to 80 percent of slots at the two Twin River casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton. • Z-Capital’s Affinity Gaming has merged with publisher Sports Information Group to create a $1.3 billion company named Affinity Interactive. Affinity will tap Sports Information for its digital and media platforms to create iGaming in Nevada, Missouri and Iowa.