NEWS & NOTES

In a unanimous vote, the city council in Danville, Virginia approved rezoning the former Dan River site in Schoolfield from industrial manufacturing to casino entertainment district. That’s where Caesars Virginia plans to build a $400 million casino resort. Caesars Virginia Senior Director of Design and Construction Mark Schlang said the company will present the casino’s design within the next couple of months. He noted the 750,000-square-foot finishing building will be demolished. “There are a lot of contaminants in the building. A lot of rusted rebar in the concrete. The cost of remediation is prohibitive,” he said. • Diaoyutai MGM Hospitality Ltd., a joint venture between China’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, and MGM Resorts International, will build two new hotels near Macau in of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. The U.S. firm plans other hotels in Guangdong featuring MGM branding. ● Singapore has announced it will no longer publicize details of each Covid-19 case and focus on accelerating its vaccination program. The Ministry of Health will still give daily case numbers but also outline progress on the vaccine effort. In a recent article in the Straits Times, three Singapore government ministers outlined that Covid-19 would need to be dealt with as a managed disease, rather than with an eye on complete eradication. ● The Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands recently launched a travel bubble for fully vaccinated tourists from South Korea in a bid to revive the island’s tourist economy. According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, this is South Korea’s first such travel agreement. Those who have been vaccinated can skip quarantine, as well as those who present a negative covid-19 test 72 hours prior to arriving in the CNMI. Visitors will be required to also take a covid-19 test three days before departing the CNMI on their way back to Korea. ● MGM China, which launched its first vaccination outreach in May, said the five-day program administered Covid-19 vaccines to 3,200 employees and their family members. As of now, 56 percent of the total number of MGM’s team members are vaccinated. ● Brightline West has purchased a 110-acre parcel of land on Las Vegas Boulevard to host a terminal station for its planned high-speed rail line to Southern California. Clark County records indicate that the land sold for $140 million. ● Melco Resorts and Entertainment says a Covid-19 vaccine is not a factor when it comes to discretionary bonuses for some employees. The Macau operator says its bonus system factors in “performance of employees, the company’s business standing, and key objectives,” but is “not linked to vaccination status.” ● Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, owned by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in California, planned two job fairs this month to fill 300 full-time and part-time positions. The first was held July 8; the second is scheduled for July 21. The resort is offering $1,000 hiring bonuses for candidates accepting “eligible positions including cage cashier, main bank cashier, drop room clerks, casino housekeeper, environmental services and guest room attendant.” ●   Lotte Tour Development, operator of the new Jeju Dream Tower casino in South Korea, has announced that it will be expanding its casino staff by about 200 people. It’s recruiting workers on the casino floor, marketing, security, IT specialists, F&B, accounting, gift shop staff and other departments. The new venue opened on June 11. ● Station Casinos in Nevada recently marked its 45th birthday as a company with fireworks shows at its Palace Station, Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch resorts. • Bally’s Corp. has rebranded three casino properties in Black Hawk, Colorado: the Golden Gates Casino, Golden Gulch Casino and Mardi Gras Casino are now Billy’s Black Hawk. According to Bally’s Chief Marketing Officer Phil Juliano, “This is the first step in a concerted effort to rebrand all 14 land-based casino properties in addition to establishing an omnichannel brand for online sports betting, iGaming offerings and fantasy sports.”