NEWS & NOTES

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s compensation committee has recommended a 4 percent pay increase for President and CEO Steve Hill, but no bonus for the 2021 fiscal year. If approved, it would raise his salary by more than $15,000 to $397,590 a year. Hill has said one of his top goals will be to bring the conventions and meetings business back to pre-pandemic levels and bring in more special events. ● Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed amending gaming laws to allow social gambling inside family homes but place caps on video game mystery boxes and other prize-based rewards. The amendment does not apply to social iGaming. ● Casino operator Grand Korea Leisure recently halted operations at its Seven Luck Casino in Seoul for three days as a “pre-emptive measure” to prevent the “spread of infection” from Covid-19, and for the “safety of customers and employees.” As of July 12, South Korea had recorded 1,100 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. ● Starting in late October, low-cost carrier Flair Airlines will offer nonstop flights to Las Vegas from five Canadian cities: Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Abbotsford and Calgary. “Historically, Las Vegas has been a top destination for travelers from across Canada,” said Chris Jones, McCarran International Airport chief marketing officer. “We look forward to welcoming even more visitors to this world-class destination.” ● The Delilah supper club will open at Wynn Las Vegas in July. The venue, fashioned like the original Delilah in West Hollywood, was created by the H.wood Group, “hospitality scene-makers” whose Hollywood clientele includes Drake, Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber. Delilah will be run by Executive Chef Josh Smith, who previously ran the kitchen at Michael Mina’s Seablue and Bardot Brasserie in Vegas. ● Sands China Ltd. says more than 10,000 employees and their families have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or are registered to do so at the Venetian Macao. “We each have a responsibility to support efforts to achieve herd immunity via community-wide vaccination, and I’m very proud that Sands China is doing its part,” said Sands China President Wilfred Wong, who was vaccinated earlier this month. ● The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will retain R&R Partners as its advertising and marketing agency of record for five years. The Las Vegas-based agency, directed by Billy Vassiliadis, has held the lucrative ad contract for decades and developed the iconic “What Happens in Vegas” campaign. R&R will share the contract with New York-based Grey Global Advertising, which will be the LVCVA’ as social brand agency. ● Harrah’s Southern California has partnered with multi-Michelin-starred chef and television personality Gordon Ramsay to launch a brand-new Hell’s Kitchen restaurant, set to debut in spring 2022. Hell’s Kitchen will occupy the space formerly occupied by the casino buffet, which closed permanently at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. ● Lisboeta Macau, a new resort in the city’s Cotai district, marked a partial opening July 17 offering a few shopping and dining facilities and skydiving and zip line attractions. Lisboeta is in close proximity to SJM’s as-yet-unfinished Grand Lisboa Palace, which is expected to open in the third quarter of this year. ● Kangwon Land, the only locals casino in South Korea, has reduced its maximum daily capacity from 2,300 to 1,800 guests per day, or 30 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Kangwon Land has been drawing lots among the public for the newly-reduced daily places. Gangwon Province, home of Kangwon Land, has tightened social distancing rules to Level 2 to stem the spread of Covid-19. ● The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has approved the request of Harrah’s Philadelphia to remove 563 slot machines from its floor. The casino is removing underperforming machines and reconfiguring the gaming floor to increase player space and create better traffic flow. The casino’s slot count will go from 2,263 to 1,700—still 372 more games than the casino had operational during Covid-19 capacity restrictions. ● The online games supplier iSoftBet has obtained a distribution license to enter the new regulated Greek online gaming market through the Hellenic Gaming Commission. The A2 license authorizes iSoftBet to offer proprietary and third party content to Greek casinos, including Betsson and Stoiximan, beginning this summer. iSoftBet is licensed in the U.K., Malta and approved to distribute content in Germany, Italy and Spain.