NEWS & NOTES

Crown Melbourne will train 1,000 hospitality workers at its local learning center, Crown College, to help fill a “skills shortage” in Victoria, Australia’s hospitality industry due to Covid-19 lockdowns. The program will pay students while they learn. They are expected to graduate in July 2022. ● Some travelers visiting Cambodia will have to complete only a three-day quarantine instead of 14 days if they’re fully-vaccinated against Covid-19. The mandate from Cambodia’s Ministry of Health applies to “foreign investors.” “technical experts” and other business travelers with a so-called “guarantee” or “invitation” from a local company. Most of the country’s population has already been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to media outlets. ● Hotels at Entertainment City casino resorts in Manila are among hotels in the Philippine capital that are now to offer “staycations” to guests aged 18 or over who are “fully vaccinated,” said the country’s Department of Tourism. The plan went into effect October 16. Gaming floors are not yet open to the public under Covid-19 safety requirements. ● Clark County, Nevada aviation officials plan to buy a 17-acre parcel of land on the Vegas Strip near McCarran International Airport. Department of Aviation spokesman Joe Rajchel said the $55 million purchase would help safety and security and “operational efficiencies” at the airport. ● On October 19, Macau’s Grand Emperor Hotel reopened after a two-week lockdown. A Covid-infected guest stayed at the property in early October, but the Macau Health Bureau confirmed the hotel was not the source of a recent viral outbreak in the city. ● Macau is on track this year for the lowest level of problem gambling in the past decade, according to statistics from the city’s Social Welfare Bureau. In the six months to June 30, there were 25 individuals recorded with problems: all of them were Macau ID holders. Last year, there were 77 cases in total: 90.9 percent of them were locals. ● Fewer than 2 percent of salaried workers at MGM Resort International chose to quit or were fired over the company’s vaccine mandate, according to CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle. In August, the gaming giant announced that it would require all salaried employees who did not work from home to show proof of full vaccination as a condition of employment by October 15. The policy affects more than 6,000 workers nationwide for the company. ● Imperial Pacific International, the onetime Saipan casino owner embroiled in multiple legal actions over the years, has complied with a federal court order to pay a former employee who claimed discrimination. IPI made good on attorney’s fees and costs of almost $20,000. ● Three Maryland casinos were scheduled to have their sports betting license applications approved last week at the monthly Sports Wagering Application Review Commission meeting, but the commission canceled its scheduled meeting and has yet to reschedule the date. The cancellation extends a holding pattern Maryland sports betting stakeholders have been in since voters approved sportsbooks in the November elections. Governor Larry Hogan signed the state’s sports betting bill into law in May. ● The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Washington State Gambling Commission have signed an amendment to the Class III tribal state gaming compact that allows up to 4,000 slot machines and 125 tables per gaming facility. It ups the wagering cap to $1,000 at tables and $5,000 at tables, and allows the extension of credit to qualified customers. It now goes to Washington Governor Jay Inslee for his signature and the Department of the Interior for its imprimatur. ● Fortune Bay Resort Casino, operated by the Bois Forte Tribe of Minnesota, has given employees until November 1 to be vaccinated or be terminated. Employees may apply for religious or health exemptions. The mandate was approved by the tribal council last month in response to rising levels of the Covid Delta variant. ● Italian gaming group Sisal has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Milan Stock Exchange. The IPO will be made up of shares sold by a private equity firm. The IPO is expected to occur early in 2022. Although most of its business is in Italy, the company has expanded into Turkey, Morocco and Spain and is a bidder to operate the U.K. National Lottery.