NEWS & NOTES

Moody’s has downgraded the corporate rating of Macau casino concessionaire SJM Holdings, due to SJM’s elevated refinancing risk. The action also reflects increasing operational uncertainties driven by the slow recovery of gaming revenue in Macau due to Covid-19. Moody’s lowered its 2022 forecast for Macau’s mass market GGR to around half of pre-Covid levels, which will affect SJM’s Cotai Grand Lisboa Palace, opened in Cotai last July. ● Light Nightclub at Mandalay Bay has reopened, the final major club venue on the Las Vegas Strip to return after the shutdown of 2020. The club’s lighting and video systems were upgraded ahead of the reopening. The club is open Fridays and Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. ● Macau had 15 hotel projects under construction as of the fourth quarter, which will add more than 6,200 new hotel rooms to the market. Nineteen other projects are in the planning stages, for almost 1,870 more rooms in the city’s inventory, or a total of about 8,000 new rooms. Most will be added to Cotai casino resorts, including Galaxy Macau and Studio City. ● An expansion project at Macau International Airport will be completed in the first quarter of this year, with the potential to increase passenger capacity from 1.5 million to 2 million passengers. In 2021, the airport reported a total of 1.14 million passengers, about a tenth of the traffic reported in 2019. ● Macau authorities have introduced fresh travel restrictions for inbound travelers from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Starting February 21, people aged 12 or over arriving from either place will have to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before they enter Macau, or proof that they are unable to be vaccinated. Travelers from Hong Kong are subject to a 14-day quarantine on arrival, and those from Taiwan are still subject to a 21-day quarantine. ● Vietnam lifted restrictions on inbound international flights starting February 15. Arriving foreigners will need to produce negative Covid-19 tests issued within 72 hours prior of entry. According to the government, the move “aims to revive the tourism sector which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years.” ● Mayors of the governments of Metro Manila have signed a resolution recommending the national government’s extend the Covid=19 Alert Level 2 status in the vicinity until the end of February. The Metro Manila Council said it has “prudently taken a uniform and united position” against relaxing restrictions down to Alert Level 1 despite “improving Covid-19 situation in the National Capital Region. ● SJM Resorts in Macau will present the first edition of its Gastronomy Series to support the Macau SAR government’s efforts to strengthen the development of nongaming tourism. The Mesa at Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau will jointly present a “Collaborative Michelin Western Dining Experience” with the Kitchen at Grand Lisboa Macau from now through March. ● Thai officials are cracking down on cybercriminal gangs hiding in Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk, Cambodia. Local media report that up to 3,000 Thai nationals have crossed into Cambodia to work in illegal gambling centers near the Thai border, and young women reportedly have been forced into the sex trade. Cambodia has promised to cooperate in the investigation. ● Former Genting Hong Kong Chairman and CEO Lim Kok Thay is among the interested bidders for the group’s unfinished Global Dream mega-cruise liner, but an insolvency administrator is hoping to find a better buyer. Several other parties are in talks to buy the ship, Bloomberg reported, citing Christoph Morgen, the German-court-appointed administrator for the shipbuilder MV Werften, a unit of Genting H.K. MV Werften filed for bankruptcy protection in early January. • Online poker giant PokerStars is working with online gambling regulators in Ontario, Canada, so it can be ready to offer online poker to residents of the province after regulated online gambling goes live on April 4. “Canada is very close to our hearts, a PokerStars spokesman said. “It’s our home ground and where PokerStars was born over 20 years ago… We are working … on processes related to the new provincial regulatory model, and are focused on ensuring that we will continue to have an attractive offering for our community.” ● Loto-Quebec has announced that all casinos in Quebec, Canada will reopen February 28. Vaccine passports will be required as well as masks for all. The casinos will operate at 50 percent capacity. • Carnival Cruise Line has announced that passengers once again can smoke on their ships. Two months ago the line temporarily banned smoking in reaction to the quick spreading Omicron variant of Covid-19. The new rule includes some exceptions. Only active casino players will be allowed to smoke and they must wear masks unless actively smoking or drinking. ● Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and FanDuel held a soft opening for their Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook on the day before Super Bowl. A grand opening will follow on March 5. The 1,100-square-foot sportsbook has a 140 foot by 14 foot video wall, 30 high-resolution screens, live teller windows and 39 self-serve kiosks.