NEWS & NOTES

New York-based hedge fund Melvin Capital Management has acquired a 5.13 percent stake in Wynn Resorts. The fund characterized the investment as a passive one in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which did not reveal the timing of the purchase or how much was paid for the shares. Melvin had held a 0.5 percent stake in Wynn at the end of June. It now owns more than 5.77 million shares. ● The number of hotel rooms in Macau’s Cotai district will increase by almost 8,000 in the next few years, if all projects planned for the area move forward. There are now some 22,000 hotel rooms in the vicinity. ● Macau junket investor Tak Chun Group is expanding its VIP room at the StarWorld Hotel. Later this month, the club will take over the entire 11th floor and add two additional tables, for a total of 16. ● Galaxy Entertainment Group has marked the 10th anniversary of its GEG Internship Program for students in Macau. First launched in 2008, the program offers participants a chance to learn aspects of the resort industry, including business administration, hospitality, marketing and gaming. ● Several hundred casino workers took part in a September 3 protest demanding stricter enforcement of the city’s smoking laws. The workers, mostly dealers, were organized by the New Macau Gaming Workers’ Rights Union. ● Speaking of smoking, Studio City in Macau, a Melco Resorts & Entertainment property, has been approved to open a new smoking lounges in the market, along with Ponte 16. Macau gaming operators have until September 28 to submit applications for new smoking lounges. Smokers who light up in no-smoking areas are subject to a fine of MOP1,500 (US$185). ● The fourth edition of the PGA Tour Series will kick off with the Macao Championship, September 27-30. It’s the first time the tour will come to Macau; the championship will be hosted by Caesars Golf Macau on the Cotai Strip. ● Actor Nicolas Cage, star of such iconic films as Leaving Las Vegas and National Treasure, been named Talent Ambassador of third edition of the International Film Festival and Awards in Macau. The festival will run from December 8 to 14. ● Melco Resorts & Entertainment will rebrand its Countdown Hotel at City of Dreams Macau by the end of 2019. The newly named Libertine will launch around Chinese New Year in 2021. Melco Resorts will invest US$100-million to upgrade City of Dreams Macau and its 60-percent owned Studio City property, both in the Cotai district. ● The Venetian Macao, a Sands China resort, was named Asia’s Leading Resort, Macau’s Leading Casino Resort and Macau’s Leading Resort at the 25th Annual World Travel Awards – Asia & Australasia, held in Hong Kong on Monday. Conrad Macao, at Sands Cotai Central, was acknowledged as China’s Leading Conference Hotel and Macau’s Leading Hotel for 2018. ● Macau was the ninth highest tourism earner worldwide in 2017, according to the latest report from the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The MSAR brought in a total of US$35.57 billion (almost MOP290 billion), a 17 percent increase from the $30.37 billion recorded in 2016. Macau ranked first among the Northeast Asian jurisdictions and third for the entire Asia-Pacific region. ● Washington’s Snoqualmie Casino has opened a new, fully-functional non-smoking gaming room. The 1,355 square foot facility will be located in the rear of the casino, which is operated near Seattle. It will be 100 percent smoke free, with all of the air filtered and exhausted from the outside. It will have 62 slot machines, including the updated Triple Fortune Dragon Unleashed. • The city of London, Ontario, is exploring rezoning amendments that would allow Gateway Casinos to build a $140 million casino complex in the city’s Western Fair District.   The casino would have up to 1,200 slots and 50 gaming tables and create about 700 jobs. Gateway is currently operating a casino on the fairgrounds on a lease that expires in 2020. Current zoning is OK for the existing use, but inadequate for expansion, say London officials.