NEWS & NOTES

In 2021, Sands China Ltd. provided rent relief to mall tenants at its Macau resorts due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The “rent concessions” amounted to US$41 million, compared to US$215 million in 2020. Sands China has nearly 2.07 million square feet of mall space across five properties, with 945,000 square feet of that at the Venetian Macao; the latter space shared between 320 shops and 56 dining outlets. ● For the first time in its history, the Grammy Awards ceremony relocated from Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The awards were broadcast April 3. “We are ready to celebrate the biggest night in music in the Entertainment Capital of the World and can’t wait to show artists, and music fans everywhere, why Las Vegas throws the best party, ” said Chris Baldizan, MGM’s executive VP of entertainment, in a statement prior to the awards. ● Macau’s Judiciary Police and six casino operators will tackle illicit gambling websites that fraudulently use the city’s casino brands. Starting April 1, the Judiciary Police, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau and operators will do “proactive” searches for such websites in order to block or disable them. The faux websites have “not only caused losses from tourists and our citizens, but also impacted the Macau SAR’s image as a tourism destination,” the Judiciary Police say.   ● DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Illinois has officially opened its new 6,000-square-foot sports betting lounge, part of a $9 million renovation. The new betting area across from the casino floor has a 60-foot video wall, more than 28 LED TVs, real-time live odds boards, five betting windows, 38 computer betting terminals, lounge seating and a full-service bar. ● Singapore has dropped almost all restrictions on fully vaccinated international arrivals as the next phase of its Covid-19 recovery plan. Starting April 1, fully vaccinated travelers required a negative test result prior to departure, but not again on arrival. All quotas on the number of daily arrivals were also dropped. ● A unit of junket brand Suncity Group and its founder Alvin Chau have been declared “unsuitable to hold any authority/license to operate a junket business in the Philippines,” according to the Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corp. (PAGCOR), the country’s gaming regulator. The finding made no mention of the fact that Chau was arrested and jailed in Macau last November, and Suncity as a junket operator has since gone out of business. ● The operator of a “cannabis-friendly” hotel in Phoenix has acquired a boutique property near the Las Vegas Strip. Pro Hospitality Group owner Alex Rizk purchased the 64-room Artisan hotel at Sahara Avenue and Interstate 15 for $11.9 million. Rizk told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he is planning a nearly $3 million renovation of the Artisan, and hopes to finish by September. He also said he hopes to make the hotel “cannabis friendly,” pending finalization of laws and regulations in Nevada. “This is a lifestyle, boutique hotel,” Rizk said. ● The Malta Gaming Authority has granted a license to Pinnacle Solution, a subsidiary of the sportsbook Pinnacle. It will be able to provide its services to sportsbook partners on the island nation. This includes its new eSports product. The supplier has plans for partnerships within the European Union and in Latin America. • The Kalispel Tribe of Indians in Washington State has announced that its purchase, the Spokane County Raceway, will now be known as Qlispé Raceway Park (QRP). The tribe bought the raceway last year. The park will open with a limited schedule of racing later this month. It will primarily be open for leasing and facility rentals. • End 2 End is now registered as an online gaming provider in Buenos Aires City, Argentina. It was granted the license by Buenos Aires City Lottery (LOTBA). It plans to offer bingo and multiplayer online bingo products. The company said it was happy to be operating in the city of its birth as a company as Argentina is now opening its online gaming market. It also plans to expand into North America and Europe. • Betsson, based in Sweden, has launched its mobile sportsbook in Colorado in partnership with Dostal Alley Casino in Central City. CEO and President Pontus Lindwall commented, “The launch of our proprietary sportsbook in the U.S. is an important milestone. We are entering a new continent, expanding Betsson’s global reach and further solidifying our B2B and B2C ambitions, thanks to many months of hard work by our product and technology teams to craft a product customized for the U.S. market.” Betsson is one of the largest gaming companies in Europe. • SRIJ, the gaming regulator of Portugal, has banned the post of odds for live sports events, either online or at the event. Such postings will be considered illegal advertising and subject to disciplinary action. Portugal’s parliament recently adopted limits on gaming advertising. ● California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed setting aside $100 million to enable tribes to buy their indigenous homelands with a special emphasis on preserving coast lands. The proposal is part of the governor’s plan to preserve as much as one third of the Golden State’s land and coastal waters by 2030. It’s part of his $286.4 billion budget, which requires passage by the legislature to become law. ● Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut has announced several renovation projects and openings during its 30th anniversary year. The resort will open or reopen several restaurants, and will also introduce CardVault, a retail venue for the buying, selling, trading, grading and consigning of sports cards and collectibles. In February the resort announced it would be adding the Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket, the Rainmaker Expo Center and a High Stakes Bingo Hall. ● Plans to open a five-star casino hotel at the Westside City Project in Manila, Philippines have been pushed back until 2024, according to Suntrust Home Developers. Last August the company said the casino would open in 2023 but by November, but delayed the launch after consulting with its construction contractor. ● The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has ruled that competitions run by a daily newspaper constituted illegal gambling. SGA said the games were similar to fantasy football games where players could win prizes, such as gift cards and cellphones. The newspaper, while contending the contests were games of skill, has agreed to no longer offer the games. ● Caesars Entertainment will rebrand its Colorado properties with the Horseshoe brand. The Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk will become Horseshoe Black Hawk, with a renovation to be complete by the end of 2022. Other Caesars properties to get the makeover include Bally’s Las Vegas and the Indiana Grand, which will become Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino. ● The city of Casper, Wyoming, wants to quit sharing gaming tax revenues with Natrona County. At a March city council meeting, members discussed lobbying state lawmakers to end the revenue-share. ● Officials in East Hazel Crest, Illinois and neighboring Homewood said ground could be broken on the south suburban Chicago communities’ shared 64,000-square foot casino in just a few weeks. Construction will take 13 to 15 months. Besides the casino, which will offer 2,000 gaming positions, the venue will have a 13,000-square-foot buffet area and 10,000-square-foot entertainment area. Two hotels with 225 rooms each will be built soon after the casino opens. ● CQ Holding Company and DraftKings recently opened a temporary DraftKings Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge, the second collaboration between the two, which also operate DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Illinois. The temporary venue offers three betting ticket cages and 20 self-service kiosks. The permanent DraftKings Sportsbook inside Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge is under construction as part of a 38,000-square-foot land-based expansion, where casino operations will move from the Mississippi River riverboat. The expansion will increase the casino’s footprint to 100,000 square feet. ● On March 10, FanDuel was the third sportsbook to enter Wyoming’s mobile-only sports betting market. Wyoming has been open for sports betting for six months. DraftKings and BetMGM entered the market in September. FanDuel spokesman Kevin Hennessy said, “March Madness started off well, particularly in Wyoming. There haven’t been a lot of issues in terms of the sportsbook or customer’s having problems signing up. That’s usually one of the best indicators that it’s going well.” Wyoming is an unusual market due to its small population, the smallest in the U.S., and no professional sports teams.