NEWS & NOTES

Macau’s current Covid-19 outbreak, which began on June 18, reached almost 1,100 confirmed cases last week, according to the city’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre. Restaurants have been barred from dine-in services, but casinos have remained open and banks recently reopened after a two-week pause. ● The Grand Lisboa Hotel, an SJM Holdings property in Macau, was recently classified as a Red Code zone with initial reports citing 13 confirmed Covid-19 cases. The hotel has been locked down, along with 16 other buildings in the city. People in the city who test positive for Covid must undergo onsite isolation or be referred to a central medical observation site. ● J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff has lowered his price target on Las Vegas Sands stock from $46 to $42 a share due to the softer market in Macau. Greff said the company should remain strong due to expected improvement in traffic, revenue and cash flow at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Singapore now accounts for fully half of Sands’ market capitalization. ● Station Casinos has announced that it is building a new casino project on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas—the new venue will be part of Station’s Wildfire brand, one of several throughout the Las Vegas Valley. In a statement, Station confirmed that the project is already under construction, but gave few other details, saying that more information will be released “in the coming weeks.” According to public records, the venue will be one story and span a little over 20,000 square feet. ● Bally’s Corporation must get the state of Rhode Island’s approval of its planned sale of the property and buildings of Twin River Casino in Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel in Tiverton to Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc., according to a spokesman for the R.I. Lottery. “Under state law, any sale of the casino buildings and any potential purchasing entity are subject to regulatory review and approval by the state,” said Paul Grimaldi, spokesman for the R.I. Lottery, according to Providence Business News. “Beyond that, we have no further comment on the Bally’s announcement.” Bally’s is selling the two casino properties for $1 billion to GLPI and leasing them back.