NEWS & NOTES

The Kombumerri-NgarangWal Saltwater People, an Australian indigenous tribe, has filed a Native Title land claim on a much sought-after piece of land on Gold Coast in Queensland, and many are speculating that a casino project could be in the works if the claim is successful. The tribe has said it wishes to bring economic assistance to the local indigenous population so that it can be more self-sufficient. That said, Star Entertainment currently holds the state’s lone casino license, and Queensland officials have not announced plans to offer more. •  Caesars Entertainment recently held a special training session in Las Vegas for its security team in collaboration with FEMA and Homeland Security. The training took place at the Caesars Forum Conference Center, in efforts to bolster the team’s skills and ability to react to emergency situations such as shootings. Eric Golebiewski, the company’s vice president of security, said that the exercises were “an opportunity to test our process, our policies and procedures.” Such training will be invaluable as the city continues to host large-scale events such as the NFL Draft and the NBA Summer League. •  Las Vegas-based bookmaker Circa Sports has released more details regarding its new sportsbook inside of Legends Bay Casino in Sparks, which is set to open later this summer. According to Circa, the new facility will feature “ultramodern and technology-forward” amenities such as chairs with USB outlets, a 10-by-15-foot LED video board and the ability to reserve booths for larger parties. Bettors will also be eligible to participate in Circa’s NFL elimination tournaments, Circa Survivor and Circa Million IV, which have a combined payout of $12 million. • The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement in Las Vegas, affectionately known as the Mob Museum, has purchased a 30,000 square-foot plot of land not far from its existing location downtown for an undisclosed price. Museum CEO Jonathan Ulman said in a statement that the new addition is “ extremely exciting ,” but added that plans are “entirely conceptual at this point.” The museum is expected to use the additional space to build new facilities that could be used for archives and new exhibits. • U.S.-based investment firm Morgan Stanley announced that it projects Macau’s casino industry to record an EBITDA loss of $800 million in 2022, in response to uncertainty surrounding the country’s strict “zero-COVID” regime that has seen casinos shut down and, in some cases, used as quarantine facilities. Analysts Gareth Leung and Praveen Choudhary said in a note to investors that their expectations for Macau are considerably lower than consensus–some 44 percent, to be exact—due to the fact that they “expect reopening to be gradual (over 2023) and not in one go (nor in 2022).” • The European Advertising Standards Alliance, an industry body, has endorsed the European Gaming and Betting Association’s (EGBA) responsible advertising code as a “solid basis for responsible advertising.” The Alliance did ask for more clarity in some areas. The code was first introduced in 2020. It includes measures on ad limitations to protect minors and guidance for responsible gaming messaging. The Alliance monitored more than 1,000 ads from EGBA members in Greece, Romania, Ireland and Sweden to determine the success of the code. ● On July 11, 10 days after special Covid restrictions were imposed, Macau’s Grand Lisboa Hotel was removed from the “red” list of properties at high risk for viral transmission. The SJM Holdings venue made the list after a cluster of 13 people linked to the property tested positive for the virus. No staff or hotel guests could leave until the hotel was downgraded to “yellow” status. “Grand Lisboa Hotel has been relieved from the yellow zone from July 14, and underwent thorough cleaning and disinfection,” Grand Lisboa said in a social media update. ● Global cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean Group will acquire a near-new luxury expedition cruise ship built by Genting Hong Kong after winning a bidding war against a handful of rival bidders. Crystal Endeavor was delivered to Genting HK’s Crystal Cruises in July 2021 at a cost of US$385 million and billed as the world’s most luxurious expedition cruise ship. Royal Caribbean, which will sail the ship under its Silversea Cruises brand, acquired the ship for US$275 million and plans to rename it Silver Endeavour. ● The Macau government will take another $2.44 billion from its fiscal reserves to help fund its fight against Covid-19 after revealing that gaming taxes for the first half of 2022 totaled just $1.37 billion. In January, the government estimated that GGR would reach $16.1 billion for the year, the pandemic has made that goal impossible to achieve. ● Macau sports betting provider, Macau Slot Co. Ltd., announced a profit of $15.7 million in 2021, up 31.8 percent from 2020. Revenues were up 15.6 percent for the year, with football leading the way. Last year, Macau SLOT’s concession was renewed until June 2024, though it lost its long-term exclusivity in the market, first granted in 1998. ● Thailand’s new Pao Tang digital lottery app was an instant hit, with 5.1 million tickets selling out in just two days. The app, which launched in June, is an effort by authorities to stop street vendors selling tickets at inflated prices. The application developed by Krung Thai Bank is securely encrypted, requiring users to key in a personal code before a transaction. There will be 7.1 million new digital lottery tickets for the August 1 draw, which can be bought at the rate of 80 baht (US$2.18) per ticket.