NEWS & NOTES

Gaming operator Sands China is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its flagship Macau resort, the Venetian Macao. In the words of Sands China President Wilfred Wong, the Venetian Macao, which opened August 28, 2007, is “Macau’s first and still its most visited integrated resort” and was a “game-changer” that “paved the way for Cotai’s other integrated resorts.” The resort has hosted 386 million visitors over the last 15 years. ● Though labor limitations forced Resorts World Genting to operate at 60 percent capacity, Genting Malaysia posted EBITDA of RM620 million (US$138 million) for the second quarter of 2022, or 94 percent of 2019’s full-year figures. According to J.P. Morgan, Genting’s post-Covid growth is underpinned by “sticky” demand and new facilities, which the brokerage expects should lift visitation by 50 percent to 30 million next year. ● Starting September 1, the Macau government put out the welcome mat for foreign visitors from 41 countries, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. However, they will still be required to undergo seven days of hotel quarantine upon entry. Macau first closed to foreigners on March 17, 2020, and its borders have remained closed for almost 30 months since. Attracting more foreign customers beyond Mainland China and Hong Kong is a key point of the government’s tender guidelines ahead of the upcoming deadline for bids on 14 September. The current concessions of Macau’s six concessionaires expire on 31 December 2022. ● Macau gaming operator SJM Resorts Ltd. has received the go-ahead from parent company SJM Holdings and the Macau government to increase its share capital. The increase is necessary for SJM to qualify for a new 10-year gaming concession in Macau. SJM operates a number of casinos in Macau, including the Grand Lisboa on the peninsula. According to Macau’s amended gaming law, the minimum capital requirement for any concessionaires was increased to MOP5.0 billion (US$617.5 million), from the previous MOP200 million threshold. ● Japanese travel agency HIS and other shareholders have reached a deal to sell the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki prefecture to PAG, an investment firm out of Hong Kong in a deal worth around JPY100 billion (US$720 million). The theme park is adjacent to the planned site of a Nagasaki IR, to be developed by Casinos Austria currently. At 400 acres, Huis Ten Bosch is the largest stand-alone theme park in Japan. ●   The Marquee nightclub located inside the Star Sydney casino resort will close later this year, as Star looks to replace the space with additional food and beverage offerings. CEO Scott Wharton said in a statement that Star still has a “good and long-standing relationship” with the club’s owners, but “In this instance, it’s about looking at other food and beverage options that will further enhance The Star Sydney as a world-class tourism and entertainment destination.” Star did not specify an exact closing date, but the existing staff are expected to be laid off or rerouted to other departments within the company. ● Las Vegas representatives from the International Union of Operating Engineers have sent a second letter to Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak for what they feel are “troublesome ties” between Genting Group, which owns Resorts World Las Vegas, and “Chinese state-owned enterprises,” such as Sinopec, a petroleum company which has long been connected to Russia. The group has also published a YouTube video—called “Violating Workers Rights”—which features Resorts World employees discussing their fight to unionize the property. Sisolak responded to the first letter, sent earlier this month, by directing the group to talk to the Nevada Gaming Control Board instead. Resorts World has denied any violation of labor laws, saying that it “respects the right of all workers to be represented by a union if they choose to do so.” ● The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Nevada casino patrons left $22 million on the table last year in the form of expired cash-out ticket vouchers. A good portion of those vouchers are for under $1, from the leftovers on meters in penny games. Cash-out tickets are valid for six months after they are issued. Under a 2011 law, after that, 75 percent of the money goes to the state and the casino licensee keeps the rest. • Media mogul Barry Diller’s IAC/Interactive Corp. has grown its ownership stake in MGM Resorts International to 16.5 percent, making the billionaire the largest single shareholder in the casino company since it was controlled by its late founder Kirk Kerkorian in the 1990s. Diller, 80, paid more than $41.7 million in August in several stock trades through IAC to acquire almost 1.2 million shares in MGM Resorts, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. IAC now controls more than 64.7 million shares of MGM Resorts. • Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development is soliciting applications for its Fiscal Year 2022 Tribal Tourism Grant Program. The grant applications will be accepted from American Indian and Native Alaska tribes and tribal organizations for grants ranging from $25,000 to $150,000. The purpose is to hire consultants, perform feasibility studies and develop business plans of proposed tourism projects. • FSB, a supplier of sports-betting and iGaming equipment, has expanded into South America with a new technology hub in Columbia, in the Medellin area. Dave McDowell, CEO of FSB, said, “This is another significant milestone for FSB as we plant our flag in South American territory and continue to build our global footprint. Opening a new hub in the Americas has become essential due to the rapid growth of our North American client portfolio over the last 12 months, as well as our strong ambitions in the LATAM region.”