NEWS & NOTES

Ninety-nine Sands China employees recently completed the company’s annual advanced responsible gaming training program. Sands China has offered the training for six years in partnership with the University of Nevada Las Vegas. ● Casino equipment manufacturer Paradise Entertainment has bought warehouse space in Macau for HKD128.5 million (US$16.4 million). The company will use the 33,000-square-feet space in the Areia Preta district to store its inventory. ● Four Melco Resorts & Entertainment hotels in Macau—Morpheus, Nüwa and the Countdown at City of Dreams and Studio City—are the first properties in the city to receive the international Green Key award for environmental sustainability. Melco has described itself as “an industry leader in energy and water conservation.” ● Melco International Development Ltd. plans to begin renovations to its Nüwa hotel at City of Dreams in Macau in 2019 and complete them in time for Chinese New Year in 2020, the company has announced. ● In the aftermath of Typhoon Mangkhut, Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment deployed a volunteer team of nearly 100 employees to help clear the city’s streets. The Signal 10 typhoon, which struck on September 16, was destructive but not deadly, unlike 2017’s Typhoon Hato, which killed 10 people. ● Melco Resorts & Entertainment in Macau has launched of a fleet of 20 zero-emission electric buses, which it claims is the largest in the city. The buses take passengers to, from and between Melco’s integrated resort properties City of Dreams, Studio City and Altira Macau. ● The MGS Entertainment Show, a Macau casino industry trade exhibit and conference, has added a new name in Chinese for this year’s edition. The name in Chinese translates as the “2018 Macau Leisure Technology Show.” The new name reflects a “more technology-focused” trade show, said Jay Chun of the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association. ● Las Vegas’ Culinary Union has reached a tentative agreement with the Margaritaville casino at the Flamingo on a five-year labor contract covering 200 employees at the Strip resort. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The deal leaves three union casinos in the city without contracts: the Golden Gate and the D, both Downtown, and Treasure Island on the Strip. • Park MGM’s NoMad Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip is accepting room reservations ahead of a planned October 12 soft opening. The 293-room luxury hotel features 293 rooms, high-limit gambling, a pool and a NoMad-branded restaurant and bar. • Dean DiLullo, CEO of the Carson Nugget in Carson City, Nevada, has purchased the Nevada Nugget in nearby Dayton with plans to expand the gaming and food and beverage offering at the 40-slot venue. • The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is asking the public if it should rule on a question submitted from the state’s House, at the request of one of its members, Rep. Henry Bear. It has been asked whether tribal gaming can occur without state approval, based on several Supreme Court decisions and the passage in 1987 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. There have been several unsuccessful efforts in the legislature to legalize tribal gaming. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians seeks to open a casino on its tribal lands. • Santa Anita Park racetrack and San Manuel Casino in Southern California have renewed their partnership for the 12^th year. San Manuel General Manager Loren Gill said, “As the preferred California casino of Santa Anita Park racing fans for more than 10 years, San Manuel is excited to continue a partnership that brings even more thrills to our guests year-round.” “We are thrilled to extend our longstanding partnership with San Manuel Casino to ensure two of the most iconic and exciting venues in California continue to offer guests exclusive benefits for visiting both properties,” said Nate Newby, the racetrack’s vice president of marketing. • The Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria has proposed a six-story, 100-room casino hotel on the north California coast. The resort, just off scenic Highway 101, would have a business center, fitness center, café, bar, lounge and two pools. • The Navajo nation brought in 20 college student interns to work on a project to develop a travel center at the tribe’s Twin Arrows Casino, near Flagstaff. The project is part of the tribe’s plan to develop the Interstate 40 corridor. “We really lifted the hood and showed them all the inner workings of this business,” said Brian Parrish, interim chief executive of the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise. The interns earn college credits while coming up with the details for the convenience store, and learning marketing and human resources.