NEWS & NOTES

The Las Vegas City Council has approved the final $70 million in funding needed for a new civic center, known as the Civic Plaza, which is to be located next to City Hall. The plaza will span the width of a city block, and will be composed of two buildings. In total, the project will cost $165 million—the additional $95 million was taken from previous development funds. The city sold its previous service center building on Rancho Drive in 2021 for $17.5 million. Construction on the new center will begin in March and finish in the first half of 2025. ● Ferry connections between the Macau peninsula and Hong Kong have resumed after a three-year hiatus. The ferry, which traverses a 37-mile channel, was suspended in February 2020, leaving the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge as the only link, though with quarantines of up to 28 days. ● The Philippines Department of Tourism is aiming to attract 5 million foreign visitors in 2023, almost doubling the 2.6 million visitors who arrived last year, but short of the 8.3 million visitors who came in 2019. To make travel easier, the government has introduced a new “eTravel” system to replace the old One Health Pass. ● The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has granted PHP256 million (US$4.7 million) to the country’s Sports Commission ahead of this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. The funding is expected to increase as gaming revenues continue to stabilize. ● Casino operators in Atlantic City are expressing concerns over the so-called “Road Diet” project that will pare Atlantic Avenue from four lanes to two lanes with bike lanes and parking. “At a peak time when the city is jamming, to think Atlantic Avenue could be one lane in each direction is a bit concerning,” Casino Association of New Jersey President Mark Giannantonio, who is also CEO and president of Resorts Casino Hotel, said at a city hall meeting, according to The Press of Atlantic City. “Is it going to be a turn-off to people coming into Atlantic City at peak times?” • The first full year of online gaming in Connecticut hit a peak in popularity to cap 2022, with the first $1 billion monthly handle in 15 months of wagering activity. The mark was an 11 percent improvement on November’s total of $903.7 million wagered, and topped the state’s previous monthly record in October of $975.8 million. • Holland America Line has announced the expansion of space devoted to gaming on its Pinnacle and Signature Class ships to 140 plus new slots and video poker machines. The ships getting the new machines include Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Koningsdam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. The casino ships host slot machines, video poker, roulette, craps and poker tables. According to a statement from Daniel Materassi, senior vice president-guest commerce and performance analytics for Holland America Line: “The slots we’ve added are some of the newest in the industry, bringing exciting gameplay to our guests alongside the popular classic machines.” • The Great Britain Gambling Commission has fined In Touch Games (ITG), an internet gaming operator, £6.1 million (€6.9 million/$7.5 million) for social responsibility and money laundering infractions. ITG, which operates 11 platforms in the U.K. failed a compliance assessment last spring. In the latter case, ITG failed for seven weeks to contact a customer who was flagged for erratic play patterns and extended periods of play. It also neglected to verify a customer’s word on how the customer earned £6,000 a month. •   The Valley Forge Casino in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania returned to being open 24 hours daily on January 20 for the first time since 2020, officials at its owner Boyd Gaming announced. The 36,000 square-foot casino floor saw limited hours because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The casino first opened in 2012.   • Virginia state Del. Wren Williams recently introduced HB 2499, which would allow any county “with a population greater than 1 million” and “the urban county executive form of government” to hold a voter referendum to allow a casino. Only one county in Virginia−Fairfax−fits those requirements, with a population of 1.15 million. The bill also strictly describes where casinos can be located within the county; for example, it prohibits sites under Dulles flight paths or anywhere within the 495 Beltway. That limits potential locations to Tysons Corner and the outskirts of Reston.