NEWS & NOTES

Century Casinos has announced that its $100 million acquisition of the operations of the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada has closed. Prior to acquiring the operations, Century had already purchased a 50 percent stake in Smooth Bourbon, which owns the land and real estate assets—the two sides have finalized a $15 million per-year lease, and Smooth Bourbon will also become a subsidiary of Century as part of the deal. Century’s co-CEOs, Peter Hoetzinger and Erwin Haitzmann, said in a statement that the company is “very excited to be expanding into Nevada. The Nugget is a great addition to our portfolio.” ● A Vancouver law firm has failed to quash an $18 million lawsuit filed in May 2019 by iGaming operators Jazette Enterprises Ltd. and Go Forward Solutions Ltd. The companies say $18 million in iGaming funds were stolen in 2016 “by certain rogues involved with the enterprise” and funneled through an account operated by Beadle Raven. A judge ruled that the case will proceed. ● A $2.2 billion spinoff, Sphere Entertainment, to oversee the MSG Sphere at the Venetian in Las Vegas, has been OK’d by Madison Square Garden Entertainment. The spinoff will also oversee MSG Networks and Tao Group and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SPHR. ● Galaxy Entertainment has become the latest Macau operator to open a foreigners-only gaming zone inside its flagship Galaxy Macau. The casino has a sign marked Noble International Club and “international guests are welcome” pointing to an upstairs area near the property’s Diamond Lobby. It has been recently reported that other operators including MGM Resorts and Las Vegas Sands have opened such areas. • Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians and Redding Rancheria have signed tribal state gaming compacts with the state of California. According to the Santa Barbara News-Press, each tribe will be allowed to operate Las Vegas style casinos—each with up to 1,200 slot machines, with electronic games of chance and banked card games. They would also be able to offer off-track betting on horse races. The compacts obligate the tribes to make contributions to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, the Special Distribution Trust Fund and The Tribal Nation Grant Fund. These funds are distributed to non-gaming tribes. ● Encore Boston Harbor completed a quintet in pro team partnerships with the signing of a multi-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on March 29. The Everett-based casino now has partnerships with the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, and the Sox, according to WGGB. As part of the agreement, Encore Boston Harbor donated $25,000 to the Red Sox Foundation. The casino hotel has already paid similar donations to the Shamrock Foundation, Boston Bruins Foundation, and Patriots Foundation.