NEWS & NOTES

In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Melco International Development Ltd. recently announced that it will pay an undisclosed sum to settle “all outstanding claims in respect of ILGA litigation,” which were being heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia. The claims originated from 2019, when the ILGA began investigating Melco’s acquisition of shares in fellow operator Crown Resorts. Last year, the company indicated that the regulator was seeking approximately AUD$3.7 million (about US$2.4 million) in addition to interest and legal fees. • Crystal, formerly Crystal Cruises, announced it will add casinos to its Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony cruise ships by third quarter 2024. A spokesman said Crystal management is in talks with a potential concessionaire.The casinos were removed from the two ships when they recently were refurbished because they were “a huge, huge space in our opinion. Too big,” said Cristina Levis, chief executive officer at A&K Travel Group, which acquired the vessels and several assets of the company when it collapsed in 2022. The casinos were replaced with a lounge which Levis said may become show kitchens for cooking demos. • ECL Entertainment and Toronto-based private equity firm Clairvest, announced plans to build a 130,000-square-foot charitable gaming facility at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, New Hampshire, in late 2024. In opening the site, ECL will transfer the licenses from its earlier acquisition of The Lucky Moose Casino & Tavern and The River Casino & Sports Bar, also in Nashua.