NEWS & NOTES

Yates Construction has completed a 12-story, 230-room hotel construction and 730-space park structure for Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort in Arizona, making the Ak-Chin the largest casino in the state. They also updated and expanded the casino, added a steakhouse and modern wine bar, and enhanced some public spaces. Sundt | Yates also built a pedestrian bridge that connects the second floor of the casino with the Ultra Star Family Entertainment Center across the street and the parking garage. • BC Lottery Corp. has given final approval for Cascades Casino Delta, in British Columbia, following approvals by the city in May. The Gateway casino will have 500 slots, two dozen tables and some electronic games. It will begin construction early next year with a mid-2020 opening expected. The project will include a hotel, dining and meeting place. • Prosecutors in Italy are asking the court to declare the St. Vincent Resort & Casino bankrupt, explaining the casino to be in “irreversible crisis.” It previously lost its line of credit and is overwhelmed by debt, they say. This followed the Val d’Aosta audit court last month sentencing 21 regional officials to pay 30 million euros in damages associated with funding the casino for 140 million euros. They were found to have violated funding norms. • Snoqualmie Casino celebrated its 10-year anniversary by opening a private gaming salon with an electrochromic glass wall that can be opaqued, creating an intimate experience. Snoqualmie Casino president and CEO Brian Decorah said, “Opening our Private Gaming Salon allows us to provide the premiere table game experience to guests who prefer more of a private gaming atmosphere.” This culminates a year of improvements that included a non-smoking room, café and deli and introduction of tribal cultural design throughout. • Desert Diamond Casino and Entertainment near Phoenix, Arizona and ISM Raceway have announced a deal giving the casino naming rights to one of the raceways two “Canyons” immersive entrances, which immerse fans in a multiple level concourse while taking them to their seats. The casino will also become title sponsor for the NASCAR Xfinity Series semifinal playoff race at ISM Raceway held in November 2019 and 2020. • Canada’s Flair Airlines has commenced weekly direct service to Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport from Edmonton International Airport in Alberta. Plans call for the flights—on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday—to be expanded next month to include four flights a week from Winnipeg. The service is slated to run through May 2019. • The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors has approved a $13.5 million contract with Cordell Corp. to handle the renovation portion of its $1.4 billion expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Cordell already is overseeing the expansion phase, which includes a new 600,000-square-foot exhibition hall and three stories of meeting rooms. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by January 2021 and the entire expansion by the end of 2022. • Macau casino operator SJM Holdings has sold the 18th floor of China Merchants Tower in Hong Kong’s Shun Tak Centre in a move to consolidate its Hong Kong offices in one location. The location was sold to a subsidiary for HK$680 million (US$86.8 million). ● Macau’s Public Security Forces and the local garrison of the People’s Liberation Army recently conducted its first counter-terrorism drill, code-named “Spirited Dog.” The drill, held at the Macau East Asian Games Dome in Cotai and Coloane Pier, was held to “strengthen coordination between police forces and other relevant entities during emergency situations,” said a government statement. ● The Macau Health Bureau has banned electronic cigarettes in designated non-smoking areas and increased fines from MOP600 (US$75) to MOP1,500 (US$186). The bureau reported 4,669 violations in the first 10 months of this year, including nine uses e-cigarettes in prohibited areas.