NEWS & NOTES

Caesars Entertainment is no longer drug-testing prospective employees in Nevada for marijuana. Marijuana is legal for recreational use in the state, as it is in eight other states, where many employers are adopting similar policies on drug-screening. Caesars said it will continue to test for pot for jobs involving transportation and will impose strict guidelines that include automatic firing for employees who come to work high. • The Las Vegas Taxicab Authority has ruled it’s OK for taxi drivers to use a set of preapproved “parallel routes” to avoid traffic congestion on Las Vegas Boulevard. The change is designed to help passengers get to their destinations faster and reduce complaints about drivers who take longer routes than necessary, an illegal practice known as long-hauling. Previously, drivers were required under Nevada law to take the shortest possible route. • Macau welcomed 391,000 visitor arrivals over the three-day Labor Day holiday weekend, an increase of 4.7 percent over 2017, according to figures provided by the Public Security Police Force. Most visitors came from the Greater China markets including a 16.1 percent increase in visitors from Mainland China. Visitation from Hong Kong and Taiwan fell 24.1 percent and 19.5 percent respectively. ● A millionaire Chinese gambler spent part of a casino windfall on dozens of bottles of expensive Penfolds wine. The unnamed winner, described as a Shanghai businessman, paid $190,000 in cash for the wine after winning big at the Adelaide Casino. ● MGM China is sponsoring a crisis intervention program organized by the Sheng Kung Hui Macau Social Services Coordination Office. Through the sponsorship, MGM hopes to improve responses to trauma after a crisis and strengthen the community’s preparedness to respond effectively to a disaster. The training course was offered to social workers, counselors and MGM team members. ● Under a newly proposed immigration and residency law in Macau, hotel operators will have to provide the data of non-resident guests to the Public Security Police Force. Keeping tabs on non-residents may help “prevent organized crime and terrorism,” said Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak. The information will be kept for five years. ● Macau lawmaker Leong Sun Iok has asked the local government to investigate claims that certain casinos have compiled a blacklist to prevent former employees from working in the industry. Leong said the allegations if true constitute a violation of labor and data protection laws. ● Four financial firms have offered consulting services to local governments that will host integrated resorts in Japan. Deloitte Tohmatsu has signed contracts in Yokohama, Osaka, Nagasaki, and Wakayama; PwC is advisor to Osaka municipalities; KPMG works for the government of Tomakomai in Hokkaido; and EY has done IR-related work for Yokohama. ● It’s a new name for the former 13 Holdings Ltd., which owns the 13 Hotel in Macau. The corporate entity is now South Shore Holdings Ltd. According to GGRAsia, the change was first announced in March, then approved by shareholders at a May 8 meeting. The firm, which is developing the 13 Hotel on the border between Cotai and Coloane, said it wants to “provide a clear delineation” between the corporation and its principal asset. Following many delays, the luxury 13 Hotel is now due to open June 30. • Ainsworth Game Technology reported last week that it’s second-half profits could be half of what was previously predicted. In projecting net income of around AUD20 million (US$15.1 million), compared to AUD42.2 million last year, a company filing said second-half fiscal 2018 earnings were “adversely affected by a range of factors, including competitive activity, regulatory approval delays in product submissions and further product development changes which have deferred the approval and release of previously scheduled key game titles until first half financial year 2019.” Company CEO Danny Gladstone said, “We are clearly very disappointed by the rebasing of our profit expectations… We are moving decisively to improve our profit outlook and are continuing to progress new product developments and marketing initiatives, which we confidently expect to improve our performance in fiscal year 2019.” • Maryland’s Live! Casino & Hotel has officially opened the Orchid Gaming & Smoking Patio. The patio, an 8,000-square-foot space open on one side, offers 12 live table games, 28 electronic table game seats and more than 150 slot machines. The Orchid patio also features a selection of cigars. “Live! is committed to continuous improvement and developing new and different experiences for our guests,” said Robert J. Norton, president of Cordish Global Gaming, which owns Live Casino, in a statement. “With Orchid, we have created a completely unique environment with a blend of gaming, music, design, and an upscale bar.” • Caesars Entertainment reported significantly improved results for the first quarter of 2018, narrowing its net loss to $34 million, or 5 cents per share, from $507 million or $3.44 per share in Q1 of 2017. Caesars CEO Mark Frissora credited the emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year of the company’s largest operating unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, as the reason for the improvement, and noted in a statement that the results—a marked improvement despite some prediction the company would at least break even—came despite a drop in hold, weather-related closures and other issues. “Strength in our core business including slot win growth and increases in operating efficiency mostly offset headwinds,” Frissora said.