NEWS & NOTES

New York’s largest indoor waterpark is scheduled to open in March on two acres next to Resorts World Catskills. Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark, managed by Benchmark Global Hospitality of Texas, will feature 15 water slides and coasters, a wave pool, lazy river and indoor beach and will be supported by a 324-room hotel. Attractions will include a spa, an arcade and eight restaurants and bars. • Las Vegas staple Wayne Newton will begin a new residency at the Cleopatra’s Barge lounge at Caesars Palace beginning January 28. The 76-year-old crooner, now in his 60th year in the city, had been headlining a production show at Windows Showroom at Bally’s, also a Caesars Entertainment resort, prior to a retooling of the venue for a magic act. Newton will perform three evening shows, Monday-Wednesday. • The convenience store chain Rutter’s has selected Marquee by Penn LLC as the terminal operator for video gaming terminals (VGTs) in Pennsylvania. It has about 20 stores in the state. Marquee is an affiliate of Penn National Gaming Inc. VGTs are similar to slot machines with a maximum bet limit set at $5 and maximum payout of $1,000. Penn National has gotten a conditional license from the state Gaming Control Board. • Hollywood Casino Columbus was the top casino in terms of revenue for the third year in a row according to data released by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. It generated $226.4 million in 2018, a 2.5 percent increase over the year before. The other three Buckeye casino also increased their profits. Jack Cleveland Casino earned $204.8 million; Hollywood Casino Toledo posted $202.6 million and Jack Cincinnati Casino came in fourth at $203.4 million. • Sycuan Casino, which is three months from opening its first hotel and resort in El Cajon, California, has announced that Nevada-based Clique Hospitality will operate the resort’s steakhouse, cocktail lounge and party pool bar. The casino is nearing completion of its $260 million expansion. Sycuan is adding a 12-story, 302 room hotel tower, spa, pool complex. The casino is in the midst of hiring to fill 700 new positions. • Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment Group says its name and brand have been hijacked by a new Vietnamese resort that calls itself Nha Trang Galaxy. GEG found social media ads for the resort’s opening that bore a mark similar to GEG’s and also included a similar Chinese name. GEG does not operate any hotel or resort in Vietnam. ● Macau’s new tobacco control law took effect January 1; on the first day under the new rules, five people were ticketed for smoking inside casinos, according to the Health Bureau and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. According to the new regulation, all indoor areas inside casinos and the airport must completely ban smoking, except within smoking lounges that are approved by the government. ● A stage show at Sands Cotai has been suspended “indefinitely” according to the event’s promoter. The Monkey King—China went dark on January 10 due to technical problems that “affected the integrity of the show,” which features acrobatics. The show from the Beijing-based Huayan Group had been running since February 2017. ● Macau’s Judiciary Police and mainland law enforcers have busted a gang that helped gamblers illegally use UnionPay cards at point-of-sale machines smuggled from China. The gang illegally modified the POS machines so that they could be used in Macau; 37 people were arrested in the sweep.