NEWS & NOTES

DraftKings has suspended futures betting on the Kentucky Derby following a protest from Churchill Downs, parent company of the famed Louisville racetrack that is home to the event. News reports said DraftKings had posted the betting at Scarlet Pearl Casino in D’Iberville, which does not offer pari-mutuel betting, prompting Churchill Downs to complain that neither the track nor its horsemen would benefit. Churchill Downs also owns competing sports books at Harlow’s Casino, Resort & Spa in Greenville and Riverwalk Casino Hotel in Vicksburg. • India MP Shashi Tharoor has introduced a bill to regulate online sports betting in the world’s second-most populous nation. The bill would establish a system of licensing and create a regulatory agency to oversee the sector. Tharoor, a senior member of the opposition Congress Party, said legalization will curb illegal betting, generate new revenues and promote technological advancements. • New Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has appointed MGM Resorts International executive George Togliatti to head the state Department of Public Safety, a position he held from 2004 to 2007. A law enforcement veteran cited in news reports as a vice president with MGM, Togliatti served 23 years with the FBI, where he headed the organized crime unit. • Melco Resorts & Entertainment will distribute a one-month discretionary bonus to all eligible non-management staff in Macau before the Chinese New Year. Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho called the bonus a “recognition of the dedication, loyalty and hard work” of the team. Wynn Macau Ltd. also will hand out “winter bonuses” equal to one month’s gross salary to “nearly 96 percent” of the 13,500 people working at Wynn Macau on the peninsula and Wynn Palace in Cotai. MGM China also is giving out a discretionary bonus for eligible non-management team members. ● To date, the Macau Health Bureau has received a total of 505 applications for smoking lounges submitted by 34 of Macau’s 47 casinos. The new lounges must meet improved clean-air, ventilation and fire prevention standards and be certified to operate. The bureau has already OK’d 378 smoking lounges. ● The Light Rail System between Taipa and Cotai in Macau is expected to become operational from the second half of 2019. Macau Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo Arrais do Rosário said that around 300 people have been hired so far to operate the LRT. ● Macau police, government officials and gaming regulators have asked casino operators to retrain security personnel to improve their response to emergency situations. The call came after a police officer fired a warning shot during a fight outside Galaxy Macau. Three patrons got angry after being told to stop smoking in a restricted area. ● The first Macau Integrated Tourism and Leisure Enterprise Vocational Skills Competition was held last week. The event tested the skills of gaming, hotel and gastronomy staff. All six gaming concessionaires sent teams to each competition. Winners will receive awards during a ceremony at the Fisherman’s Wharf on January 23. ● The first-ever Macao Cup International Regatta was held from January 10 through January 13 with 20 teams divided into two different competitions. Ten teams competed representing 10 countries: Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, Philippines, Russia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. • Gateway Casinos has acquired Chances Casino in Kamloops, British Columbia. This makes Gateway the sole casino operator in the city, and the operator of 26 casinos in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta. Gateway is the largest casino operator in Canada. • The California Council on Problem Gambling has awarded San Manuel Casino in Highland with its Responsible Gambling Silver Certification. This recognition is given to casinos that demonstrate a commitment to responsible gaming practices as spelled out in then CCPG Responsible Gaming Establishment Core Principles. The casino participates in a program designed to lower the risks of players development gambling addiction and subscribes to standards for marketing practices as well as internal policies. • California’s Bureau of Gambling Control could find itself picketed by cardroom employees over new regulations the workers claim could hurt their bosses. The bureau, reacting to complaints and lawsuits by gaming tribes, has announced it may soon issue regulations clamping down on so-called player dealer games the tribes claim violate state law. Most cardrooms use third-party businesses to skip around rules against the casinos collecting money from losing players. The cardrooms consider the proposed regulations an existential threat. • Another Pennsylvania truck stop has been approved to offer up to five video gaming terminals. Bandit Truck Stop, at Exit 45 off Interstate 78 in Weisenberg Township, is the latest of 20 establishments across the state approved for the games, and the first in the Lehigh Valley in the eastern part of the state. VGTs were approved as part of last year’s gaming expansion bill signed by Governor Tom Wolf. • The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved the transfer of the gaming license of Presque Isle Downs & Casino near Erie to Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc. Churchill Downs agreed last year to acquire the racino from Eldorado Resorts Inc., owner since 2014. Churchill also will take over management from Eldorado of the Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin.