NEWS & NOTES

The 22nd annual East Coast Gaming Congress will be held June 13-14 at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City. Speakers will include New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and several top industry CEOs: James Allen of Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming, Greg Carlin of Rush Street Gaming, David S. Cordish of The Cordish Companies, Holly Gagnon of Seneca Gaming and Felix Rappaport of Foxwoods Resort Casino. • The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho, owners of the Shoshone Rose Casino & Hotel have hired Big-D Construction Corporation of Salt Lake City for Phase II of the casino expansion to include adding an 85,000 square foot casino, new buffet, 24-hour deli and a new lounge: The Stampede to the Tribes to be part of the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center, which is a short distance from the casino. • Sandia Resort & Casino in New Mexico has announced it will be open 24/7 from now own. According to General Manager of Gaming Operations Roy Corby the change required big operation changes and a redesign of the slots floor. The Roadrunner Grill will also operate 24/7. • The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has announced it will sell its Westspiel-Casino group, which operates four casinos and plans to open a fifth. The Gauselmann Group has been mentioned as a possible buyer. It operates 330 gambling halls in Germany through its subsidiary Merkur Spielbanken, which recently won a tender to operate two casinos in Saxony-Anhalt. Mario Hoffmeister, spokesman for Gauselmann Group said the company is interested in the properties. “Of course, we have a fundamental interest in the takeover. If that’s the topic, we’d love to listen to it and decide if it could be a worthwhile investment,” he said. • MGM Cotai may ultimately add a hotel tower with 900 additional rooms, according Grant Bowie, CEO of MGM China Holdings Ltd. The US$3.4 billion property opened February 13 with 1,390 rooms and suites. ● Construction on three “mega industrial projects” have begun in China’s Hainan Province after the country announced the decision to make the island a free trade zone last month. The projects, all based in Hainan Resort Software Community, will span 1 million square meters (107 million square feet) by the end of the year and represent an investment of 5 billion yuan (US$794 million). ● Macau hotels are recycling at least 1,600 tons’ worth of waste, according to organizers of the Macau Environmental Hotel Awards. Fifteen hotels won prizes for sustainable practices in the awards, now in their 11th year. The Venetian Macao won the Platinum award for reducing its waste to less than 10 percent per room. ● Sands China has launched an employee development initiative that includes a two-year academic program and on-the-job training. On completion, qualified participants can move to middle management in integrated resort operations, in positions such as assistant manager or manager, the company stated. ● Macau casino concessionaires Sands China, Melco Resorts & Entertainment and SJM Holdings have extended their paid maternity leave to 70 days. Wynn Macau pioneered the initiative by launching increased leave for company employees in early April. ● Galaxy Macau has been named Best Integrated Resort at the first annual G2E Asia Awards. The resort, which opened in 2011, also took the prize for Best Gaming Floor. ●