NEWS & NOTES

Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in South Edmonton, Canada, will open its casino restaurant, sports bar and off-track betting lounge on April 1, to coincide with the opening of the thoroughbred one-mile-racetrack April 28. A gala grand opening is planned for April 27. The $46.6 million Century Mile includes a multi-story 89,700 square foot casino and grandstand with 550 slots and electronic table games, 38 stadium style games, 14 VLTs, dining, horse betting, a bar and lounge. • Paris Las Vegas celebrated its 20^th anniversary with a new light show on the 540-foot replica Eiffel Tower, which was synchronized to La Marseillaise, the French national anthem and then Edith Piaf’s “Where Is Your Heart.” The celebration included appearances by celebrity chef Guy Savoy and French actor Line Renaud. The five light show included 800 strobe lights and 300 wash lights. It repeats every 30 minutes. • Macau casino magnate David Chow said a large-scale shopping/business complex he helped develop on neighboring Hengqin Island will open in the fourth quarter. Chow, whose holdings include the city’s Landmark, Babylon and Legend Palace casinos and a casino in Laos, is the majority investor in the project, which is billed as a support center for Macau entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to grow ties with mainland China, PONTO, as it’s called, will encompass 140,000 square meters (1.5 million square feet) with space for 300 retail outlets and exhibition areas.