NEWS & NOTES

An integrated resort seminar was held March 5 in Hokkaido, one of the leading candidate areas for a regional Japanese IR. The event drew more than 360 participants and was sponsored in part by U.S.-based operators Hard Rock Japan and Rush Street Gaming. ● ESPN has named Las Vegas-based gambling analyst Doug Kezirian as host of Daily Wager, the cable network’s first regular program dedicated to sports betting. Prior to joining Daily Wager, which airs afternoons on ESPNews and is available for streaming, Kezirian hosted a radio show in Las Vegas specializing in sports wagering. • South Korea’s National Assembly is considering a bill to raise the legal casino entry age from 19 to 21. The bill was drafted by a center-left splinter party, the Party for Democracy and Peace, in response to a reputed rise in problem gambling among young people and appears to target the only casino in the country that is open to South Koreans, Kangwon Land, which has come under pressure from the government recently to trim the gambling portion of its revenue base.   • Hong Kong-listed MGM China Holdings has appointed two long-time executives of parent MGM Resorts International to the company’s board as non-executive directors. They are James Armin Freeman, MGM’s senior vice president of Capital Markets and Strategy, and John M. McManus, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. • The ski resort of Bansko in Bulgaria has banned the construction of new nightclubs, casinos and strip clubs beyond the more than 20 that already exist. Any expansion of existing venues also has been prohibited. Bansko is one of the Balkan nation’s largest winter sports destinations but has struggled in recent years, according to news reports. The ban is designed to foster a more family-friendly image. • Several casino tycoons and entrepreneurs with Asian gaming interests have seen shrinkage in the estimate of their worth, according to the annual wealth-ranking list published last week by Forbes. Forbes said it was the “second year in a decade” that the number of global billionaires and their total wealth had shrunk in the face of economic headwinds. Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive of casino developer Las Vegas Sands Corp, which operates venues in Macau and one in Singapore as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States, remained the richest among the world’s gaming billionaires, despite falling three positions in the overall ranking. • A bill in the Pennsylvania legislature would give local municipalities veto power over truck stop gaming approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. State Sen. Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) is pushing a that would give local governments a 90-day window to disallow gambling, once an application is filed. “The applications now are popping up everywhere, and convenience stores, these rest stops are making requests to change things on their property to accommodate that,” Martin told Transport Topics. “Our local governments, our citizens have been upset that all of these applications for video gaming terminals are popping up.” • For the second month in a row the Nevada Gaming Control Board is dealing without a full deck. Governor Steve Sisolak hasn’t yet filled the vacancy in the three-person casino regulating agency since Shawn Reid retired in January. The board makes recommendations to the Nevada Gaming Commission, which is a part-time board. The governor did name Sandra Douglass Morgan as chairman of the board on January 10 after Becky Harris’s term expired. If at any time the two members disagree on an item, no action would be taken. • California billionaire Ron Burkle, owner of the international Soho House chain of private clubs is interested in buying the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from Caesars Entertainment. Caesars is operating its casino arm under Chapter 11 and the Rio needs an investment to bring it up to standard. Burkle is said to specialize in underperforming assets.