NEWS & NOTES

Past and present mayors of Baltimore are lobbying the black caucus of Maryland’s state legislature to keep the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’ Triple Crown, in the city. Mayor Catherine Pugh and three former mayors—Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Martin O’Malley and Kurt Schmoke—urged members of the Legislative Black Caucus to help block legislation that would enable the owner of Pimlico to accelerate its plans for a “super track” at Laurel Park. The mayors compared the potential loss of the race to the Baltimore Colts football team leaving town in 1984. • Gaming operators in Atlantic City are closely watching the construction of a Philadelphia Sports Complex esports venue before proceeding with plans to introduce esports venues of their own. The owner of the Philadelphia Fusion esports franchise, Comcast Spectacor, has announced plans to construct a $50 million esports and entertainment venue in the Philadelphia Sports Complex. Adjacent to Xfinity Live!, the venue will seat as many as 3,500 guests and stand as the largest new-construction, purpose-built esports arena in the Western Hemisphere. • MGM Cotai has opened the first phase of a VIP enclave within the hotel called The Mansion, which will feature 27 villas in all ranging from 2,300 to 6,100 square feet. • An 11-acre parcel of resort-zoned land on Laughlin’s Colorado River is slated for auction next month. The site, located on Casino Drive between Harrah’s Laughlin Casino & Hotel and Laughlin River Lodge, is priced at a starting bid of $9 million. • MGM Resorts International and the investment company Dubai World, who jointly own CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip announced last week that they will evenly split the $180 million dividend from the casino. This includes a regular annual dividend and a special one-time dividend. They will divide the dividend in June. The complex includes a 4,000-room Aria resort-casino, a non-casino hotel, and 669 condominiums. It opened in 2009. MGM manages the company. Dubai World is the investment arm of the United Arab Emirates. • DraftKings a homegrown Massachusetts sports betting company founded in 2012, is betting the Bay State will someday legalize sports book. One of Boston’s largest tech companies, which operates sports book in New Jersey and Mississippi, it unveiled its new corporate HQ last week, a 105,000 square foot complex near Copley Square. It is moving from its old headquarters, fueled by the growth in employees from 425 to 700 planned this year.