Sureste Properties, a subsidiary of Philippines-based casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. has filed an application for development of a cruise port to serve Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila. The application is under review by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. ● International Entertainment Corp. says it has an agreement with the Stars Group Inc. to operate land-based live events and poker rooms “in certain Asian countries” under the PokerStars brand. PokerStars recently lost its room at City of Dreams Macau, reportedly because it was unprofitable. • Table-game revenues at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in March were down 11 percent from March 2017. It was the second consecutive year-on-year decline in table-game revenue for the property, which historically has dominated Pennsylvania table revenue. Some blame the February opening of Resorts World Catskills siphoning off lucrative business from Manhattan. Las Vegas Sands, which is in the process of selling the property to Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians, does not comment on monthly results. • Facebook and Google are being touted as high on the list to benefit from legalized sports betting. According to a report in Barrons, estimates are that sports betting could drive $7 billion in incremental U.S. advertising within the next year, and the internet will be a key component of that advertising spend. • A recent poll from London-based market research firm YouGov found that nearly half of millennials find casinos “depressing.” The poll that found 47 percent of people ages 18 to 34 found them depressing, while just 33 percent did not think they are depressing. The remaining 20 percent neither agreed nor disagreed. • Las Vegas has received $5 million in federal funding for 2018 to combat terrorism, nearly double the $2.8 million received last year. The funds are dispersed as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Area Security Initiative and are assessed according to a formula developed by the Federal Emergency Management which ranks the risk of a terror threat in the nation’s 100 most populous urban areas. • A company called MegaBus has launched $1 bus travel between Las Vegas and Phoenix. The discount service, operated by Windstar Lines, began offering two daily routes, morning and evening, on Friday. Advance tickets are available through MegaBus.com. • The city of Las Vegas has approved a $60,000 plan to construct a welcome sign to greet motorists headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard into Downtown. The sign will feature double neon blue arches stretching over Las Vegas Boulevard and Main Street north of the Stratosphere, with the city’s pink Las Vegas logo suspended from the top.
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