NEWS & NOTES

The East Windsor, Connecticut Board of Selectmen have scheduled an October 24 town referendum to decide who will administer the Casino Impact Fund that will be created when and if Connecticut’s Indian tribes begin operating the state’s third casino there. If voters approve, the fund, estimated to be at least $8.5 million annually, will be distributed by the First Selectman. Some, including one member of the Board of Selectmen, has criticized this as “unusual” for having no checks and balances on that official’s discretion. • The Massachusetts State Lottery shattered all records in its 48-year history, making its largest net profit ever last year: $1.104 billion. The previous record was $1.039 billion in 2017. Bay State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who chairs the State Lottery Commission, said in a statement: “Lottery profits provide critical unrestricted aid for all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. I am proud of our Lottery team and our dedicated retail partners. Over the last three years, together, they have produced more than $3 billion that directly supports our local communities.” • The 49 acres that host Boyd Gaming’s Suncoast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas are for sale for $87 million, according to a listing on LoopNet cited by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The sale by private investors will not affect ownership or operations at the 427-room casino hotel, the report said. •. Suncity Group’s Poker King Club has teamed with South Korea’s Paradise Co. to open a poker room in the operator’s casino in Busan. The new poker room will feature Short Deck format and No Limit Hold’em games at different levels. Suncity Group in February announced it was in talks with Paradise Co. about a possible cooperation at the Busan casino as part of its plans to diversify across the region. • Betfred Gibraltar trading subsidiary ‘Petfre’ must pay £322,000 as part of a regulatory settlement, having been found to have “shortcomings in the application of its AML controls and its policies and procedures.” The Gibraltar unit is due to make the payment in lieu of a financial penalty following an investigation by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The probe found that Betfred “failed to carry out adequate source-of-funds checks on a customer who deposited £210,000 and lost £140,000 of stolen money in a 12-day period in November 2017.” • Tasmania is set to become the sixth state in Australia to introduce a point-of-consumption (POC) tax aimed at gaming operators. Treasurer Peter Gutwein, said the new tax will roll out on 1 January 2020, and will be at a rate of 15 percent of net wagering revenue. This has been considered by some as on the higher end of wagering taxes. In comparison, New South Wales and Victoria have a current rate of 10 and 8 percent respectively. Gutwein said the new tax measure is expected to generate A$5 million (US$3.4 million) a year. • SkyCity Entertainment Group says it has turned off the external lights of Auckland’s Sky Tower as part of its green initiatives after the company’s three New Zealand casino-resorts were this week certified carbon-neutral by Enviro-Mark Solutions. The external lights on one of Auckland’s most recognizable landmarks will remain off until mid-December before being replaced with LED bulbs, reducing their energy consumption by 10 percent. • A group of Cambodian monks and environmental activists are marching to Sihanoukville to demand the demolition of the Jin Ding Casino, which was closed in May for operating without a license and releasing untreated sewage into the sea. They say closing the property is not enough as it will be reopened at a later date, Radio Free Asia reports. • Three Singapore banks as well as Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands have been commended by police for combating money laundering and terrorism financing that led to seizures of more than S$25 million. Of the 32,660 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed last year, half were alerts sent by the banking sector, with a significant percentage contributed by DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and 20 percent by the casinos. •. Genting Malaysia Bhd’s outdoor theme park at Genting Highlands near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will cost more than expected, the company has announced. Genting “expects to incur more capex to complete the outdoor theme park in addition to the capex to date of approximately MYR3 billion (US$717 million) but has not quantified how much yet,” said Samuel Yin Shao Yang, of the bank’s unit Maybank IB Research. The 26-acre attraction will open in the third quarter of 2020 with 20 rides. • Problem gambling body GambleAware has revealed that GVC Holdings topped its list of pledges for the six months to September 30 with the Ladbrokes Coral owner committing a total of £1.46 million (US$1.86 million) during the period. William Hill pledged £1 million, and contributions were also made by Bet365, the Rank Group, Betway, BetVictor, Playtech and Praesepe Holdings. The total amount pledged during the period came in at £5.4 million. • Residents of Nerul, a community in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India villagers oppose a plan to relocate Goa’s floating casinos to a site in Aguada Bay. Goa’s six floating casinos need to be relocated from a site on the Mandovi River off Goa by March of next year, though the government is struggling to find a suitable location. • Barcelona City Council has ruled that it will not permit any new gambling establishments, arcade, bingo hall or casino for a period of one year to help the city’s health networks deal with addiction. At present, Barcelona has 53 gambling venues including 35 arcades, plus 17 bingo halls and the Casino Barcelona complex operated by Grup Peralada. • The Mohegan Sun has announced that Tao Group Hospitality will open a 10,000 square-foot, 300-seat TAO restaurant inside the casino’s Sky Tower in 2020, just off the hotel lobby. The kitchen will be headed by Partner/Chef Scamardella and will feature Pan-Asian cuisine, with signature dishes such as Satay Chilean Sea Bass, Lobster Wontons and Tuna Sashimi Pringle. The restaurant will be designed by the architecture and design firm the Rockwell Group, which has worked with Tao Group Hospitality on 16 other projects, as well as with the Mohegan Sun. • FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Michigan has announced a deal with Intelity to operate its mobile check-in and enhanced on-demand services platform as part of its expansion, which includes adding an eight story hotel tower. The platform will give guests access to a mobile app that will enable mobile check-in, mobile keys, the ability to request amenities, make reservations, view promotions and talk to staff. •. The Arizona Department of Gaming has shut down an illegal underground casino in Phoenix, the culmination of an undercover investigation. Agents of the department and Phoenix police seized seven video poker machines, six ATMs, eight internet café sweepstakes computers and $7,000 in cash. They detained six persons could be charged with money laundering, illegal control of a criminal enterprise, and other charges related to illegal gambling.