NEWS & NOTES

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a bipartisan bill that lets people who successfully complete the state’s Recovery Court program for low-level drug convictions to qualify for casino key employee licenses. Such licenses are needed for higher-level casino jobs. • U.K. soccer player Scott Kashket of the Wycombe Wanderers has been suspended for two months and fined £3,446 fine after he admitted placing 183 bets on football matches. Kashket said he will “learn from the experience to improve myself both as a person and a player … and come back stronger in two months’ time.” • Las Vegas-based Maverick Gaming announced last week that it will acquire e-gads! LLC, which supplies casino interiors, custom signage and lighting, and audio/visual systems to the gaming industry. The acquisition will allow Maverick to rebrand the 19 card rooms the company owns in Washington State, and consolidate that portfolio into four distinct brands: Maverick Casino, Aces Poker, Dragon Tiger Casino and Macau Legend Casino, Maverick CEO Eric Persson said. • Fox Sports 1350AM in Ohio, has rebranded as Fox Sports The Gambler. The rebranded station features programming from VSiN (Vegas Stats and Information) and the BetR Network, and includes hourly wagering updates and programs such as “My Guys in the Desert” with Brent Musberger and “The Lombardi Line” with former Browns GM Michael Lombardi. It becomes the second iHeart Media station to get “The Gambler” format. The other is in Philadelphia. • Brazilian tennis player Joao Olavo Soares de Souza has been handed a lifetime ban from the sport by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) after he was convicted of multiple match-fixing and associated corruption offences. An investigation found that Souza breached the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) numerous times between 2015 and 2019. • The Philippines’ gaming regulator, PAGCOR, has called on all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and service providers to impose a 10-day quarantine be imposed upon employees returning from any country with confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The order, if strictly applied, would cover any employee to have spent time in at least 15 countries, including China, Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, France, Vietnam, Nepal and Canada.” • The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe of California has announced an agreement resolving all disputes between the tribe and the city of Ridgecrest. This means that no roadblocks remain for the tribe to build a casino resort on property the city has agreed to sell to the tribe on China Lake Boulevard for $5.5 million. The first phase will be the casino, with the hotel and amenities following in the next phase. • Nebraska’s attorney general filed a lawsuit January 22 against a state commission that voted to allow machine bets on previously run horse races despite warnings that the machines are illegal. The lawsuit alleges that the Nebraska State Racing Commission approved so-called “historical horse racing” even after lawyers advised the commission that the machines violate state law and the Nebraska Constitution’s prohibition of casino gambling. The commission voted 3-2 in July to allow the terminals at Fonner Park in Grand Island. • The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association has recognized Caesars Entertainment with a Bronze Adrian Award for best “Integrated Marketing Campaign” for its promotion of the new Caesars Forum conference center, which is scheduled to open on the Las Vegas Strip on March 18. The award was presented January 21 at the association’s annual International Sales and Marketing Conference in New York City.