NEWS & NOTES

The former Lucky Dragon casino in Las Vegas has reopened as the Ahern Hotel. New owner Don Ahern said he will invest less than $10 million in the 2.5-acre former property on Sahara Avenue and hopes it’s “fully functioning” by the Fourth of July. The Chinese-themed Lucky Dragon, developed by Andrew Fonfa, was built in 2016, but failed after just two years. • A Detroit casino is not responsible for more than $6 million investors lost to a fraudster who gambled away their money playing blackjack, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled. MGM Grand Detroit was absolved of responsibility, even though it extended credit and perks to the gambler and could have done a credit check that would have shown his lack of a source of income and prior record of financial crimes, a three-judge panel said. • Rental rates have plummeted in Sihanoukville, Cambodia since a ban on online gambling was instituted in the country. According to CBRE, land values have fallen 10 percent to 30 percent in the wake of the online gaming ban, which took effect January 1. Earlier this month, it was reported that around 200,000 Chinese nationals left Cambodia in the lead up to the end of 2019. • Nagasaki Governor Hodo Nakamura says a third-party committee will be established to choose the prefecture’s integrated resort (IR) operator partner. Nagasaki will seek a license to bring an IR to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo City. • Another Japanese local government will up an independent selection committee to choose its private-sector IR partner. Yokohama City is due to announce its IR implementation policy by the end of March and launch its partner selection via a request-for-proposal (RFP) process between April and December. • The Jena Choctaw Pines Casino in Dry Prong, Louisiana, celebrated its seventh anniversary with a party and disclosure of plans to add to the property. “It’s been nothing but success to this area,” said B. Cheryl Smith, chief of the Jena Choctaw Band. “We listen to people who are experts in the gaming field, and they said the next thing we need to do is build an 80-room hotel.” Chief Smith says the hotel would include a swimming pool and a restaurant. • Danish regulator Spillemyndigheden says its problem gambling helpline received 722 calls during its first full year, more than expected. Some 57 percent of people who called StopSpillet said they had a gambling problem or concerns about their behavior. Relatives made 39 percent of calls, while the remaining 4 percent came from professionals. Men accounted for 87 percent of the calls. • The Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a project of the Quapaw Nation, held a topping-off ceremony February 12, marking the placement of the final steel beam of Phase I of construction. Development of the $350 million, 80,000 square-foot property began in August 2019. The ceremony marks a major milestone for the facility with construction ahead of schedule, according to a release. • Sands China Ltd. is donating 500,000 medical facemasks to the Macao SAR government as part of efforts to combat the coronavirus. The first batch of 300,000 masks was presented to Macao Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Ao Ieong U at the Parisian Macao last week, after the company donated MOP$25 million (US$3 million) to relief efforts in both Hubei and Macau. • Nevada Restaurant Services, parent company of the Dotty’s gaming tavern brand, has won licenses from Douglas County to open three machine gaming venues in the county seat of Minden and one in the town of Gardnerville. If approved for gaming licenses by the Nevada Gaming Control Board the venues will be allowed to operate up to 15 machine games each. • A recent report from Bank of America said about half of the U.S. population would have access to legal sports betting options by 2022. Based on the report, sports wagering revenue for 2019 amounted to $950 million, and could reach as high as $20 billion in the future. • Argosy Casino Alton will open the first sportsbook in the metro St. Louis area in time for the NCAA basketball tournament. The venue will feature over 25 big screen TVs with betting windows and state of the art self-service kiosks. • The South Dakota State Senate has passed a measure that would let voters decide whether to allow sports betting. If the legislation passes the House, voters will be asked in November whether to allow sports betting in Deadwood.