NEWS & NOTES

Harrah’s Metropolis Casino and Hotel in Metropolis, Illinois, which closed Sunday, February 23 due to rising water levels from the Ohio River, reopened last Tuesday. Public Relations Specialist Chad Lewis “the last three flooding events” has helped the casino develop a plan to combat to address flooding, and added that the casino sustained little damage. • The Downtown Grand in Las Vegas has marked the topping-off of its third hotel, a 495-room project that began a year ago. The hotel should be open for business in September. • More than 500 people took part in a special program February 16 marking 20 years since the Cowlitz Indian Tribe gained official recognition by the U.S. federal government. Less than three years ago, the tribe opened the ilani Resort and Casino near Ridgefield, Washington. • During the past year, Coljuegos, Colombia’s gaming regulator, raided 223 illegal gaming operations, confiscated 3,821 pieces of equipment, and ordered the blocking of 3,365 online gaming sites. According to Coljuegos President Juan B. Perez Hidalgo, the actions “show the enormous commitment of this government in terms of legality and greater competitiveness of games of luck and chance in Colombia.” • The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, operators of Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Indiana, recently presented checks totaling $860,000 to South Bend Mayor James Mueller and representatives of area nonprofit organizations, demonstrating its commitment to its host communities, a group that also includes the cities of New Buffalo, Dowagiac and Hartford in Michigan. • Hilton is partnering with Resorts World Las Vegas to bring three of its premium brands—Hilton Hotels & Resorts, LXR and Conrad—to the $4.3 billion property, now under construction on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. Hilton may now begin selling rooms at the resort, marketing to the company’s 100 million Hilton Honors loyalty club members. • Tilman Fertitta may add another steakhouse chain to his growing restaurant empire. The Houston billionaire’s Golden Nugget LLC agreed to pay $50 million for the Palm chain in a March 9 auction. If Fertitta is the highest bidder, he will acquire 21 U.S. Palm restaurants plus the chain’s intellectual property. • The World Poker Tour has announced that an open WPT Main Tour event will be held at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 21-July 25. It follows the first-ever WPT event held in Cambodia last November, which featured a record-breaking turnout and the largest prize pool in Cambodian poker history. • Station Casinos started off the new year with an array of wide-ranging room renovations at its Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. The AAA Four Diamond-rated property has renovated more than 700 deluxe king and deluxe double queen rooms and 55 Signature Suites, appointed 65-inch high definition TV, RFID room key technology, and expanded wifi coverage. • William Hill is ending its nine-year title sponsorship of the Scottish Cup. The development comes six months after rival bookmaker Ladbrokes announced that it would not continue its title sponsorship of Scotland’s Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2 beyond the end of the 2019-20 campaign. But Betfred has renewed its title of the Scottish League Cup. • The Montana Lottery Commission has approved betting on professional and collegiate basketball, baseball, ice hockey, football, soccer, tennis, boxing/mixed martial arts, golf and motor sports. The maximum bet at cash-only kiosks will be $250. Patrons can bet up to $1,000 via an app while inside a licensed location. • The Ohio Casino Control Commission on February 19 agreed to license fantasy sports operators FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo Fantasy Sports, StatHero and Fantasy Golf’s OG. The five are the initial batch to obtain licenses under the Ohio law which gives regulatory oversight of fantasy sports to the commission. • The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, owners of FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan, recently announced that revenue sharing payments to the state of Michigan and the FireKeepers Local Revenue Sharing Board have exceeded $217 million. Total revenue to the state is more than $162.7 million and total revenue to the FLRSB is $54.8 million. Jamie Stuck, Tribal Council chairman of the NHBP, called it “a milepost of great pride for tribal members.”