NEWS & NOTES

The air traffic control tower at McCarran International Airport reopened March 25, a week after being shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration when a controller tested positive for Covid-19. • Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit is offering free stays to first responders who are concerned about going home and infecting loved ones with the Covid-19 virus. Last week, the property opened 40 rooms on two floors for Detroit police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. • Two employees of Wind Creek Bethlehem in Pennsylvania have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the casino’s total to three. The casino voluntarily closed to the public March 15. Wind Creek spokeswoman Julia Corwin said the casino, run by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, has committed to paying employees through the end of May. • Desert Diamond Casinos and Entertainment, owned and operated by the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, has suspended all events through April 23. The company has locations in Tucson, Sahuarita, Why and Glendale, Arizona. Employees will be paid through the extended suspension. • ExCeL London, home of the annual ICE gaming trade show, is set to become England’s largest hospital facility. The venue will be converted into a makeshift center for Covid-19 patients, with 500 beds and capacity for 3,500 more, announced the U.K. National Health Service. • The management executives of Suncity, one of Macau’s largest junket operators, have volunteered to cut their salaries by half for two months amid the market turmoil triggered by the novel coronavirus. Suncity staff will take leave for 15 days each month in April and May to help reduce the firm’s operating costs. • New MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle has announced he will donate $100,000 to an emergency relief fund for MGM employees put out of work because of the coronavirus crisis. Hornbuckle recently succeeded outgoing CEO Jim Murren. • Two casinos in Latin America will be used to help fight the spread of coronavirus. Casino Enjoy in Punta del Este will make its hotel available as a sanatorium, as will the Hotel Casino in Palpalá. • Red Hawk Casino in Placerville, California will remain shuttered until at least April 16 and will continue to pay its workers their salaries and benefits. The casino cited the “rapidly evolving situation” involving Covid-19, which led Governor Gavin Newsom to close non-essential businesses in the state. • The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan have voted to tap into $5.5 million in contract support cost settlement funds to cover employee wages during the Covid-19 emergency. The resolution ensures compensation for Kewadin Casino team members during the shutdown. • Caesars Entertainment has donated more than 250,000 pounds of food, the equivalent of more than 200,000 meals, to food banks and charities across the U.S., as well as thousands of items including gloves, masks and hand sanitizer to local hospitals, first responders and local charities. • The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, operator of the Ilani Casino in Washington State, has donated $500,000 to the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington’s Covid Response Fund. The tribe is also donating $275,000 to three Puget Sound charities, to support a community hit hard by the virus. • Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan is using the Covid-19 outbreak to demonstrate its commitment to its community. The casino is making food donations to local food banks serving hundreds of families per week. • Wynn Resorts has donated more than $875,000 worth of goods and funds including medical supplies to the U.S. communities where it operates, Las Vegas and Boston. It also donated 175 pallets of food valued at $750,000 to 18 food banks in those communities. The Wynn Employee Foundation contributed $125,000 to local charities. All 16,000 Wynn employees in North America will continue to receive their full wages, including their average tips. • Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Madera County, California has become an official food distribution center. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians has partnered with local organizations to provide food for the mountain communities of Oakhurst, Ahwahnee, North Fork and Coarsegold. • Cirque du Soleil is exploring debt restructuring options that include a potential bankruptcy after it was forced to cancel shows because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Montreal-based company known for its extravagant Las Vegas shows had to lay off most of its staff due to the infection; Cirque carries roughly $900 million in debt, according to reports. • Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, California is delivering thousands of dollars in food to a local school district as part of its efforts to support the community through the coronavirus pandemic. The schools are closed, but the nutritious lunches are made available to local schoolchildren and others in need. • Essential employees at Blue Lake Rancheria in Humboldt County, California are working overtime to make pre-packaged meals for tribal elders. Some 12,000 meals were ready for delivery as of last week. The tribe has temporarily closed its Blue Lake Casino and Hotel. • Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, Oregon has announced it will pay 100 percent of health care premiums for its team through April 30. CWCR employees can access up-to-date information through an employee webpage and Facebook group. • Officials at Encore Boston Harbor are donating scores of masks and toilet-paper rolls to a local hospital and across the state of Massachusetts to help residents weather the Covid-19 pandemic. Encore Boston Harbor has also sent more than three dozen pallets of perishable and frozen food to local pantries. • Australia’s Star Entertainment Group has revoked its usual policy of paying out a minimum of 70 percent of normalized profits after tax to shareholders, revealing it won’t pay a final dividend for the year ending 30 June 2020. The global Covid-19 pandemic has closed the company’s three casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. • From now until April 30, during the Covid-19 shutdown period, Caesars Entertainment will give away five $100 Visa gift cards daily to social media users who post about a favorite memory of a Caesars property.