NEWS & NOTES

Japanese pachinko hall operator Dynam Japan Holdings has applied for Macau regulatory approval to operate up to 100 pachinko-style machine games in a casino in the city. Dynam’s Chairman Yogi Sato said the machines are slated for a new hotel opening in September, which means it is likely the Prague Harbourview under construction by Macau Legend Development at the latter’s Fisherman’s Wharf resort complex. Dynam last month entered into a six-month extension of an agreement with Singapore-based games developer I Got Games develop software for “next generation pachinko machines” to be operated in Macau.  •  The World Series of Poker “Millionaire Maker” tournament drew a record 7,977 entrants to the Rio last week. WSOP organizers called the $1,500 buy-in single re-entry no-limit hold ‘em tournament the new “kickoff spectacular” to the tournament. The record entry level is second only to the 2006 Main Event (8,773 players) in WSOP event attendance.  •  A wealthy financier is suing Les Ambassadeurs—the London casino featured in the James Bond film Dr. No—for his £10million losses, claiming an elaborate sting involving card sharps and masseuses. Iraj Parvizi played in a weekly private game for millionaire high-rollers at the casino, in which players regularly bet six-figure sums. He claims a game in which he lost £185,000 in one night was undermined by a conspiracy between professional poker players. The casino had sued Parvizi after he canceled checks for the $185,000 worth of chips, and the player counter-sued, claiming “collusion and cheating.”  •  The New York Gaming Commission has agreed to roll out a new multi-state lottery game for New York and New Jersey on June 13 that would pay the top winner $1,000 a day for life. The lotto game, called Cash For Life, will replace the underperforming Sweet Million jackpot game.  •  ISIS Friends, the social gaming platform of ISIS Lab, has signed up tennis legend Boris Becker as a brand ambassador. Becker, who won a host of major tennis championships during his playing career, also recently became the newest coach of Serbian star Novak Djokovic. The former tennis star will now serve as an ambassador for ISIS Friends, which was developed by ISIS Lab and launched by casino management company Cladstone earlier this year. The platform allows players to communicate with friends at the same time they play slot games online.  •  New London studio Jannio has chosen the Odobo Developer Program to bring its first Sport Shotz-branded casino games to market. The agreement will initially see Jannio develop a series of seven sports-themed casino-style table games exclusively for the Odobo Marketplace. Each game will draw on the sports-betting experience of the Jannio management team, to deliver a themed dice format that emulates popular “in-play” betting. The team’s creative approach aims to bridge the gap between sports bettors and casino players with a passion for online gaming.  •  A bill affirming the gaming compact between California and the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of Enterprise Rancheria is moving through the Assembly. The tribe wants to build in Yuba County, in the northern part of the state. The sponsor of the amendment to an existing bill, Assemblyman Adam Gray, wants action on a compact Governor Jerry Brown signed in 2012 that would allow the tribe’s off-reservation casino resort near the Sleep Train Amphitheater. Opponents claim Brown is having a hard time finding support for the compact. Opponents have also challenged in federal court the placing of the tribe’s land into trust.  •  William Blanas and entrepreneur James L. Kouretas are battling over ownership of the Casino Royale card room in Sacramento, California. The struggle has escalated so that Blanas is accusing his erstwhile partner of fraud, document shredding and using casino money for personal use. He claims he filed the lawsuit because Kouretas wouldn’t let him look at the casino’s financial records. Kouretas is fighting another lawsuit by three men who claim to be the casino’s rightful owners. They accuse Kouretas of cheating them out of their ownership while acting as their attorney.  •  Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California, held a job fair last week. Competition is brisk for jobs in the Golden State, where unemployment is around 8 percent, compared to the national average of 6.3 percent. Many who showed up for the job fair said they have been unemployed many months. Some had run out of unemployment insurance. Some said they wanted to upgrade their status from part-time workers to full time. The casino, which has 2,400 employees, is adding 100.  •  New York Racing Association board chairman David Skorton has announced that Jane Rosenthal will be leaving the board of directors. No replacement has been named. Next year at this time, Skorton also will vacate his position as president of Cornell University to become secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He promised to remain “seriously engaged” as chairman of NYRA’s board until then.  ?   Hershey’s Chocolate World has opened at New York-New York in Las Vegas. The 13,000 square foot, two-story shopping destination is home to an 11-foot, 800-lb. Statue of Liberty replica hand carved from Hershey’s chocolate and the Empire State Building comprised of 1,800 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars.  ?  Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis has opened her first restaurant, Giada, at the Cromwell Las Vegas. DeLaurentiis recently presided over a three-hour grand opening party at the second-floor venue, which boasts panoramic views of the Strip.  •  During the first three months of its existence the Graton Resort and Casino, in Rohnert Park, made $101 million in net revenue. The casino is owned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. Although Indian casinos do not normally release such figures, Station Casinos, which manages Graton, included that information in its public filings. Standard & Poor’s considers this profit better than expected and subsequently upgraded the tribe’s credit rating from B to B+. The casino resort has 3,000 slots and 144 gaming tables.  •  The California Gambling Control Commission last week postponed action on renewing the license of Casino M8trix in San Jose. The commission wants to hear testimony on allegations that the owners illegally hid profits. The commission will probably set a hearing date at its next meeting. May 2 the Bureau of Gambling Control filed papers accusing M8trix of hiding profits in order to pay fewer taxes. Although the casino’s license expired on May 31, it is being allowed to continue operating pending the investigation. The $50 million card room opened two years ago and offers poker and baccarat. From the beginning it has been in a running battle with the city government over its desire to have more rooms devoted to gambling.  •  The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, owners of Foxwoods Casino, has announced the purchase of a wood-pellet plant in Peebles, Ohio as a way to diversify its gaming profits. It purchased the plant and another pellet plant in Ligonier, Indiana, from the Pennington Seed Company. The tribe is also seeking other investment opportunities in the wood-pellet industry. As the gaming market becomes more competitive in New England, the tribe has sought other non-gaming investment opportunities.  •  A committee of the Rhode Island Senate is mulling proposing a constitutional amendment that would forbid casinos from changing locations without the approval of the host town where they are located. The state has two casinos, the Newport Grand and the Twin River Casino.