NEWS & NOTES

David Chua Ming Huat is resigning from Genting Hong Kong effective Jan. 2, 2015, the company said. No reason was given for his departure. Hong Kong-listed Genting HK is a joint venture partner in the Resorts World Manila casino in the Philippines, which is undergoing expansion, and plans to develop a second resort in the city. The company also owns Hong Kong-based Star Cruises cruise line.  •  Fronton Holdings recently completed the acquisition of Casino Miami Jai-Alai. Fronton won the property at an auction required by the bankruptcy court following Florida Gaming Centers’ Chapter 11 filing. Rene Guim, spokesman for Casino Miami Jai-Alai, said Fronton’s financial partners also provided the original funding for the 40,000 square foot expansion of the Miami Jai-Alai fronton, which added more than 1,000 Vegas-style slot machines, two new bars, a restaurant and a renovated poker room. Guim said work will begin in the next few months on additional changes.  •  China Sports Lottery Administration Center is recording daily sales have quadrupled to more than $64.2 million since the World Cup kicked off. The lottery saw a new single-day record on June 21^st as sports lottery sales topped $89.1 million. Total sales for first nine days of the World Cup is about $648.6 million almost twice the $372.9 million generated during the entire 2010 World Cup.  •  Singapore is apparently interested in the strict regulations imposed by France on online poker, even though critics of the system say it has hurt online play in France. Singapore officials met with ARJEL, French gambling regulator, to study how the online poker market in France has evolved and developed since it was regulated in the country in 2010. Officials for ARJEL say Singapore officials are interested in the French models “strict requirements.” Critics of the French system, however, say the country’s strict rules and high taxes have driven away recreational players from French online poker sites.  •  Casino tycoon Phil Maloof is selling his rooftop mansion at the Palms in Las Vegas. Price tag: $38 million. Maloof’s family built the Palms and for years owned the Sacramento Kings NBA team, which they sold last year for a reported $347 million. The home, known as the Founder’s Penthouse, has 7,100 square feet of living space and 27,000 square feet total.  •  Four top Macau gaming executives have been named to the electoral college to choose the city’s next chief executive next month. They are MGM China Holdings Co-Chair Pansy Ho, Galaxy Entertainment Group Vice Chairman Francis Lui, SJM Holdings CEO Ambrose So and SJM Executive Director Angela Leong.  •  Macau junket operator and investor Sino Credit Holdings said it is no longer doing business in the city’s gaming industry. The company formerly known as Dore Holdings is now focused on expanding its “financing services” business in Mainland China and Hong Kong, it said. Revenue derived by Sino Credit from gaming was HK$24.3 million (US$3 million) for the 12 months ended March 31. The company had been involved in the junket business since at least 2006, according to company documents.  ?  Nevada Gold & Casinos has renewed its annual licenses for 750 slot units in South Dakota. Due to the company’s improved capital structure, lower interest rate, and free cash flow, these fees ($2,000 per machine) were paid from available cash on hand, the company reported last week.  ?  Danish national lottery and gaming operator Danske Spil has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in games developer CEGO. Under the agreement, Danske Spil will acquire 60 percent of CEGO’s total shares. Danske Spil said the acquisition forms part of its strategy to further strengthen its position in the Danish online gaming sector.  •  The Showcase Mall on the Las Vegas Strip is under new management. Majority owners the Nakash family and their partner, investor Eli Gindi, recently paid $145 million for a 190,000-square-foot portion of the property and now will serve as its landlords. The sellers were Angelo, Gordon & Co., a New York investment firm, and City Center Realty Partners, a San Francisco-based developer.  ?  Would-be casino developers in New York are negotiating with a coalition of cultural and fine arts organizations to ensure that the first wave of commercial casinos in the upstate region don’t pose a threat to other entertainment venues. The Upstate Theater Coalition for a Fair Game, which includes the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, Broadway Theater at Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Sullivan County, says 10 of the 17 casino applicants have agreed to support nongaming entertainment centers in the region.  •  Macau VIP gaming promoter Iao Kun Group Holding has applied to list its shares on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Iao Kun has VIP gaming rooms in the StarWorld, Galaxy Macau, Sands Cotai Central, City of Dreams Macau and Le Royal Arc casinos.  •  The new “Batman Classic TV Series” slot machine from Aristocrat Technologies was introduced at California’s Pechanga Resort by Batman himself, Adam West. Before taking the ceremonial first spin on the new slot, themed after the campy 1960s Batman TV series, West said, “I’m so proud to have been a part of a beloved TV series that continues to bring joy to generations of fans. Featuring clips and iconic catch phrases from the original series, and with new voice-overs from me, it’s great to see the fans continue to get excited for Batman with this new slot game.”  •  Start-up slot manufacturer Gamblit Gaming announced that it has received certification from Gaming Laboratories International in the U.K. for its new internet wagering platform, random number generator and first game. “The GLI certification of our new platform is a validation of the company’s technology and a major step forward,” said Eric Meyerhofer, CEO of Gamblit Gaming. “We plan to release groundbreaking entertainment in real-money gaming and look forward to our launch in the U.K.”  •  Galaxy Gaming announced the installation of its table game Lucky Ladies into six different Groupe Lucien Barrière casinos in France. The event marks the first French approval of a proprietary Galaxy table game. In addition, both Lucky Ladies and another popular Galaxy table game, 21+3, are currently offered in five Groupe Lucien Barrière casinos in Switzerland.  •  Slot machine revenue in Pennsylvania dropped 6 percent in June compared to figures posted last year. Overall gross slot machine revenue for the fiscal year has slipped 4.5 percent, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Slot revenue peaked during the 2011-12 fiscal year, when the machines grossed $2.4 billion. For the 2013-14 fiscal year, the gross ha
s dipped almost $160 million. Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack saw the largest decline in the last year, dropping more than 12 percent. The only bright spot in the state was Valley Forge Casino Resort, which hat its slot revenue grow more than 22.5 percent over last year’s figures.  •  Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s ability to negotiate a debt exchange that keeps it out of bankruptcy is being complicated by a surge in credit-default swaps that would be profitable if the casino operator defaults, according to a report in Bloomberg. The net amount of outstanding contracts on Caesars debt surged to $2.14 billion on June 13, the most since November 2008, according to Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. data compiled by Bloomberg. Outstanding derivatives have climbed 50 percent from a year ago as prices on shorter-dated swaps surged, indicating traders are putting on more wagers that the company will fail within 12 months. Caesars has struggled to finance a $23 billion debt load since being taken private in 2008 by Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital for $30.7 billion, and has been clashing with its creditors in a saga that may presage a broader restructuring of its unsustainable debt load.  •  The Las Vegas Business Academy (LVBA) has awarded its fifth scholarship recipient, Keivan Roebuck, $75,000 to complete the MBA program at Lee Business School and the Juris Doctorate program at William S. Boyd School of Law, both at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The scholarship includes full college funding, extensive mentoring opportunities with the LVBA’s board of directors and extended course offerings at premier university leadership programs around the world. The LVBA scholarship is awarded to extraordinary college graduates who have made significant academic achievements, demonstrated strong leadership skills and have made a notable contribution to the community.  •   Montana’s Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have purchased the 13-acre Sunny Shores Casino resort on Flathead Lake in Big Arm for $1.2 million. The property along several hundred feet of shoreline includes cabins, boat slips, buildings, a restaurant and casino building straddling Highway 93.  The property is being remediated to remove contamination from an underground gasoline leak in 2005.  •  The Philippines Civil Aeronautics Board has granted Macau an increase in weekly seat entitlements from 4,500 to 7,020. Currently, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and AirAsia Zest fly to Macau. Macau junket investor Amax Holdings posted a profit of HK$65.4 million (US$8.4 million) in its fiscal year ended March 31, mostly the result of the sale of  subsidiary Ace High Group for HK$102 million. Amax posted a HK$39.4 million loss for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.   •  California’s Tejon Tribe has announced plans to build a casino on recently acquired land in Mettler in Kern County. The sale is still pending. The federal government in 2012 reaffirmed the tribe after nearly two decades of effort.  •  An administrative federal judge with the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that it is illegal for Pauma Casino in California’s San Diego County to prohibit workers from wearing pro union buttons. The tribe had punished several employees for showing support for UNITE-HERE, which is trying to organize the casino’s employees. The casino had claimed that it had not violated federal law and that pro-union buttons were offensive to patrons.  •  Members of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region have reached an agreement on promoting cooperation on tourism. The region includes Guangdong and eight other provinces in China and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.