NEWS & NOTES

The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, in San Diego County, facing a financial death spiral, has renegotiated its 2004 gaming compact with California Governor Jerry Brown to get lower payments. The financial picture has changed drastically in 10 years when the compact was negotiated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the tribe said in a statement last week. The old compact required the tribe to pay $17.4 million annually. That has been replaced by a percentage formula that will cut the amount the tribe pays by up to $5 million, by some estimates.  •  A casino patron is suing Harrah’s Philadelphia after what he says was intimidation by state police that forced him to pay $100 that casino officials said was “overpaid” to him at a poker table. According to the lawsuit, Alan Greenburg was approached at a Harrah’s poker table and told he had been overpaid the previous night. When he disputed, the officials sent two state police troopers to his table to demand he pay the alleged debt. When he attempted to explain the situation, the officers tried to stand him up and arrest him, after which he paid the $100. Greenburg is seeking $75,000 in punitive damages, alleging false arrest, wrongful search and seizure and violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  •  Reporters were given a first look last week at the new Horseshoe Baltimore casino, slated to open August 26. The media tour revealed a casino bathed in natural light, with accents such as  two-story video wall and views of the next-door neighbor, M&T Bank Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. The slots, table games and 25-table poker room are woven into a design that mimics the look of the city, from a brick façade to street lamps. Slots also can be found on seven outdoor terraces where gamblers can smoke while playing slots. The outdoor balconies—being promoted as the only outdoor gaming in the state—will remain open in cold weather. Two test nights with proceeds benefiting charity will take place on the Monday and Thursday before opening the night.  According to the casino, around 10,000 gamblers, guests and onlookers are expected to attend the grand opening this week.  •  The parent company of Delaware’s Dover Downs racino announced a new bank deal to refinance $60 million in credit that was set to expire last week. The new deal gives Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. a year of breathing room to continue operations without laying employees off, while it attempts to improve its financial situation. “The good news is the proverbial gun is not at our head today,” Denis L. McGlynn, CEO of Dover Downs Gaming, told Delaware’s News Journal. “The concerns we had about are we going to have to lay off people to pay (the debt)—we think that’s off the table for the period of the term of the loan… We have sort of stabilized the patient for the next 12 to 14 months.” Dover Downs, the state’s only publicly traded casino company, has been at the forefront of efforts to persuade state lawmakers to lower taxes and fees on the gaming facilities to compensate for losses due to increased competition from Maryland.  •  According to a new study, the four casinos in Maryland take $45.1 million from the state’s annual lottery sales, and that impact will double after the opening of Horseshoe Baltimore this week and MGM National Harbor in 2016. When all six casinos are operating, they are projected to siphon $87.2 million, or about 5 percent of annual lottery sales, according to a report by consulting firms Cummings Associations and Casinonomics Consulting LLC. Horseshoe alone is expected to eat up $24.8 million that would otherwise go to the lottery, and MGM National Harbor is projected to take $17.3 million.  •  Scientific Games has signed a new contract to provide instant games to the Taiwan Lottery, along with licensed properties and marketing services. The two-year contract, which was awarded through a formal procurement process by the TLC, expands SG’s profile in the Asia Pacific region. The agreement started in June this year. The TLC, an affiliate of CTBC Financial Holding, operates Taiwan’s Public Welfare Lottery, and is entrusted with the lottery’s distribution, sales, marketing and management by CTBC Bank.  •  Though some say the numbers are unrealistic, the Atlantic City Airshow officially drew 800,000 to the shore resort and neighboring towns Wednesday, August 13. The annual air show includes performances by the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team and the famed U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.  •  Las Vegas International Airport will add weekly nonstop flights from Monterrey, Mexico in December. VivaAerobus, a Mexican low-fare carrier, will start fares at just $99.  •  The biggest political donor in Nevada isn’t Sheldon Adelson or Steve Wynn, but Cary Katz, founder of a student loan company in Las Vegas. Along with his wife, Jacqueline, Katz has donated $860,800 during the 2014 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Adelson and his wife Miriam donated $391,000, Wynn and his ex-wife Elaine a paltry $390,400.  •  International anti-crime and corruption agency Transparency International, has partnered with Europe’s Association of European Professional Football League and the German Football League to combat match fixing.  •  Melco Crown Entertainment’s Philippine subsidiary is partnering with The Ault Group to bring two world-class nightclubs to City of Dreams Manila, which is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter.  •  Thunder Valley Casino to make itself more competitive has brought back bingo to its northern California location. Pano Hall, which seats 500, will be used for bingo tournaments. The casino, owned by the United Auburn Indian Community, offered bingo when it opened in 2003, but dropped it in favor of slots and table games. However, several renovations have created much more floor space and the casino has decided to bring back the games.  According to spokesman Doug Elmets, “This is something our patrons are clamoring for.”  •  A California appeals court has ruled that former employees of the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa can’t sue the Morongo Band of Mission Indians due to sovereign immunity. The former employees had argued that the tribal state gaming compact allowed the tribe to be sued. The court ruled that the compact creates a process for hearing employment claims that is under the tribal government.  •  The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise announced last week that it is partnering with Navajo Agricultural Products Industry to serve more tribal produce and products at the nation’s three casinos. NAPI includes 75,000 acres of farmland in New Mexico. The casinos plan to include more locally produced flour, pinto beans and russet potatoes in its restaurant offerings.  •  The California legislature has less than two weeks to act on the tribal state gaming compact with the Enterprise Rancheria or else punt the decision on the Yuba County casino to
next year. A tribal spokesman says that it is working on “options” but wouldn’t say what those are. The tribe wants to build a casino and hotel on 40 acres. No local lawmakers are willing to carry the bill. Currently it is stuck in the Senate Rules Committee. The casino is the subject of two federal lawsuits challenging the federal government’s action putting the land into trust.