NEWS & NOTES

The Philippines’ Bloomberry Resorts, operator of Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino, is eyeing international expansion after raising PHP5.66 billion (US$126.1 million) from a new share offering. The PSX-listed company said its controlling shareholder, Prime Metroline Holdings, sold 435 million shares and will subscribe to the same number of new shares. The shares were sold at PHP13 per unit.Net proceeds will be used for “general corporate purposes, including potential international expansion and repayment of debt,” the company said. Bloomberry posted a profit of PHP3.3 billion for the first nine months of the year on gross revenue of PHP22.4 billion, up 127 percent from a year earlier.  •  Siberia’s first casino has opened with 16 table games and 20 slot machines. The Siberian Coin in the central Asian region of Altai is part of a new resort hotel slated to open next year. The VIP-focused venue also features a pawnshop and 70-seat restaurant and is targeting players from surrounding cities within Russia.  •  The Senet Group, a new self-regulation body founded by four of the UK’s largest betting operators, has appointed London-based agency The Corner to head up its new responsible gambling campaign. The Corner will produce a television-led campaign, which is expected to launch early next year. Senet is made up of Ladbrokes, William Hill, Gala Coral and Paddy Power.  •  Romania’s parliament isconsidering relaxing the country’s gaming laws by scrapping a 25 percent withholding tax on winnings and extending licenses from five years to 10 years.  •  The governing council of the Welsh city of Swansea may impose a ban on any new casinos. The city has authorized four casino licenses but has issued only one. The city had been home to the largest casino in Wales under the Aspers brand, but it proved unprofitable and closed its doors in 2012 after only five years in operation.  •  Las Vegas based SK+G Advertising recently marked 15 years in business and commemorated the agency’s milestone with the launch of a new website, SKG.global, that recalls the successful campaigns created over the past decade and a half, while introducing an updated expression of the company’s multi-discipline capabilities. The new site underscores the evolution of the industry and embraces technology’s role in telling stories that connect brands with their audience. The site was launched to more accurately reflect a modernized and evolved approach to marketing communications and incorporate the agency’s success in markets outside of the U.S. such as Macau, The Bahamas and the Philippines.  •  The Properties Plus player loyalty rewards program, provided to lotteries by Scientific Games Corporation, recently achieved a significant milestone. The number of rewards shipped to lottery players now exceeds one million. “We are pleased to watch this number climb as players increasingly embrace the added value that their respective lotteries are providing via this program,” said Todd Kozee, director of merchandising and product development for Scientific Games. “This milestone is indicative of our ability to provide lotteries with turn-key programs that enhance player engagement and help to drive revenue.”  •  The player-focused Facebook page of slot-maker International Game Technology,  www.facebook.com/IGTJackpots, just surpassed the million-fan milestone, cementing IGT in the record books for having the gaming industry’s largest online jackpot-crazed virtual community. “It’s a very exciting milestone to garner a million fans on our IGT Jackpots Facebook page,” said Susan Cartwright, IGT VP of corporate communications. “We have worked diligently to cultivate an extremely engaged community of slot fanatics that we can engage to support wins at our customers’ properties. Through this page, we’re able to affirm that no one pays jackpots like IGT and that IGT creates the content that players crave.”  •  Italian gaming company GTECH S.p.A. confirmed a full-year target for core profit, but warned about 2014 sales as its revenues from U.S. operations were below expectations in the July-September period. The Rome-based company, which plans to complete a $4.7 billion takeover of IGT by June 2015, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were up 15.2 percent in the third quarter.  •  The Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County, California, voted last week to approve of a contract for the Sheriff’s Department to provide police services to the 249-member Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Approval of the $849,000 annual contract has been somewhat rocky, with several versions of the contract sent back and forth. The supervisors’ concerns included worry that a contract could be enforced with a sovereign Indian tribe.  •  Two mainstays of the Vegas locals market, Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming, are planning improvements.  Station Casinos will spending $55 million to upgrade its flagship properties, Red Rock Resort and Green Valley Ranch Resort. Boyd Gaming will remodel hotel rooms at the Suncoast Casino and the Orleans.  ?  President Obama’s nominee to be chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission began hearings last week before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The nominee, Jonedev Chaudhuri is a member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma and is the current vice chairman of the commission. He was nominated to succeed Tracie Stevens. He is also acting chairman and last month ordered the closure of the casino operated in California by the Chukchansi Indians.  •  Another recruit to the consortium pushing online poker in California with PokerStars has joined with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. The new partner is the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. If the arrangement were to be approved, PokerStars would be a subcontractor to the tribes, as well as the card clubs that are also part of the group, including Bicycle Casino and Commerce Club. San Manuel Chairman Lynn Valbuena greeted the announcement: “We are convinced that the various interests must work together if we are to be successful in establishing a well-regulated environment and the best-in-class Internet poker industry for California.” The tribe is one of the few not to oppose the participation of PokerStars in online poker in the state. Many gaming tribes have opposed PokerStars, citing the Justice Department’s complaints that the online poker provider allowed U.S. players to play although online poker for money is considered a violation of U.S. law, unless it is allowed within a state’s boundaries.