NEWS & NOTES

Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings is planning to sell 510 million new shares to raise HK$774 million (US$99.8 million) to help fund a casino in the western Pacific island of Saipan. The offering, priced at HK$1.55 per share, represents about 6.37 percent of the entire issued share capital of the firm and approximately 5.99 percent of the enlarged capital, the company said. Imperial Pacific, an investor in the profit stream of Macau junket operator Hengsheng Group, was selected by the Saipan government earlier this year to develop the island’s first casino. The license commits Imperial Pacific to invest at least $3 billion on the project.  •  Macau VIP room promoter Iao Kun Group Holding reported a loss of US$0.02 per share for the third quarter on a 15 percent drop in revenue year on year to $51.9 million. The Nasdaq-listed junket reported rolling chip turnover of $15.89 billion for the year through November, an average of $1.44 billion per month, and up 1 percent on the same period last year.  •  A new low-cost airline, Tigerair Taiwan, a joint venture between Taiwan’s China Airlines and Singapore’s Tiger Airways, will begin running flights to Macau from Taoyuan International Airport on December 17. Taiwan’s first budget carrier launched in September with flights to Singapore and Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand.  •  An advertisement for the U.K.’s Health Lottery has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for allegedly encouraging irresponsible gambling. The Health Lottery ad offers to refund customers’ first two weeks of play if they sign up online to play monthly by direct debit. The ad promised to pay for up to 40 lines played in each draw and refund as much as £160 to its customers. The ASA took exception to the ad’s emphasis on the £160 refund, since it requires a commitment of £320 to be eligible for the promotion.  •  Century Casinos Inc. announced that its 75 percent-owned subsidiary was selected by Horse Racing Alberta to operate the parimutuel off-track horse betting network in Southern Alberta, Canada, starting in 2015. Century Casinos’ co-CEOs, Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, said, “This license will enable us to professionally develop and operate off-track betting offerings throughout Southern Alberta.” The company, together with its 25 percent partner, was awarded the license to operate the Southern Alberta OTB network that includes facilities in Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, as well as rural OTB facilities in the area.  •  Lawmakers are demanding an explanation from Governor Chris Christie on the falling income to the state from the New Jersey Lottery, which was recently privatized by the governor. The state treasurer’s review from last month shows the lottery’s revenue down 9.2 percent for the first quarter of the fiscal year, which ended October 31. The treasurer had predicted a growth rate of 7.4 percent. Lottery revenues fund a number of education-related agencies, including school nutrition and tuition grants.  •   M Resort Spa Casino is the first casino to offer Genie’s Power, the new slot game released by Konami Gaming. The new themed slot game is a four-level, linked mystery progressive in which players embark upon a magical adventure with a powerful blue genie. The game improves on the standard mystery link progressive with four engaging and interactive bonus features that determine the winning amount.  •  Macau-based electronic table game supplier LT Game Ltd. says its new E-Baccarat table is starting to gain traction. The firm, a unit of Paradise Entertainment Ltd, has already received its first orders for the product, said chairman Jay Chun. LT Game has three E-Baccarat tables in the casino at Macau Jockey Club, which reopened in May under a gaming license of SJM Holdings Ltd. and management of Paradise Entertainment. The table combines a live dealer with electronic betting. “We have been receiving good feedback on the E-Baccarat table, with good growth rates since we launched,” Chun told GGRAsia. Sands China Ltd. has placed an order for about 10 E-Baccarat tables to be on trial at casino resort Venetian Macao. They will be delivered early 2015.  •  The Timmins Gaming Centre in Timmins, Ontario will undergo a $500K renovation that will bring in a number of electronic games including play-on-demand, TapTix and electronic bingo. About 150 electronic terminals will be installed by early 2015.  ?  Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario has a new policy that guests can’t bring outside alcohol into the hotel. The move is part of an effort to curtail late-night partying that detracts from what management calls “a four-diamond experience.”  •  In response to a softer gaming market in Cincinnati the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana announced last week that it would lay-off  “a limited number” of employees, a number that is estimated to be less than 450. One report has about 20-table game employees laid off. Casino jobs in Indiana have declined more than 11 percent in the last five years, while the number of slot machines in the Hollywood Casino have been cut by 30 percent.  •  For possibly the first time ever, a world leader has referred to online gaming in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly. Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua made the speech, which is in a current gaming trade dispute with the United States. In his speech Browne said that the UN should make efforts to keep strong nations like the U.S. from pushing small nations such as Antigua around. The World Trade Organization several years ago gave the tiny nation a favorable ruling against the U.S. in the dispute, where the U.S. tried to keep Antiguan gaming websites from doing business with American players.  •  The general council of the Yakama Nation of Washington voted last week to suspend without pay two of its leaders, Chairman George Selam and General Council Secretary Joanna Meninick for refusing to meet with the tribal gaming commission and for refusing to bring the commission’s annual budget up for discussion during the general council session. The tribe is in the midst of expanding its Yakama Legends Casino.