NEWS & NOTES

MGM China is reported to be eyeing investment in a non-gaming resort on Macau’s neighboring Hengqin Island. Authorities in mainland China, which governs Hengqin, are considering whether to give the go-ahead for the land to be used. The project would not contain a casino as they are not permitted on Hengqin. Analysts expect most of Macau’s major operators to eventually seek to invest in the island, which has been designated as a special economic zone by Beijing. Galaxy Entertainment Group already has plans for a resort there and said recently it expects to break ground early next year.  •  The Board of Directors of Table Trac, Inc. last week accepted the resignation of its CEO, Glenn Goulet and appointed current CFO, Brian Hinchley, to the position of Interim CEO. Chad Hoehne, president and founder, said, “Table Trac has a strong management team and an experienced board. As we go into our 20th year, we are well positioned for this transition, achieving our business plan and expanding our system sales into world-wide opportunities.”  •  Spain-based Codere has named Alejandro Pascual as new chief operating officer of Codere’s European business. He will replace retiring COO Jaime Estalella Carvajal. Pascual was formerly COO of Codere Italia.   •  An arbitration panel in Singapore has lifted an injunction on Global Gaming Asset Management’s ability to sell its shares in Bloomberry Resorts, the PSX-listed owner of Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino. GGAM was fired in September 2013 as manager of Solaire, which opened in March of that year at a cost of US$750 million but struggled in the early going as the first of four billion-dollar casinos set to rise on Manila Bay as part of the government’s bid to transform the country into an Asian gaming and tourism hub on a scale with Macau and Singapore. Bloomberry posted a profit of PHP3.3 billion ($74 million) for the first nine months of 2014 on revenue of PHP22.4 billion, up 127 percent from a year earlier.  •  Crown Resorts plans to build the new apartment and non-gaming hotel complex in Melbourne opposite its flagship Crown Melbourne casino resort. Crown said in a statement that the land is controlled by the Schiavello Group, and Crown has agreed to spend A$50 million to jointly develop the complex.  •  The Mississippi Choctaws are set to reopen the Golden Moon Hotel and Casino on January 31, 2015, after operations were cut back due to the economic downturn. A restructuring of debt made possible the necessary upgrades to hotel rooms and the gaming floor.  •  Austriangambling addicthas his 800,000 Euro debt reduced by 440,000 Euro after an unprecedented win in a Viennese court. Novomatic, the company who runs 1,500 of nearly 2,600 non-casino slots in Vienna was forced to cough up the money after a psychic evaluation presented as evidence convinced the courts his gambling compacts with Novomatic should be annulled. Novomatic intends to appeal, according to a comment made to the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.  •  The rock band Foreigner withhighlight the National Indian Gaming Association’s trade show April 1, 2015, at the Wendell Chino Humanitarian Awards Banquet. The award celebrates the legacy of President Wendell Chino of the Mescalero Apache Nation. President Chino dedicated his life to the protection of tribal sovereignty and advancing Indian self-governance. The event will be held at the San Diego Convention Center.  •  Tropicana Entertainment joins forces with Carnival Cruise Lines providing many advantages to players club members. Tony Rodio, President and CEO of Tropicana Entertainment Inc. feels Carnival shares the same commitment to excellence as they do. Trop Advantage offers five reward tier levels, and an opportunity for a free cruise may be enough to convince players to play for that higher tier level.   •  Australian betting giant Tabcorp will take its A$686 million compensation claim against the Victorian government to the Australian High Court. Tabcorp lost a Victorian Supreme Court appeal over the compensation it says it is owed after the company, together with rival Tatts, lost their machine gaming duopoly in Victoria in 2012. The Victorian Supreme Court in June ordered the government to pay Tatts $540 million in compensation, while Tabcorp’s push for $686 million was dismissed. Tabcorp then lost an appeal against the ruling earlier this month, as did the government when it attempted to have the order to compensate Tatts overturned.  •  TheKings Mountain Awareness Groupwent to Washington with petitions in hand, consisting of 1,500 signatures, in addition to city councilman Tommy Hawkins’ letter retracting his support of a casino owned by the Catawba Indian Nation on Dixon School Road at I-85. The main purpose of the group was to let the Department of Indian affairs know that indications of community support initially received were misrepresented. The main issue was that a complete environmental study has neither been completed or approved.  •  Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino is now offering a free mobile app that empowers patrons to make restaurant reservations, book rooms and concert tickets and get loyalty points. Discounts and other promotions are also available through the app. The app is available through iTunes or Google Play. •  The $360 million, three-story casino being built by the Jamul Indian Village in San Diego County and its partner Penn National Gaming, is one third complete, despite intense local opposition and legal challenges. A 2016 opening date is projected. The casino will have 1,700 slots, 50 gaming tables and several dining and drinking venues. Although the tribe has won repeated lawsuits brought to stop the casino, opponents have not given up.  Glenn Revell of the Jamul Action Committee declared last week, “They’re gambling that at the end of the day they can prevail in court. If they’re correct, they’re months ahead on their construction schedule. If they’re incorrect and we prevail, they have a very expensive hole in the ground.”  •   The government of the Czech Republic to impose tougher measures to restrict access to gambling as part of a new policy that classifies the industry alongside “addictive substances”. There were 7.5 gambling machines per 1,000 inhabitants in the country last year, according to official count. In addition, Czechs are reported to place more than US$635 million in online bets with licensed operators and about the same with untaxed foreign sites. The government says up to 170,000 adults in the country are at risk of problem gambling, while 80,000 of these individuals may have developed gambling addiction issues.  •  Australia’s Reef Casino Trust said it expects distributable profit for 2014 to be about A$12.1 million after taking into account project costs of $600,000 related to a failed takeover attempt by Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung’s Aquis Group. Net profit for the year after taking into account di
stributions to unit holders will be about $6 million. Last year, the company reported net profit of $6.9 million. The distribution for the second half is expected to be 17.25 cents a unit, for a full-year distribution of 26.02 cents. A planned $276 million takeover by Aquis, which wants to build a multibillion-dollar gaming resort near the Great Barrier Reef, fell through after failing to gain regulatory approval by a November 28 deadline.  •  The board of commissioners of Michigan’s Gogebic County voted 5-1 last week to give “strong” support to a proposal to build a convention center and casino in Wakefield on an Indian reservation of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Chippewa adjacent to Indianhead Mountainresort. Wakefield Township supports the $22 million project being pushed by the owner of the Indianhead-Blackjack Mountains resort, Art Dumke. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s office has indicated his support. Permission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs would be required.  •  Chile’s Marina del Sol recently launched its mobile MDS Casino app for mobile devices that is based on similar mobile apps offered in Las Vegas. The mobile app allows users to track various casino promotions and use their available points at participating restaurants, hotels and other partners. Programmers also intend the app to eventually enable users to directly buy entertainment tickets. The app for smartphones and tablets already has had 100 downloads from Google Play and soon will be available from the Apple AppStore.  •  Caesars Entertainment Corp. has been recognized as “one of America’s most community-minded companies” by the Civic 50, part of the Points of Light volunteer organization. The Civic 50 survey evaluates companies based on community engagement, company policies, and how a company measures the success of its community engagement program. ?  The Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas has finished a five-month, $15 million renovation of its Gold Tower. More than 460 rooms on the first 15 floors got new lighting, granite countertops and tile and other upgrades.  ?  A steak and seafood restaurant, Off the Strip, will open at the Linq in Las Vegas on Christmas Eve. The two-story bar and bistro will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  ?  A Smashburger restaurant will open at Caesars Palace on December 23. It will be the ninth Smashburger location in Las Vegas but the first on the Strip. ?  The states involved in the Monopoly Millionaires’ Club lottery game will halt ticket sales for the game as of December 26, due to poor sales. Twenty-two states plus the District of Columbia current offer the multi-state lottery game, which was in the works for years but only started two months ago.  •  Irish bookmaker Boylesports has undergone a re-brand, as the bookmaker set to target the U.K. gambling market. Boylesports founder John Boyle and champion jockey Barry Geraghty unveiled the new Boylesports brand at a special event in Dublin. Industry news source EGR Magazine reports that the re-brand will be supported by a new multi-content advertising campaign, which will be launched in the U.K. in early 2015. The operator will also launch new product inventory in the coming months.  •  Clarion Events, organizer of the ICE Totally Gaming trade show, announced the launch of the London Casino Club, a hospitality and off-hours networking program which involves selected gaming partners comprised of the Hippodrome (Leicester Square), Aspers (Westfield Stratford City) and seven Grosvenor Casinos situated throughout central/west London. The initiative, which has been developed in conjunction with National Casino Forum, involves a wide range of compelling hospitality offers, including an American-themed Super Bowl party at the G Casino in Piccadilly, a champagne reception and free poker tournament at Aspers, a complimentary shuttle service from ICE venue ExCel Centre, and free drink and casino tour courtesy of the Hippodrome.  •  Online gaming developer Leander Games has signed a content deal to supply Betfair. The agreement is the latest partnership to be announced at the turn of the year, following various launches with Full Tilt, Vera&John and Paddy Power. Leander’s LeGa platform will make its complete portfolio of proprietary slots available to Betfair, along with the best on offer from independent suppliers. Players will be able to access the games portfolio on mobile as well as desktop, following a simultaneous launch for both platforms that caters for on-the-go customers.  •  Intralot successfully completed the transition of the National Lottery of Ireland to its central system and terminals. Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) is the new official operator of the National Lottery for the next 20 years, having won a competitive bidding process. Intralot Ireland, a subsidiary of the Intralot Group, has been selected as the technology partner of PLI, to provide set-up, maintenance and support of new lottery software platforms and terminals.  •  Maryland’s Hollywood Casino Perryville won approval to eliminate 308 of its 1,158 slot machines. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission voted 4-2 to grant the request. Hollywood General Manager Matthew Heiskell told the commission at its monthly meeting that the reduction is temporary, and will open up space for “additional amenities.” The state is expected to take a short-term revenue hit of about $1.2 million, according to projections released at the meeting.