NEWS & NOTES

The Twin River casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island hopes to build a 200-room hotel next to the slots parlor. John E. Taylor, chairman of the holding company that operates the casino, discussed the changes at a business group meeting last week, where he added that the casino also plans to add karaoke and live entertainment. Building a hotel will require the permission of the city of Lincoln and the state’s General Assembly. The moves, said Taylor, are defensive in nature, and intended to blunt the effects of new casino resorts in Massachusetts.  •  The Win River Casino in Redding, Northern California, is bowing to customer pressure and getting rid of its smoking ban, which went into effect last March. Smoking will resume February 16 on the gaming floor, but not in the rest of the facility  •  On February 6, Indian police arrested 17 people accused of betting on the outcome of elections in Delhi. The group, which was based in Haldoni and started with bets on cricket matches, then started taking bets on candidates for the Delhi Assembly. The group is suspected of accepting the bets through WhatsApp and chits.  ?   The Venetian Macao is marking the Chinese New Year with a “Seasons of Prosperity” celebration at the resort. It features a 3-D light and sound show, a sculpture exhibit based on the Chinese zodiac, drum performances, lion dances and appearances by the God of Fortune.The party kicked off last week and will continue into early March.  ?  Australian casino mogul James Packer is suing a residential property developer for infringing on the name and logo of Packer’s Crown Resorts. The suit involves property developer Iwan Sunito, whose Crown Group and subsidiaries, according to the complaint, have allegedly breached trademarks, logos and brand names of Crown Resorts, attempting to associate the real estate brand with the familiar Crown Resorts name in Australia. The complaint identifies 16 different trademarks allegedly infringed by Sunito’s company.  •  Lawmakers in Kentucky, who have consistently rejected efforts to legalize casino gaming, are looking to boost the charity gambling in the state. Statewide revenue from charitable gaming has declined by 40 percent in the past decade. Two bills in the state legislature aim to boost the industry by letting people play an electronic version of pull-tabs. The same measure would specifically ban so-called internet sweepstakes cafes, which allow people to buy internet access and win cash prizes on casino-style games. The measure’s sponsor, state Senator Mike Wilson, complained to the Associated Press that the cafes represent “an illegal activity” that opportunistically drains charity money.  •  NYX Gaming Group Limited is entering newly regulated markets with the launch of NYX OGS and the signing of its NYX Poker product with Iveriabet. Iveriabet, which is part of Casino Iveria, the Georgian land-based casino group, took NYX OGS games live last month and further signed to take advantage of the NYX Poker product, formerly Ongame. David Flynn, executive vice president for NYX Gaming Group, commented, “I am delighted that Iveriabet has chosen to partner with NYX for two of our leading products. These agreements are strategically important.” Added Sebastian Molina, board member of Iveribet, “Iveriabet stands for offering first-class products to its players, which are in the forefront of the online and mobile gaming experience… We’re convinced that NYX is the right partner to deliver in this respect.”  •  Cash recognition technology provider Giesecke & Devrient rejoined the International Banknote Designers Association (IBDA). “Design and design competence are at the core of producing banknotes,” said Ralf Wintergerst, group executive, banknote at G&D. “Today’s state-of-the-art banknotes are very complex affairs. Designers are juggling many different requirements: the design must meet the aesthetic requirements of the respective currency culture, ensure easy and unambiguous verification by people and machines, integrate and combine security features intelligently, provide the best possible counterfeit protection, and enable different printers to produce the respective banknote identically. Joining IBDA seemed a natural step considering the importance of design in today’s banknotes.”  •  Caesars Entertainment won a court victory in a lawsuit filed over credit-default swaps on which it failed to pay interest. A three-person arbitration board ruled that a so-called “failure to pay” credit event had not been triggered prior to December 20, the day the credit-default swaps in question expired, by the company’s decision earlier that week to skip debt payments. The panel’s decision will be binding for all market participants. The independent review group was called on for only the second time in the history of the credit-swaps marketplace after a 15-firm ISDA committee of bond traders that normally determines such cases failed to reach the 80 percent voting majority required to resolve the matter. The arbitration verdict clears the way for an auction that will determine payouts for the remainder of the swaps after the ISDA committee ruled unanimously on January 16 that Caesars’ decision to file for Chapter 11 protection that month triggered payments on those contracts.  •  Maryland is considering a plan to open a small casino inside Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The machines would be placed in a casino-style room, beyond security at the airport, so only ticketed passengers would be allowed to play, which would prevent competition with nearby Horseshoe casino and Maryland Live! The new legislation would set up a referendum for voters to give the new slots final approval.  •  A New Jersey card-counter is suing Caesars Entertainment Corp. after he says he was ill-treated and illegally detained by staff at Caesars’ Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Ross Miller claims he was illegally detained by staff after Caesars officials spotted him counting cards at blackjack in June 2013. He also says staff stole nearly $5,000 in chips from him. Miller is suing Caesars in a separate action for illegal detention at three Caesars properties in Atlantic City. Miller is suing Caesars for theft, false imprisonment, defamation, battery and malicious prosecution.  •  The Clarion Hotel and Casino is no more, as it imploded the morning of February 10, at roughly 3:00am. The hotel went down with a fight though, as the elevator shaft didn’t fall with its counterparts at first. Lorenzo Doumani, who purchased the property last October for $22.5 million in cash, plans on turning Convention Center Drive into the new prime area of the Strip.  ·  Station Casinos will operate a sports book inside Baldini’s Casino in Sparks, Nevada. Financial terms were not discussed, but Stations will renovate and refurbish the existing sports book at Baldini’s. The sports book is expected to launch this summer.  •  Nevada Legislators met recently to discuss Nevada’s live entertainment tax. The tax generates more than $150 million per year, but is filled   with loopholes. The tax currently sits at either 10 percent or 5 percent. There are currently major exemptions for non-gaming events such as NASCAR events, boxing matches, and baseball games.  •  Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman A.G. Burnett stated the department was restructuring its workforce to include three employees who work with cybercrime investigations. Burnett also submitted a $4 million budget request for the potential board’s online information system.  •  Workers at New York’s Montreign Resort Casino began clearing land for the property, which began with the parking lot. The site will be built on a 1,700 acre site, and cost $1.1 billion. It is expected to open mid-2017.  •  Crystal Cruises will offer table games and video poker machines to guests aged 18 and over. Guests will be able to convert shipboard credits in the form of non-cashable slot vouchers, and winning wagers will be in the form of cashable vouchers and chips for use towards several amenities offered on the ship.  •  South Point  is thrilled with the results from the Super Bowl and the first NCAA championship. Prop bets are soaring too, as South Point took in $30,000 for wagers on the Super Bowl’s pre-game coin flip. Legendary South Point book maker Jimmy Vaccaro sees a bright future for Nevada-based sports wagering, and feels the NCAA championship can be a big new piece of wagering.  •  Schenectady City Council approved a change to waterfront zoning, which will help Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor. Building heights have been doubled to a maximum of 110 feet, while 19,000 square feet total of signs is allowed on a 60-acre parcel. The casino will be open in about two years.  •  Arkansas’ Lottery may move away from an independent commission and put under the governor’s control. A proposed bill advanced to a Senate vote, which some feel would help save money by cutting out the middle man, which in this case is the commission.  •  Nevada Tourism will be marketed by Fahlgren Mortine, of Columbus, Ohio. The state board approved a $20.2 million contract, of which $9.6 million will be spent on media buys. The catchy song “Don’t Fence me in” will still be used, just with different commercials. Marketing will expand to India, and while there are no direct flights from India to Las Vegas, California is home to 600,000 people of Indian descent.