NEWS & NOTES

The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas is set to remodel its legendary Center Bar, and has budgeted $3.4 million for the upgrades. In addition to the 3,200 square feet of remodels, the hotel will also improve the resort’s convention area, while building the second local Pizza Forte.  •  The International Association of Gaming Regulators will hold its Annual Conference in Lima, Peru on October 13-15, 2015. The focus will be on improving effectiveness and efficiency of gambling oversight by regulators. This marks the first time the conference will be held in South America.  •  Andy Masi, former owner of the Light Group, is bringing to the table a new restaurant group called Clique Hospitality. The first restaurant, Salute, which will feature an extensive Italian menu, will be at Red Rock Resort.  •  Leelanau County Commissioners are considering submitting $270,000 in grant requests to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The grant requests would go towards obtaining two new vehicles, converting paper records to digital, a fund for parenting services, recycling services, a 3-D laser imagery scanner, among others.  • The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has announced it will enter the business of online gaming as an operator. The tribe will enter a partnership with Sports Interaction, a Kahnawake Gaming Commission licensee since 1999.  •  The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that it is prevented by tribal sovereignty from intervening in an alleged unfair labor practices complaint against the Chickasaw Nation.  The board applied an earlier decision involving a California tribe that cited a treaty between itself and the federal government as preventing an intervention by the NLRB. The board dismissed the complaint just as a Senate Committee is hearing a bill that would prevent the NLRB from asserting authority over tribal businesses being operated on the reservation.  •  Preliminary hearings have been set for four men accused of an attempted raid of the casino owned by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi last October. Several other members of the 15-man group earlier pleaded guilty to lesser charges of felony false imprisonment. The casino, closed in October, still has not yet reopened.  •  Twin River Casino in Rhode Island plans to add 28 gaming tables, including 16 poker tables according to Twin River Chairman John Taylor. The new games are in reaction to the slots parlor that will open later this month in Plainville, Massachusetts. Twin River currently has 80 gaming tables and over 4,000 slots. Two hundred and seventy-four machines will be removed to make room for the table games.  •  California’s legislature has ratified a new tribal state gaming compact with the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwok Indians. It replaces the original 1999 compact that will expire in five years. Under terms of the new compact the tribe will be limited to 1,800 slots, which is 200 fewer than before, but doesn’t pose a hardship for the tribe since it currently has 1,650 machines and 36 gaming tables, plus a medium size hotel and five eateries.  •  Gaming regulators in Australia have closed a loophole that allowed employees of bookmakers to avoid rigorous background checks. The change was made after organized crime figures including Vincent “Big Nose Vinnie” Panuccio were photographed for various publications working for bookmakers. Panuccio was photographed by The Age during the 2010 Melbourne Cup carnival, working for a bookmaker in the main betting ring at Flemington.  • Archaeologists exploring a site on the shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah have unearthed what they say could have been America’s first casino. The site, known simply as Cave 1, includes hundreds of carved sticks, hoops, dice and darts dating back about 700 years. University of Alberta archaeologist John “Jack” Ives says the 10,000 gambling pieces reveal at least three forms of dice games, a hoop-and-dart game and a stick game, among others.  •  Five-time world heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield is launching a global online sports betting and casino platform. Called RealDealBet.com, the platform will feature a simple, highly intuitive interface offering players rapid access to a wide array of betting options, using SBTech’s award-winning e-gaming platform. Over 60,000 events a month will be covered across more than 30 sports, including over 150 professional soccer leagues around the world. The site will feature 1,000 Live Bet types available on more than 18,000 events every month, and plenty of unique Live Bet opportunities.  •  Austrian Investment firm B & C Industrie Holding has sold its BAIH subsidiary, comprising a 7.94 percent minority stake in the part-Austrian state owned Österreichische Lotterien (ÖLG). to Novomatic Group for an undisclosed consideration. Österreichische Lotterien is majority-owned by Casinos Austria GmbH. B & C has found the best possible buyer for ÖLG. The OLG and its associated companies can benefit greatly from the expertise of Novomatic,” a company spokesperson said.  •  Scientific Games Corporation announced that it has signed a new contract with Norsk Tipping, the national lottery of Norway. Awarded through a competitive procurement process, the three-year contract began January 29 and may be extended by the lottery for an additional term. Scientific Games currently supplies Norsk Tipping with gaming system and retail technology.  •  Five senior officers at the Makkasan Police Station in Thailand have been transferred to inactive posts in the wake of a raid on an online gambling den in Huay Khwang District. Almost 200 police raided a luxury condominium where an online gaming business was operating. Two Korean nationals were arrested and equipment was seized.  •  Galaxy Entertainment Group has introduced a new four-month “Accelerated Development Program,” aimed at training and promoting team members for supervisory and management roles. Of the first 692 participants, 98 percent have graduated and been promoted into more advanced positions, the company said in a media release.  •  With a ban on casinosbySri Lanka’s new government, the nation’s biggest conglomerate will move forward with an $850 million development project sans gaming. John Keells Holdings Plc. Waterfront Properties will build a mixed-use development project in Colombo. Lenders remain committed to the project, according to the company.