NEWS & NOTES

NYX Gaming Group Limited announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Amaya (Alberta) Inc., formerly Chartwell Technology Inc., and CryptoLogic Limited from Amaya Inc. for an initial purchase price consisting of $110 million in cash, subject to a customary working capital adjustment, and the issuance of $40 million  exchangeable preferred shares of a subsidiary of NYX to Amaya. NYX also entered into a preferred supplier licensing agreement with a subsidiary of Amaya to provide gaming content to Amaya’s real-money casino offering, which will be integrated into the PokerStars and Full Tilt branded casino websites.  •  MGM Resorts International has hired former Nevada Congressman Steven Horsford to assist in the branding of the MGM National Harbor casino, to open next year in Maryland’s Prince George’s County. Horsford’s R&R; Resources+ consultancy was named the agency of record to lead branding efforts for the new casino, and to make sure the operator hires at least half it workforce from the county and contracts with minority-owned businesses, as promised.  •  London’s Ritz Club casino won a high court battle to recover more than US$3.1 million from a billionaire who paid for $2 million worth of chips with a check that subsequently bounced. The gambler, Swiss billionaire Safa Abdulla Al-Geabury, had fought paying for the bounced check on the basis he was a gambling addict who had excluded himself from the casino in 2009, and that his losses while the casino illegally allowed him to play totaled more than the check, interest and fees. The judge didn’t buy it, concluding he was the “author of his own misfortunes,” and ordering him to repay the $2 million plus another $1 million in interest, which had compounded at £438 a day.  •  A proposal to create a transit hub near Cordish Companies’ Maryland Live! casino has been canceled, according to a report in Maryland’s Capital Gazette. According to the report, a developer’s site plan for the area planned for the hub now shows a parking lot with 650 spaces intended to accommodate a proposed 300-room, 18-story hotel and 25,000-square-foot conference center behind the Hanover casino. A permit application to allow the start of lot construction was submitted to the Department of Inspections and county officials say Cordish has abandoned the transit hub plan, the report said.  •  The Macao Gaming Show (MGS) has announced that legal luminary Anthony Cabot, a member of the Advisory Board for the three-day industry summit at MGS 2015, will lead this year’s discussion on the Macau gaming market. Talking ahead of his body’s announcement on the theme and speaker lineup at this year’s conference at MGS, which will be held November 17-19 at the Venetian Macao, Cabot advises the industry it should expect “valuable discussions” on developing markets both in Macau and beyond into the Asian Pacific region as the Chinese government’s major investment program, One Belt One Road, kicks in.  •  Scientific Games Corporation reported second-quarter revenue of $691.5 million, up 65.8 percent from the second quarter of 2014. The company reported a net loss of $102.2 million on the revenue, compared with a net loss of $72.4 million a year ago. The loss per share was $1.19, compared with 86 cents for the second quarter of 2014. On a conference call, CEO Gavin Isaacs downplayed the significance of the loss as the company absorbs last year’s acquisition of Bally Technologies, noting that the company “made further significant progress on implementing our key initiatives” during the quarter.  •  The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, who own the Graton Rancheria Casino Resort, the largest Indian casino in Northern California, announced last week that the casino would break ground this fall on a hotel. Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris declared, “I can tell you it’s going to be the nicest thing Northern California has seen.” It will have 200 rooms and two stories. The casino is located in the Sonoma Valley about 50 miles from San Francisco.  •  The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland in Ohio has announced that it is hiring 50 part-time table dealers. Those hired will be given free training during a six-week Table Games Academy put on by Harrah’s beginning next month.  •  A new gaming compact between the Yurok Tribe of Klamath, the state of Oregon and Del Norte County will enable the tribe to add as many as 99 Class II slot machines to the Redwood Hotel Casino. Currently only Class II machines operate there. The agreement commits the tribe to have a service agreement with the local fire department and community services district and do begin construction of the Klamath Gateway Project, a redevelopment of Klamath Boulevard.  •  Members of the Red Lake tribe will vote August 19 on whether to lift an alcohol ban at two of the tribe’s Seven Clans Casinos, the ones at Thief River Falls and Warroad, in Northern Minnesota. The tribal council voted to put the matter to the members. Alcohol would still not be allowed on the reservation, but only at the two casinos.  •  Churchill Downs Inc. has reported online gaming operational revenue up 40 percent year-over-year at $112.7 million after its $885 million acquisition of Big Fish Games. Social casino users rose 24 percent on the year with revenue per person paying up 6 percent.  •  Treasure Island Hotel and Casino will now offer mobile sports and betting services to its customers. The casino partnered with Miomni Gaming to create an app for customers. A user must register for the service inside Treasure Island before being able to use it.  •  The Kalispels Tribe of Washington has put in a $3 million bid for the Spokane Country Club in Spokane. The club would serve as an amenity for guests of the nearby Northern Quest Resort and Casino. The final decision will be made with Governor Jay Inslee.  •  Gaming and Leisure Properties saw revenue grow 1.9 percent in the third quarter, while profits dropped slightly. The company said revenues from properties they lease back to casinos were up 4.6 percent.  •  Amaya Gaming has announced plans of restructuring debt, which includes repayment of $575 million of its outstanding $800 million second lien term loan. The company will repay the loans with a combination of $195 million cash and around $400 million incremental first lien term loan.  •  Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office reported that there was 1,812 suspicious transaction reports in 2014, up from 1,595 in 2013. The increase in STRs “reflects a greater awareness of anti-money laundering and the combatting of the financing of terrorism,” the office said.  ?  Cheuk Nang (Holdings) Ltd. is selling an asset in Hong Kong to raise money to invest in Macau, according to reports. ITC Properties Group Ltd
is reportedly buying Cheuk Nang Plaza in Wanchai for HK$800 million (about US$103.22 million), and will use the proceeds for investments in Malaysia and Macau. The firm is owned by Hong Kong tycoon Cecil Chao Sze Tsung. ?  In January at a sheriff’s sale, Talmer Bank purchased 3-acre property across from Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown, Ohio, for $662,000. However, at a recent auction of the property, the high bid, offered by Boak and Sons construction company, was $440,000 for land, which has been appraised at nearly $1 million. Four other bidders registered for the auction.  Auctioneer Chris Roman said Boak and Sons’ bid was rejected but he’s confident a deal will be finalized. Currently a strip mall occupies the property.