Online live gaming solution supplier Evolution Gaming announced that to facilitate expansion within its Riga, Latvia headquarters, it will buy out its landlord. Evolution is paying €12.4 million for the company that owns the building in Riga where hit has rented more than half of the total office space since 2011. Company officials said acquisition of the building was the best option strategically and financially to facilitate expansion. The purchase price of the company that owns the building was less than the external valuation of the building itself. “The acquisition provides clear strategic advantages, as we strengthen the control over our future and significantly easier will be able to expand the studio floor space to meet the big demand for more tables and dedicated environments,” said Evolution CEO Jens von Bahr. • Online gaming supplier Playtech has launched Prestige Roulette, a live-action roulette game designed for operation across all channels and platforms. Using high-definition video, the game offers players several camera angles of each roulette wheel spin, along with quick betting and an instant replay of the previous game win. “Playtech offers cutting-edge, value-added live casino solutions to the industry’s leading operators,” said Playtech COO Shimon Akad, “including the leading live platform, four global networks, and best-of-breed products and games combining to create the most authentic and complete omnichannel live gaming experience available on the market today.” • SoftSwiss has announced a partnership with NetEnt, becoming an official B2B and B2C reseller of NetEnt’s gaming solutions and games. SoftSwiss CEO Ivan Montik said, “I am very happy to begin partnership with NetEnt, one of the most prominent and dynamic iGaming companies in the market. This will give a new boost to SoftSwiss development as a company as well. Already at this initial stage of partnership, we have gained experience that we’ll try to adopt in order to come closer to market leadership.” • Sportech Racing Digital, a division of Sportech Plc., has been selected by an affiliate of Penn National Gaming to deliver new internet and mobile solutions for parimutuel betting. Sportech will provide the G4 framework for internet betting, and the Digital Link app for mobile betting, along with a package of associated services that includes call center betting, customer care and tech support. Sportech is the exclusive provider of parimutuel betting services to Penn National Gaming’s 12 racetracks and four off-track betting locations located in nine different jurisdictions. • The Pennsylvania House of Representatives unanimously approved sponsored by Lebanon County Republican Rep. Mauree Gingrich, which would provide the court with an additional sentencing provision when certain individuals are convicted of trespassing at casinos after voluntarily putting themselves on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s self-exclusion list. Under current law, anyone who puts themselves on the list, then enters a casino, may be charged with trespassing. Gingrich’s bill would direct them to be evaluated to determine if the person has a gambling disorder and whether there is a need for counseling or other treatment as part of the penalty. “Courts have no choice but to charge these individuals criminally when they violate the self-exclusion law, when what they really need is a little help,” said Gingrich. “My bill would give the court the authority to require offenders to be evaluated as part of their sentence.” Gingrich’s legislation now goes to the Senate for consideration. • Prince George’s County, Maryland, passed a law prohibiting the use of electronic cigarettes everywhere smoking is prohibited—except at the new MGM National Harbor casino, slated to open next year. While tobacco smoking still will be prohibited at the MGM, like it is in all other Maryland casinos, patrons will be permitted to “vape” with e-cigarettes while gambling. • Penn National Gaming announced it received notice from the Nasdaq stock exchange that it is not in compliance with listing rules, an announcement the company anticipated. Penn National, which owns the Tropicana Las Vegas and M Resort, said last month it had delayed filing its third quarter financial statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to restate a change in its lease classification for casinos that were spun off into real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties. The company has 60 calendar days to regain compliance, and executives say they expect to meet that date. • Real estate brokerage firm CBRE Las Vegas has listed the abandoned and unfinished 3,875-room Fontainebleau on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip for sale for $650 million. • Drivers for ride-hailing companies Uber, Lyft, and others must pay a $25 business license fee to operate in Clark County, the county commission unanimously voted November 17. • Allegiant Air said in August 2016 it will cease its non-stop routes from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland in order to retire its fleet of aging 757 aircraft. • Fox Sports bought two annual NCAA men’s basketball holiday tournaments in Las Vegas, the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, scheduled November 26-27 at the Orleans Arena, and the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, scheduled December 22-23, also at the Orleans. • The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority during its November monthly meeting approved paying $475,000 to a Las Vegas firm to develop bid documents to demolish the former Riviera Casino and its 13 towers and other structures. • The Intertribal Court of Southern California Court of Appeals has ruled that the Bishop Paiute Tribe cannot use land that one of its members was assigned 40 years ago for a casino expansion that the member, Geraldine Pasqua, opposes. The tribe would like to put a $30 million expansion of the Paiute Palace Casino onto the land. Pasqua and supporters formed a group called Save North Pa Ha to stop the expansion. Although tribal members voted to oppose the project in 2013 the tribal council decided to go ahead with it anyway. • Pechanga Resort & Casino in Riverside County, California just reopened its renovated Kelsey’s restaurant, where a $2.5 million makeover transformed the dark sports bar into a modern, brighter look employing reclaimed wood, brick and a slate granite bar top. The typical bar fare has been replaced with smoked meats and Southern cuisine such as short ribs, pan seared catfish and smoked Andouille links.
