NEWS & NOTES

Macau gaming operator SJM Holdings Ltd. will keep its employee bonus plan in 2016. The firm will offer annual bonuses equivalent to two months’ salary for employees earning up to MOP 20,000 (US$2,505) per month, according to media reports. Workers earning more will get about 1.5 times their monthly wages.   •  The five casinos of Maryland recorded one of their best-ever revenue months in December, with all reporting gains compared to the same month in 2014. Horseshoe Casino Baltimore posted the largest gain, 19 percent on revenue of $27.2 million, very close to the e4ecord high of $27.5 million set in August. Maryland Live!, the state’s largest casino, generated $54.1 million in slot win, a 7.9 percent increase. Overall, revenue for the six casinos rose 11 percent compared to 2014 numbers.  •  OpenBet has renewed its license, development and support agreements with Sky Betting & Gaming. OpenBet will continue to provide Sky with its online and mobile sports betting platform for five years. The operator has full independence to innovate and differentiate by building its own customer interfaces on the OpenBet platform. The deal extends the companies’ long-term relationship. OpenBet has supplied the Leeds-based operator since it was formed in 2001. “OpenBet has been an integral component of our business since day one,” said Sky CEO Richard Flint. “Against ever-changing regulatory frameworks and fast-moving technological developments, they continue to deliver. The OpenBet platform gives us the flexibility to create a first-class sports book that fits our brand and our players’ needs.”  •  The North Carolina Lottery has renewed the contract of International Game Technology to provide ticket-generating terminals, software and security systems until at least 2027. It also chose Scientific Games Inc. to print and distribute the instant tickets through at least 2025. The decisions came after a nearly two-year process and what North Carolina Education Lottery officials called a rigorous review of bids by top lottery staff before recommendations were made to the nine-member commission. IGT or corporate predecessor GTECH has held both contracts since 2006, when the lottery first began selling tickets.  •  For the second time in six months, Kentucky Downs, utilizing the Encore Racing Based Games (RBG) Historic Horse Racing system and games, broke its single-month handle record. The $34,873,506 wagered in December set a new one-month HHR handle record, besting the record set in July by almost $500,000.  Overall handle was up $7.84 million compared to last December. In the six months since Encore was fully deployed at Kentucky Downs, the track has averaged over $32 million per month in Historic Horse Racing handle. In addition to monthly handle records, the Encore system and games have produced each of the top six monthly total jackpots awarded, which in turn helped drive record attendance numbers in three of the last six months.  •  Readers of Travel & Leisure have named the Mohegan Sun’s 34-story hotel as the best in Connecticut. Readers gave the hotel a combined score of 83,250. According to the magazine: “If you’re looking for the kind of resort with so many dining options and activities that you never have to leave the grounds, this place is right for you.”  •  Kahanawake, a Mohawk reservation in Quebec, Canada, continues to be one of the largest casino licensing jurisdiction on the globe, and the software used by these casinos is usually RealTime Gaming. Usually Kahanawake licenses online poker and sportsbooks.  These casinos are largely in North America, unlike jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Malta and Gibraltar, which have generally ceased licensing sites that might run afoul of the U.S. government.  •  Aruze Gaming America, Inc. has announced the installation of 31 G-stations in the Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel’s Electronic Table Games Room. The games installed include such games as Dealer’s Angels Blackjack, Shoot to Win Craps and Virtual Roulette. According to Aruze CEO Kelcey Allison, December was “a record month” for installation of ETG games.  •  Las Vegas Sands last month filed two complaints of trademark infringement against two Chinese domain owners including “http://4047.com”4047.com. Thecasino claims that these domains are used to lure players onto websites by pretending to be connected to Las Vegas Sands using its trademark. The domains are registered with GoDaddy. The casino has asked a Nevada judge to order the domain company to remove or disable the websites.  •  Interblock, the manufacturer of luxury gaming products, has singed a multi-year strategic partnership with Foxwoods Resort Casino to install 74 electronic table games (ETGs) on four casinos on the property. These will include the Diamond and Organic versions of Interblock’s roulette, craps, blackjack and baccarat games, all due to be installed this month.  •  The Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel rang in the New Year with the formal opening of its 16,000-square-foot casino addition housing hundreds of new slot machines on New Year’s Eve.  •  Station Casinos is opening a The Oyster Bar restaurant in its Santa Fe Station casino in late-January, which will have seating for up to 21 diners.  •   Las Vegas Sun columnist Robin Leach recently reported an unnamed large company is planning to build a 100,000-seat stadium near the Las Vegas Strip that would host mega-events.  •  Seneca Gaming Corporation scheduled a formal groundbreaking of a planned $40 million expansion of the Buffalo Creek Casino, which is to get a 28,500-square-foot addition to be finished in 2017.  •   The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe raised its minimum wage for all tribal employees to $11.03, effective January 1, which is a 95 cents-per-hour raise for the tribe’s 120 workers.