NEWS & NOTES

Net income for Auckland-based Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd. rose to as much as NZ$71 million (US$46 million) in the six months that ended December 31, according to early figures released by the company. SkyCity attributed the growth to turnover in high-roller play of more than NZ$7 billion. The company also cut costs at its Adelaide casino. Bloomberg News reports the casino operator’s stock spiked 5.9 percent on the preliminary numbers, its best boost since October 2014.  •  The National Hockey League’s 10-member executive committee is scheduled to discuss potential league expansion in Las Vegas and Quebec City during a special January meeting in New York, but won’t make any final decisions.  •  The Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas has opened a Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurant that serves New American meals and features seasonal menu items.  •  Batavia Downs in New York netted $52.6 million in video lottery terminal winnings in 2015 from its 787 video lottery terminals at its Park Road facility, which posted a $3.56 million, 7.3 percent increase from 2014 net revenues.  •  The Westin Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Spa has hired Crescent Hotels & Resorts to manage the 826-room hotel and resort in Las Vegas.  •  The SLS Las Vegas has reworked its former Life nightclub, which will reopen on February 5 as the Foundry, which is a live music and comedy venue, featuring AWOLnation on its opening night.  •  At least 37.4 million visitors may visit Zhuhai in 2016, a 10 percent year-on-year increase. The city in China’s Guangdong Province borders Macau and will soon open a Chimelong theme park. Zhuhai will also introduce a high-speed railway connection to the rest of the mainland.  ?  In Macau, only 34.3 percent of young people aged 14-21 gambled last year, down 48 percent from 2014, according to a new survey. The findings showed that 1.5 percent of young people displayed symptoms of gambling disorders, down 1.5 percent from 2014.  ?  Las Vegas Sands has filed a motion to remove Clark County Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez from a wrongful termination lawsuit against it, claiming the judged is “biased” against it. A ruling on the motion is expected by February 18.  • The Coquille Tribe of North Bend, Oregon has opened the Laundry Mill commercial laundry service across the street from the Mill Casino and hotel that it will serve. The new tribal venture will employ at least five and maybe more. It will be opened to the community at large in March.  •  When the Enterprise Rancheria in California was trying to persuade the legislature to approve of its tribal state gaming compact two years ago it employed a number of lobbying firms. A filing with the Secretary of State website shows that the tribe paid $400,000 in its unsuccessful effort, with the largest amount, $140,998 going to the Flanigan Capital Group. The tribe eventually got a federal court to approve of its building a casino in Yuba County, where construction has yet to begin.  •  Five Macau police officers and one retired policeman have been arrested for alleged graft and dealing with illegal gangs. The six were charged with bribery and making illicit profits of 1.8 million patacas ($US 220,000).  •  The National Football League Players Association announced last week that FanDuel Inc. has agreed to purchase licensing rights that will enable players to appear in marketing campaigns for the fantasy sports site. It is the third such company to reach such an agreement, with DraftKings Inc. and DailyMVP being the others. The deal follows the settlement of a lawsuit against FanDuel by Washington Redskins player Pierre Garcon.  •  Turfway racetrack in Kentucky is within weeks of an agreement to install 250 Instant Racing machines, making it the fourth in the state to host the machines. It is currently pricing the machines. Turfway is 90 percent owned by Rock Gaming of Detroit. The “historical racing” machines use data from previously run thoroughbred races where the names and other identifying information have been erased.  •  About 1,700 workers of Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada represented by Unifor have negotiated their first contract with the casino resort. Workers at the casino voted last year to join Unifor, which represents 7,000 casino workers across Canada. A vote by the membership on the contract is expected soon. Unifor is Canada’s largest private sector union.  •  The Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego will open a Tony Gwynn Sports Pub featuring memorabilia from the famed Padres Player, who died in 2014. The $400 million casino, located in a rural part of San Diego County, is being developed by Jamul Indian Village of California and Penn National Gaming. It is expected to open later this year.   •  The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has fined the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem $36,000 for three incidents in which patrons under the legal age of 21 were gambling on the casino floor. Gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach said in each incident, Sands officials found the underage gamblers on the casino floor and reported the incident to the state. “The truth of the matter is when you have as many people coming through the doors as some of these bigger casinos like Sands and Parx (in Bensalem) have, there’s going to be more opportunities for people to slip through,” Harbach said. “All of these events were self-reported.”  •  Genesis Gaming released its latest video slot, Deep Sea Diver, on the Quickfire network. The five-reel, 25-line video slot game features a unique collection mechanism that empowers players to trigger, choose and customize their own bonus rounds. “The game is designed to engage players in a new way consistent with the theme’s underwater adventure,” said Scott Sims, head of global design at Genesis. “Our research has shown that players are seeking a sense of control within their casino game experience, and our design team found a great way to combine a unique game mechanic with an engaging theme.”