Melco Crown Entertainment has closed its Taboo cabaret show at Cubic Club in the City of Dreams Manila. The Franco Dragone production employed about 32 people. Though Melco called it a “temporary closure,” the staff has been informed to find other employment, according to reports. ? Average earnings of full-time employees in Macau’s gaming sector went up 4.6 percent in December 2015 year-on-year, and dealers’ average earnings increased 4.3 percent, according to the city’s Statistics and Census Service. At the end of 2015, the sector had 56,217 full-time employees, down 2.6 percent from 2014. ? A bill in the Maryland state House addressing the controversy of allowing gambling at Maryland State Fairgrounds offers a compromise that would allow off-track betting at the facility in exchange of a ban on any casino gambling. Delegate Chris West, who represents Baltimore County, amended his previous bill to prohibit off-track betting at the location in exchange for the Fairgrounds property signing a contract agreeing on indefinite ban on slot machine or table gaming at the property. The bill is currently before the House Ways and Means Committee. • The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has fined Erie County’s Presque Isle Downs & Casino $10,000 for failing to lock a room used to store table game equipment. The board says the casino used a vacant room to store the equipment, and that arrangement allowed people to access the room without a key several times. Presque Isle has agreed to the penalty. • Online gaming supplier NetEnt has become an associate member of the World Lottery Association (WLA). As a supplier of online gaming and systems solutions to the casino industry, including customers such as Lottomatica and state-owned Danske Spil, NetEnt has been approved as an associate member of WLA. The membership could support future growth for NetEnt as a supplier to WLA members, which is a customer segment of strategic importance to the company. The World Lottery Association includes state lottery and gaming organizations from more than 80 countries, and also has numerous associate members from the supplier industry worldwide. • International Game Technology announced that its subsidiary, IGT Global Solutions Corporation, has signed a four-year contract extension with the Michigan Lottery. Under the agreement, IGT will continue to provide lottery technology and services through January 19, 2021. Under the terms of the contract extension, IGT will provide the lottery with additional self-service lottery vending machines, as well as upgrades to the internal control system hardware and related operating system and application software that interfaces with the IGT-provided lottery central system. “IGT is committed to providing products and services for sustainable lottery growth,” said Michael Chambrello, IGT CEO, North America lottery. “To that end, we will continue to work closely with the Michigan Lottery to provide added convenience to its players and retailers through additional self-service lottery vending products and the use of evolving technology.” • Paddy Power CMO Gav Thompson has left his position after less than a year, making Betfair CMO John Devitt the senior marketing executive for the newly merged Paddy Power-Betfair Group. Devitt now is in charge of all marketing for both companies. • Las Vegas held two public meetings on March 9 to discuss the master plan for downtown development over the next two decades, which the City Council is scheduled to address on May 18. • Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of world’s richest indicates the wealth of Macau-connected billionaires was halved last year, with only Las Vegas Sands’ Sheldon Adelson, 22nd at $25.2 billion, and Galaxy Entertainment’s Lui Che Woo, 151st at $8.6 billion, making the list. • About 50 Las Vegas public- and private-sector leaders recently visited Denver to learn more about the city’s light-rail system and how a similar operation might work in Las Vegas. • The University of Nevada-Las Vegas has established the International Center for Gaming Regulation, which university officials say will serve as a resource for the world’s gaming regulators and jurisdictions. • Thunder Valley Casino Resort, operated by the United Auburn Indian Community in California’s gold country has announced that it plans to add 111 luxury rooms and suites to its hotel. The project, which should be completed this year, includes a total renovation of the existing 297 rooms. The architectural and interior design will be done by YWS. Flint Builders based in nearby Roseville will oversee build-out. • Players Casino in Ventura, California has asked permission of the city to stay open 24/7. City staff, anticipating an additional $125,000 in taxes annually, is supporting the change before the city council, which is considering asking the legislature to pass a special bill to authorize the change. The bill would change a 1996 law that froze hours and times of operation for card rooms in place at that time. The bill’s sponsor is Assemblyman Das Williams. The city collects 15 percent of the card room’s gross revenue. • Casino Del Sol, owned by the Pascua Yaquis near Tucson, Arizona, is in the midst of updating the facility. The casino, which opened in 2001, has replaced almost all of the slots with the latest games. The gazebo bar is undergoing a remodel and other restaurants are being refurbished. Outside the widening of the road that leads to the casino is almost complete and a signal light has been added at the entrance. The tribe eventually envisions a second hotel tower, golf course and a concert venue.
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