NEWS & NOTES

More than 1,000 applicants attended a recent job fair at the Parisian Macao on Macau’s Cotai Strip, connected to all the other Sands China properties. The French-inspired resort, which is set to open in July, is expected to fill 150 positions in 40 departments.  ?  The Macau government has announced it will make Fisherman’s Wharf a point of entry into the city starting in April. The facility, which will be operated on an as-needed basis, is intended for crew and passengers of leisure craft coming or going from Macau.  ?  Vietnam’s Ho Tram Strip has announced the launch of its Gallery Villas project. The 60 residences will range from 8,600 to 18,000 square feet over two floors with terraces and private pools. The villas at the $1 billion resort will cost more than US$1 million each.  ?  A new gaming area has opened at the Grand Lisboa in Macau, an SJM Holdings Ltd. property. It includes 9,365 square feet of gaming space with over 10 gaming tables and more than 40 slot machines.  ?  The New York Assembly on March 22 voted 113-25 to legalize mixed martial arts, making it more likely the state will lift its ban on the professional sport this year.  •  Marriott agreed to pay $14.41 billion to buy the Starwood hotel chain, but the deal awaits approval from respective company shareholders, and could be usurped by another offer.  •  Landry’s CEO Tilman Fertitta will star in a CNBC cable reality television program called Billion Dollar Buyer, in which he travels the nation in search of vendors for his Landry’s chain of hotels, casinos, and restaurants.  •  A $72.5 million expansion of UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas is on pace to be completed next month, well ahead of the Oct. 19 presidential debate scheduled there, university officials announced.  •  A Rhode Island lawmaker, Rep. Deborah Ruggiero has sponsored a bill to license and regulate daily fantasy sports (DFS), putting them under the Department of Business Regulation, which would create regulations and restrictions, including limiting the play to those 18 and older. Operators would be required to pay a registration fee of $50,000 the first year and $20,000 each subsequent year and pay a 20 percent tax. R.I. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin had previously ruled that DFS is legal under existing law.  •  NetEnt has introduced a new slot game, Aloha: Cluster Pays. The game features graphics of the beaches and volcanoes of Hawaii and features NetEnt’s “cluster pays” where players can increase their payouts by growing a cluster of winning signals.  •  Century Casinos, Inc. has signed an agreement to provide casino operations on board the Thomson Discovery, one of five ships operated by Thomson Cruises. The Thompson Discovery, the newest in the fleet, will join the cruise line in a few months. The onboard casino will offer live table games, electronic roulette and slot machines. The ship will operate in the UK market.  •  Mobile and online customers of OpenBet will now be able to access Inspired’s Virgo Remote Gaming Server, including Paddy Power and Ladbrokes. Inspired and OpenBet announced last week that Inspired has integrated RGS into OpenBet’s gaming platform. Steve Rogers of Inspired commented, “There are strong synergies between our companies, and combining Inspired’s premium and engaging content with the strength of OpenBet’s platform and customer network reach will provide an excellent basis for growth.”  •  Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California unveiled a new freeway landmark last week: an 88-foot casino sign alongside Interstate 10. The sign features twin LED screens that can play video 60 screens per second facing both directions of the freeway. The casino is owned by Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, who held a sundown ceremonial lighting.   •  The Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino, operated by the Mescalero Apache tribe near Mescalero, New Mexico last week opened the Broken Arrow “gastropub.” A gastropub serves high-end food and beer. The Broken Arrow has 50 varieties on tap and serves pub staples such as burgers, brats and meat loaf. Some of the entrees are garnished with pine nuts to give them a native flavor.  •  Payment processing supplier Paysafe reported a rise in revenues of about 70 percent in its full-year results for 2015, an increase driven by acquisitions that also created costs and led to a heavy fall in pre-tax profits. The company, which is focused on the online gambling sector, reported that revenues for the 12 months ending December 31 2015 were $613.5 million, up 68 percent compared with the same period in 2014. Pre-tax profits fell 87 percent to $7.4 million, down from $57.7 million a year earlier. The company cited its acquisition of rival payment company Skrill as the reason. The company’s adjusted pre-tax profits excluding the one-off impact of acquisitions was $108.7 million.  •  Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced an April 8 opening for the $14 million Premier Nightclub, further reinforcing its position as the market’s leading resort. Borgata officials say Premier will ignite “a rebirth of nightlife entertainment in Atlantic City,” introducing some of the world’s most sought-after DJs to the resort. “Nearly 13 years after first presenting signature bottle service, high-caliber entertainment and world-renowned DJs to the region, Borgata continues to redefine Atlantic City nightlife with the debut of Premier Nightclub,” said Joe Lupo, senior vice president of operations for Borgata. “Designed to rival the top clubs in Las Vegas, Miami and New York, Premier will elevate Borgata’s unique brand of nightlife by welcoming guests into a transformative party experience where clubbing is theater.”