NEWS & NOTES

Since it opened in 2006, the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls has earned prestigious Four Diamond Awards from the AAA auto club.  AAA again this year bestowed its Four Diamond award upon the tribal casino, which includes a 26-story hotel with 604 rooms. The award means the tribal operation provides guests with upscale accommodations and amenities. AAA also awarded the Four Diamond designation to the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, which the 413-room resort has earned every year since it opened in 2009. It is the only hotel operation in the Southern Tier to earn the Four Diamond award.  •  Irish gaming operator Paddy Power Betfair will reduce its workforce by 650 people, media sources report. The recent merger of the betting and gaming companies could mean a loss of 300 jobs in Ireland and 350 more in Great Britain. Currently, the group employees 7,200 people.   •  GameAccount Network, an internet software firm based in London, has launched the virtual reality New York’s Empire Casino for Oculus Rift. The virtual casino built by GAN includes slot machines, poker, backgammon, gin rummy, poker dice and blackjack. It has a main casino floor with bonuses that reveal themselves. It is marketed for the 30-54 age group.  •  Symmetry Peak Management has added Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) to its portfolio. An operator of destination casino resorts Wynn owns the Wynn Macau and Encore at Wynn Macau resort located in China. Wynn, founded in 2002, had a one year low of $49.95 and a one year high of $136.93. It last posted a $1.03 EPS and reported a revenue of $946.90 million.  •  An interchange planned for Interstate 15’s Temecula Parkway off-ramp in Temecula, Riverside County, California that would serve Pechanga Resort & Casino has been delayed by the city until next year due to issues related to relocating utilities. The $45 million project was supposed to start this spring. The planned interchange will divide traffic into two lines, one for the city and the other for the casino.  •  The government of British Columbia last week announced a campaign targeting money laundering at casinos. Finance Minister Mike de Jong said that he and Attorney General, Suzanne Anton have met with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to develop a “coordinated enforcement approach.” Until seven years ago the province maintained an Integrated Gaming Enforcement Team. De Jong said the new approach would employ methods that team never used. No details have been revealed.  •  Caesars Entertainment Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey was recently fined $50,000 by the Division of Gaming Enforcement for failing to follow state law on casino staffing and audits. Specifically by employing a casino president who was a figurehead and also doubled as vice president of food and beverage. Caesars said in a statement that it has “immediately corrected” the deficiencies.   •  SpringbokCasino.co.za has launched a new slot from Real Time Gaming, The Big Bopper, as the site continues its commitment to offering a new game each month. The Big Bopper will debut on April 13 on download, instant play and mobile. The six-reel, all-ways-pays slot transports players back to the golden age of rock n’ roll when “The Big Bopper” himself, JP Richardson, tapped his toes, swung his hips and growled “Oh baby ,that’s-a what I like!” The Big Bopper slot is filled with the music and infectious energy of the performer, within several bonus features.  •  Sky Racing World has partnered with Hipodromo Argentino de Palermo, a horse-racing track in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sky Racing World will provide exclusive simulcasting of all races taking place at this leading Argentinian track to advance deposit wagering (ADW) brands, racetracks and off-track betting outlets (OTBs) in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The firm’s new distribution deal with Hipodromo Argentino de Palermo will see the company expand its South American presence and enter the Argentinian market. Buenos Aires’ oldest and most prestigious horse-racing venue, Palermo hosts more than 120 thoroughbred and flat-racing events annually and features a 2,400-meter all-weather racetrack.  •  Intralot do Brasil has signed a six-year renewal contract to continue to operate the lottery games in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The renewal contract follows an initial successful six-year operation contract signed between the two parties that has become a major funding source for social policy, education and health care initiatives in the district. Intralot deployed more than 2,500 of its proprietary terminals in this period and established 1,700 points of sales statewide.  •  Revenue at Maryland’s casinos increased for the fourth straight month in March, according to figures released by the state Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. The five casinos generated $97.8 million during the month, their second-highest total. The record of $98.9 million was set in July 2015. Each casino’s revenue rose compared to March of last year. Horseshoe Casino Baltimore recorded the biggest growth—11.9 percent—to $27.6 million of revenue. Horseshoe received a boost last month from hosting a World Series of Poker circuit event, attracting players from around the country.  •  North American slot machine sales rose 15.6 percent over the previous year to 19,200 units, reversing the full year’s 8.4 percent down trend, according to Todd Eilers of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. Sales were driven by 4,000 units shipped in new and expanded casinos, including Scarlet Pearl that opened in D’Iberville, Mississippi, and 1,200 more VGT placements in Illinois compared to 600 units in the previous year. Replacement sales inched up 0.8 percent to 15,200 units thanks to continuing replacement cycles in Oregon and Canada VLTs. Factor out these two areas and sales slipped 0.9 percent, Eilers said.