NEWS & NOTES

The December 2017 deadline set by the Hong Kong government for the completion of its portion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge may be unrealistic. Delays in construction may mean the full project will not open for traffic until December 31, 2020; the Hong Kong Highways Department says it expects “absolutely essential works” to be done on schedule, but has proposed extending the land use time to the end of 2020 for site offices and residences for staff and contractors.  ?  A total of 52 percent of Macau casino visitors admitted to spending less than MOP1,000 (US$125) on gambling during trips to the city, according to the recently published Macau Visitor Profile Survey Fourth Quarter Report from Macau’s Institute for Tourism Studies. The research indicates that 20 percent of gamblers wagered MOP5,000, down from 25 percent in the second quarter. The ratio of visitors from Mainland China fell for the first quarter of 2016, to 62 percent from 68 percent in fourth-quarter 2015.  •  Las Vegas Sands agreed to pay a $9 million penalty to end an SEC investigation into potential violations of the Exchange Act and other federal laws, arising from its operations in Macau.  •  The Las Vegas City Council is scheduled to discuss and possibly vote on a new master plan through 2045 during its May 18 council meeting. The plan includes light rail and sustainable Downtown Las Vegas improvements.  •  A federal court ruled the Navajo Nation, and by extension other tribes, enjoy trademark protection of their tribal names, which prevents a clothing outfitter and others from using the tribes’ names without compensation.  •  The New York Racing Association Board of Directors has recommended the association become private, but with the governor and state lawmakers appointing some board members, to prevent scandals and maintain the association’s financial stability.  •  The Twin Arrows Resort and Casino near Flagstaff recently hosted a gathering of more than 600 tribal businesses, corporations, and entrepreneurs to create and enhance economic opportunities for tribe-based businesses.  •  Developers of the del Lago Resort and Casino in the Finger Lakes area of New York placed the casino’s final beam on April 15 and said it is on track to open on time early next year.  •  The Falls Management Group announced a record year at the Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, which took in almost $700 million in gross gaming revenues last year, as casino visitation rose by more than 9 percent in 2015.  •  Horseracing Jobs Fairness, backers of a third Maine casino, last week filed an appeal with the state Business and Consumer Court seeking to overturn a decision by Secretary of State Matt Dunlap who ruled that the campaign failed to submit the required 62,123 signatures needed to put the casino on the November ballot. That puts the appeal in the purview of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The appeal argues that the methodology used by the Secretary of State is faulty, relying on questions about notaries, who are required by state law to validate each petition signature. The appeal seeks to overturn an earlier decision by a Maine judge who upheld Dunlap’s decision.  •  Pala Casino Spa & Resort in North San Diego county is ready to unveil its new $5.6 million 10-acre RV Resort on May 23. The RV Resort will have 100 full-service sites, with three sizes, including luxury sites. The Resort Clubhouse will have two spas and a heated pool and offer games, flat screen TV’s and a Laundromat. The Pala Band of Mission Indians owns Pala Casino.  •  The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon, owners of the Wildhorse Resort & Casino, are considering a new hotel tower, bowling alley and more convention space. Last week Justin Quaempts of the tribal board of trustees told his board, “It’s time to take over the market,” adding, “It’s there for the taking. We need to think big and move forward. We’re at the center of the universe equal distance to Spokane, Seattle, Portland and Boise.”  •  The government of Denmark proposes to sell state-owned Danske Spil, an online gaming operation. It provides online betting, poker and casino, but doesn’t operate the state lottery. The government says the sale could be finalized with the year. This could realize as much as $613 million. Opposition politicians say the government will lose much more than it in long-term profits and would be harmful to consumers.  •  Gaming Realms PLC, a developer of online gaming for mobile devices, has launched a new product: “Britain’s Got Talent” gaming site. The game will celebrate the popular British TV show. The new BGTGames mobile game went live a few days before this year’s season of “Britain’s Got Talent” debuted last week. Gaming Realms also created a mobile version of “The X Factor,” another popular British TV show.  •  Hawaiian Gardens Casino is nearing completion of its $90 million of its Southern California card room’s renovation and expansion. The casino is almost ready for a soft opening later this year. It will offer “elevated gaming and dining experience” more table games, bringing the total up to 300, hundreds of new flat screen TVs, an events center, a new venue serving craft beers and local wines, plus a new high end restaurant. The expansion means 400 more jobs at the casino.  •  The newest lottery game in Australia awards prizes for predicting the weather. The new Australian Weather Lottery will award $1 million for correctly predicting the weather in seven of Australia’s capital cities. “Everyone is a bit obsessed with the weather and Australians love to have a flutter so we thought it would be a good opportunity to have a bit of fun and let charities raise money at no cost,” Weather Lottery spokeswoman Jo-Anne Edgar told news.com.au. Charities will get 100 percent of the profits from the new lottery.  •  Gaming Realms has launched BGTGames.com as part of a three-year agreement made earlier this year with FremantleMedia. The deal enables the development of gaming content under the “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor” brands. The BGTGames.com site has gone live ahead of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent series beginning this month, and includes a Britain’s Got Talent­-themed version of Gaming Realms’ top game, Slingo.  •  The casinos of Maryland had their second-highest revenue month ever in March, bringing in $97.85 million. The showing trailed only July 2015, when the state’s casinos brought in over $98.9 million in revenue, according to data released by Maryland Lottery and Gaming on Tuesday. Year-over-year, March revenue was up 7.5 percent for all casinos, or just over $6.8
2 million. Horseshoe Baltimore saw the largest increase, with over $27.6 million in March, an increase of 11.9 percent year-over-year. Maryland Live! Casino, the state’s largest casino, brought in the most money, grossing revenue of $54.6 million, an increase of 5.2 percent from March 2015.  •  A casino in Halberstadt, Germany and several of its surrounding buildings were evacuated after strange noises from a trash bin were thought to be a bomb. It turned out to be a sex toy. The bomb squad was called after employees reported strange ticking and humming noises coming from the trash can in the men’s bathroom. It turned out to be a mechanical penis ring with its vibrator activated. “This is something I have never seen in 36 years on the force,” Police Chief Superintendent Peter Woede told German newspaper Volksstimme. “That just tops everything.”  •  Japanese badminton star Kento Momota will miss the Rio de Janeiro Olympics later this year after admitting to gambling at an illegal casino, local media reported. Kenichi Tago and other teammates from the domestic Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp teams said they wagered at the Tokyo casino, which had since closed after police raids, Kyodo News reported. Momota became the first Japanese to win the Badminton World Federation Super Series Masters Final in December and also won Japan its first men’s singles world championship medal when he won the bronze medal in Jakarta last August.  •  Rymax Marketing Services, Inc., the largest national manufacturer’s representative in the incentive Industry, announced a new exclusive partnership with ROLI, a U.K.-based music and interface start-up. This is the first time ROLI has ever been available to the incentive Industry. Rymax will represent the brand on a national level, creating a unique relationship within the industry. Rymax does considerable business in the casino industry, supplying name-brand goods for use as prizes and jackpots.  •  Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn will make a rare return in June to the iconic property he created more than 25 years ago, the Mirage. Wynn will return to the property, which is credited with transforming the Las Vegas Strip and virtually creating the concept of the integrated gaming resort, in June to deliver a keynote address at the 16^th International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking. UNLV’s International Gaming Institute is hosting the conference June 7-10. The event draws some 500 gaming educators and researchers from around the world.