High Times magazine is considering opening cannabis lounges in Las Vegas if state voters in November approve legalizing recreational marijuana use, the New York Times reported. • Plans for the proposed $2 billion Alon casino in Las Vegas likely will be revealed within the next two months as Crown Resorts, Oaktree Capital, and Andrew Pascal prepare to begin construction soon, columnist Robin Leach reported. The Alon site is located on 35 acres, where the Frontier casino once stood on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. • A Clark County, Nevada, petition drive seeks to stop the planned $42 million demolition of former Riviera Casino hotel towers and other structures, but needs 51,000 valid signatures to make the November ballot. The towers are scheduled for implosion this summer. • The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe held job fair April 19-20 at its Naskila Entertainment gaming facility in Livingston, Texas, which is expected to open soon. • Clark County, Nevada, officials are proceeding with plans to build an elevated, limited-access roadway to McCarran International Airport near the intersection of Paradise Road and Tropicana Avenue, and set a May 9 deadline for project bids. • The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is accepting bids until 2 p.m. June 15 for food services at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Field. • Hyatt Hotels announced it is offering rate discounts of up to 10 percent for guests who book their stays directly through the hotel chain’s website, rather than using online travel agencies. • The Kentucky Lottery now offers online lottery sales, and expects to generate $7 million in online lottery sales next year, adding to its anticipated $994.5 million in total lottery sales this year. • The Illinois House Judiciary Committee approved a measure legalizing daily fantasy sports in the state by a 9-4 vote, which now goes before the full chamber for potential approval and advancement to the state Senate. • The Merced, California, city council last week with a 6-1 vote, took the first step that will allow no limit betting and more poker tables to the two card rooms in the city, such as Poker Flats and the Merced Poker Room. This will, they say, make them more competitive with regional casinos. One casino spokesman told the council that adding tables would add more jobs in the city. Sai Saechao, compliance analyst at Poker Flats, said “Here in Merced, in general, we’re hoping by doubling the tables that this card room will have a minimum of 50 employees,” adding. “Right now, we have about 13.” • Sycuan Casino in San Diego County, California, has announced a partnership with the San Diego Padres, a Padres version of the Club Sycuan membership card. This is the first such casino loyalty card for Major League Baseball. This will allow guests to enjoy Padres benefits like discounts on game tickets and VIP seats at Petco Park. Guests can sign up for the card at the casino’s guest service desk. • The $21 million Grey Wolf Peak Casino project of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe in Missoula, Montana will reach a peak of construction activity this summer, according to a report by a tribal spokesman. After the renovation, the casino will be 34,000 square feet at building, will have 300 slots, a lounge, restaurant, gift shop and outdoor patio. Fifty jobs are expected to be added. Sixty-four rooms will be added to the existing hotel. Construction should be completed by early November, a year after it began. • Saratoga Casino and Raceway in Saratoga Springs, New York, is expected to complete its $40 million expansion in time for a July grand opening. The expansion is built around a 117-room hotel that will, says spokesman Rita Cox, have “luxurious” rooms, a Starbucks care, a 3,000 square foot ballroom, and an indoor pool. There will also be a Morton’s Steakhouse. Formerly the Saratoga Raceway, the facility added 1,300 slots in 2004, and table games in 2007. Last summer the facility added electronic blackjack and 3-Card poker machines. • The Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe of Arizona, which operates the Yavapai and Bucky’s casinos contributed $3.784 million in sales tax to state and local treasuries in 2015. In total, Arizona gaming tribes contributed as much as $45 million to the state each year, according to the Yavapai College Regional Economic Development Center. • The New Orleans casino market posted a year-on-year drop in winnings of 12.2 percent in March, the biggest decline in the state. Data released by the Louisiana State Police shows the market took in $51.5 million during the month compared with nearly $58.7 million in March 2015. The Baton Rouge market, at $24.9 million, was down 4.9 percent. Statewide, the 15 riverboats, four racinos and Harrah’s New Orleans brought in $214 million for the month, a 9.7 percent decrease from March 2015. • The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has approved fines for three casinos for gambling violations. The largest penalty, $20,000, was levied against the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo for allowing an underage gambler into the casino. Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort in Larchwood and Riverside Casino & Golf Resort in Riverside were fined $5,000 each for allowing self-excluded players onto their gaming floors. • The Michigan Lottery is now allowing players to use PayPal to fund accounts to play online. Players also can withdraw winnings and direct them to their accounts with the payments system company. • The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has dismissed a trademark infringement suit brought by the Oaklawn Jockey Club and several other racetracks against Encore Racing Based Games and Kentucky Downs. The club and the tracks sought to prevent Encore from naming the locations where the races in its historic horserace system were run. In rejecting the suit, the court said Encore is “fully within their rights to describe where an event took place in their wagering system without implying the owners of the racetrack are sponsoring the game.” • The casinos of Pennsylvania recorded record table game revenues for March. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the state’s 12 casinos raked in $77.9 million last month on tables, up 11.7 percent from March 2015, and beating the revenue in December by nearly $5.7 million. Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem topped the list of 12 casinos, with $19.6 million in table games revenue, up 14.8 percent from March 2015, when it recorded $17.1 million. Mount Airy Casino brought in $4.1 million in March, up 0.3 percent from the same month in 2015. • The lower legislative house in the Czech Republic gave its final approval to a bill that will raise taxes on betting firms beginning next year. Czechs spent 138 billion crowns ($5.8 billion), equal to around 3.5 percent of annual economic output, on gambling in 2014, more than half of it on mechanical and video slot machines. Besides the boost for state revenue, estimated by the Finance Ministry to be around 1.5 billion crowns annually, the bill’s aim is to reduce gambling addiction. A second bill will set stricter rules for the use of slot machines and video lottery terminals.
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Small Nuggets of News
