NEWS & NOTES

The five casinos of Maryland generated record revenues for the second straight month in May. According to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, May’s total revenues of $104.4 million marked the sixth straight monthly revenue increase. Leading the way were the state’s two largest casinos, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and Maryland Live. Horseshoe lagged $28.7 million in gross gaming revenues, a 31.3 percent increase over the same month last year. Maryland Live generated $59 million, a 1.8 percent increase year-on-year.  •  Lawmakers in Pennsylvania failed last week in efforts to bring a new House vote on two amendments that would expand gaming, including the legalization of online gaming in the state. Action is expected in the coming weeks, as House leaders attempt to tie expansion in with budget negotiations, which must be concluded before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.  •  Several illegal underground casinos located in Beijing, China have been exposed to the mainland public after Chinese journalists visited unannounced and produced reports on the casinos, reports the Macau Daily Times. The casinos were mostly hidden in high-end apartments, and were generally protected by several layers of security. Each casino has its own shills, pretending to be gamblers in to encourage other players bet. To gain admittance, customers were required to be introduced by frequent gamblers. High-interest loans were provided once the gamblers had lost everything.  •  David Baazov, the CEO of PokerStars owner Amaya, Inc. who is currently on leave of absence while he battles insider-trading charges, saw his salary surge by 71 percent in 2015, according to a regulatory filing last week. Baazov’s total compensation was about $1.04 million, including $41,227 in option-based awards, the company said in a regulatory filing ahead of its annual meeting June 28. That compared to $639,847 in 2014, when Amaya completed its US$4.9 billion acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt, a deal that made it the world’s largest online poker company. The report also revealed that Rafi Ashkenazi, who is serving as Amaya’s interim CEO during Baazov’s leave, made nearly twice that much—$2.1 million including all bonuses. Amaya  earned $239 million on $1.37 billion in revenues last year, a turnaround from its loss of $7.5 million on $553.7 million in revenues a year earlier.  •  Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut has announced that it will open four new celebrity restaurants this fall, including TV Food network star Guy Fieri’s Kitchen + Bar at Foxwoods, Iron Chef star Cat Cora’s Wine Bar serving Mediterranean small plates, Richard Rawlings’ Garage Bar & Grill, serving Texas style barbecue, and Sugar Factory American Brasserie.  •  California’s Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and the city of Ridgecrest have reached a municipal services agreement to provide services for the tribe’s proposed casino. Under the agreement, which the city council approved last week, the tribe will pay a one-time payment of $80,000 and $400,000 annually for 20 years. The city will also support a land-into-trust application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a proposed gaming site near the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.  •  The National Indian Gaming Association will hold its summer legislative summer in Washington D.C. beginning this week at the Stanley R. Crooks Tribal Leaders Center, the association’s new home, just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. A reception and grand opening of the center will take place the day before the legislative summer occurs, on June 15. The center is named after Stanley R. Crooks, longtime chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota.  •  5 Bars, which offers wireless solutions, including monitoring services and RF assessments, has announced it will build a state-of-the-art multi-carrier Distributed Antenna System (DAS) for the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, Southern California. Once installed the system will provide improved wireless connectivity and data speeds within the resort, providing “five bards of cellular coverage.  •  The Santa Ynez Band Of Chumash Mission Indians in Central California May 27 unveiled six bronze statues cast by nature and wildlife artist Dan Chen at its just expanded Chumash Casino Resort.  The statues celebrate the way of life of the tribal ancestors. They are located at the entry to the 12-story casino. The $160 million expansion added a new hotel tower and parking structure. The statues celebrate Heritage, Tradition, Generations, Provision, Celebration and Flames of Victory.  •  An expanded shopping mall at City of Dreams Macau opened June 3. Known as the Boulevard, the mall includes brands such as DFS, Aquazzura, Botega Veneta, Moncler, Rupert Sanderson, Tod’s and Valentino, “with many more to arrive in the near future,” according to resort operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. Melco Crown also operates Altira and Studio City in Macau.  ?   Macau casino operators Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Crown Entertainment and Venetian Macau have launched a casino shuttle bus service called Cotai Connection. The shuttle will run for a three-month trial period. Routes will serve all resorts on the Cotai Strip.  ?  Macau’s new Pac On ferry terminal, located near the airport on Taipa Island and designed to bring mass-market tourists direct to the nearby Cotai resorts, will start operations only at the “beginning” of 2017 at best, according to Macau’s Infrastructure Development Office.  ?  As part of the resort’s #MyVegasStory package, guests staying at the SLS Las Vegas’ Story Tower receive a complimentary minibar stocked with $200 worth of liquor, beer, sodas, and snacks through September 5.  •  MGM Resorts International and Republic Services have opened a Sustainability Discovery Center at the Mirage, which demonstrates and promotes local sustainability efforts.  •  The Anti-Defamation League on June 7 honored Las Vegas attorney and former Nevada Gaming Commissioner Pete Bernhard for his dedication to and contribution to the community and legal profession with its Jurisprudence Award.