The number of gaming shuttle-bus routes in Macau has decreased from more than 70 to 59, according to the city’s Transport Bureau. Last month three local gaming operators—Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Crown Entertainment and Sands China Ltd.—launched a joint shuttle bus route named Cotai Connection for guests and residents travelling around the Cotai Strip. ? L’Arc Macau is encouraging casino workers to apply for unpaid leave by offering MOP1,250 (US$156.30) for every week they take. In a notice to employees, the gaming hall, which opened in 2009, urged workers who “have lost much time with their families, or were not able to fulfill their big dreams due to work” to take the leave. L’Arc is one of 15 satellite casinos associated with SJM Holdings Ltd. ? Wynn Macau Ltd. has announced it will pay a summer bonus equal to one month’s gross salary to nearly 9,000 eligible employees this month. Senior management is excluded. The company declared it would distribute the bonus “despite ongoing challenges faced by the casino industry,” and to celebrate Wynn Macau’s 10th anniversary on September 6. ? Genting Hong Kong will invest more than €100 million (US$110.6 million) in its German shipyard, MV Werften to build new ships. The unit of the Malaysian gaming operator runs cruise ships with a focus on Chinese cruisers. The vessels are set to be delivered in 2019 and 2020. ? The government of Macau has commissioned a feasibility study to look into the construction at least one two-lane traffic tunnel linking the southern island of Taipa with the Macau Peninsula.Results of the research project are expected in mid-2017. Among the options to be considered is an underwater tunnel, according to reports. ? A Clark County judge denied the sale of the former Moulin Rouge casino to a developer who wanted to renovate and reopen the historic Las Vegas casino. The judge cited company infighting and a higher potential sale price to another party among reasons for denying the proposed sale. • MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts say they will pay a combined $103.6 million in exit fees to stop buying power from Nevada Power, which does business as NV Energy and is owned by Warren Buffet. • Singer Matt Goss will end his residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on September 24. • In a repeat action, Las Vegas Sands shareholder William Sokolowski wants a Clark County judge to seize control of Las Vegas Sands from principal shareholder and Chairman Sheldon Adelson, due to poor business decisions. Sokolowski lost his prior shareholder suit based on similar claims in federal court. • Atlantic City-based Cooper Levenson has added four attorneys to the Las Vegas branch of the firm and has opened a new location in the city. The four—R. Scott Rasmussen, Joel F. Hansen, Jonathan J. Hansen and Stephanie Mazzei—bring to the firm extensive experience in various areas of commercial law, employment law, tax litigation and land-use law. • Construction has begin for a new parking structure in downtown Palm Springs for the Spa Resort Casino, owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The new garage will have as many as 850 new spaces. Construction is expected to take about a year. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the general contractor. • The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state has announced that it will spend about $1 million to open a small fourth casino at its Rainbow Reach Resort in Inchelium. The casino will have about 50 slot machines and will be operated by 12 Tribes Colville Casinos. The tribe’s gaming compact with the state allows it to operate up to six gaming sites. • Lucky 7 Casino and Hotel, an enterprise of the Tolowa Dee-Ni Tribe in Smith River, California, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. It held a weekend party with a barbecue, drawing and drawing giveaways. The casino originally opened in 1996 in a doublewide mobile home. The tribe didn’t yet have a gaming compact with the state, which it signed in 1999. Its current building was added ten years ago. The hotel joined the complex in 2013. • The Kootenai River Inn and Casino operated by the Kootenai Tribe near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, has installed 50 slots that accept Canadian currency. The casino claims it is the only one in the U.S. to accept both currencies. Canadians make up about 40 percent of the casino’s business, and up to 30 percent in the town. Some other border state casinos have called the tribe to find out how successful the program is. • The Mohegan Sun is in the midst of a $50 million renovation that includes two new Mandara Spas. The Sun is partnering with Steiner Leisure to bring the two spas to the Earth Tower, including seven treatment rooms. This will include rebranding the existing 18-room spa in the Sky Tower as a Mandara Spa. That size will remain but be remade as a Mandara Customized Massage, a Mandara Signature Facial and a Mandara Ritual for the Hands and Feet.
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