NEWS & NOTES

NagaCity Walk in Phnom Penh, Cambodia marked its soft opening last week. The retail area was only 50 percent complete when the mall opened. Work should be completed by the end of 2016 with a grand opening set for early 2017. NagaCity Walk is part of a broader expansion to NagaWorld. The $369 million Naga II development is also slated to open in 2017.  ?  A new wing of the Marriott hotel at Resorts World Manila will open next month, adding more than 220 guest rooms.The resort, owned and operated by Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., is undergoing a Phase III expansion that will add three more hotels: a Hilton, a Sheraton and a Maxims, all expected to be completed by the end of 2017.  ?  The average monthly earnings of Macau casino workers hit the highest level since records began in the month of June, according to the city’s Statistics and Census Service. Overall, workers earned MOP22,060 (US$2,758) per month, less bonuses, for an increase of 2.7 percent year-on-year. Genting Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd, has accelerated expansion plans for its cruise business. Its three-brand cruise portfolio focuses on each of the major cruise market segments: Crystal Cruises for the ultra-luxury segment, Dream Cruises for the premium segment and Star Cruises for the contemporary segment, Genting Hong Kong stated. Dream Cruises, is scheduled to start operations in November, according to Tuesday’s report.  ?  Macau-based casino operator Sands China Ltd. says the Parisian Macao, opening next month on the Cotai Strip, will feature a Michael Jackson-inspired show-in-residence. “Thriller Live” will run from September 30 to November 13 at the Parisian’s 1,200-seat theatre.  ?  Hengqin Island in the Zhuhai economic zone is considering a relaxation of border control policies to attract employees.The region in Guangdong Province expects to issue green cards to qualified professionals, along with housing subsidies and other perks. ?  A class-action lawsuit has been cited by UK officials who want to regulate third-party websites that allow virtual items won in computer games to be cashed in for money. The suit was filed in the U.S. by the parent of a gamer. The UK officials say the practice is tantamount to gambling and should be regulated.  ?  The chiefs of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) of Saskatchewan voted last week to authorize a seventh casino that would be operated under the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority. Chief Bobby Cameron said the province has room for another casino according to studies,  “The market is there,” he said. “The potential is there to make millions of dollars and create jobs.” Jim Reiter, provincial minister of government relations, responsible for First Nations affairs, said “We need economic development right across the province, including for First Nations,” he said. “We have made education the bedrock of that and we have made great strides in that direction. We need to be moving on all fronts not just gaming.”  •  A group has formed to oppose the Wilton Rancheria’s proposed Elk Grove  $400 million casino in Sacramento County and calls itself Protect Elk Grove. It held its first meeting August 11 at a pizzeria. The proposed casino would have 2,000 slots, 84 gaming tables a 12-story hotel with 302 rooms, fine dining and a 30,000 square foot convention center. Organizers called the new organization a quality of life group that will organize a wide variety of platforms to appeal to the 165,000 residents of the city.  •  Caliente Casino in Monterrey, Mexico won’t be reopening soon. Mayor Adrián de la Garza Santos said last week he doesn’t plan to allow another casino to open there. His announcement followed upon rumors that the Caliente group was planning to reopen one of its casinos.  Two casinos were closed down under Santos’s predecessor. Casinos are a hot topic in Mexico as owners appeal to the courts to try to avoid closing. Mexico is cracking down on casinos that violate their licensing agreements.  •  The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, owners of Graton Casino in California’s Bay Area has pledged $200,000 in support of a ballot measure in Sonoma County, the Sonoma County Regional Parks and Water Quality measure. If approved the measure would levy a ½ cent and generate an estimated $9.5 million to improve parks and open space.  •  If local officials have their way, 15 local poker rooms in Portland, Oregon, would cease using table dealers and allow players to deal their own cards, the Portland Tribune reported. Poker dealers have been paid via tips, but some sued for lack of pay.   •  The owners of the Silverado-Franklin Historic Gaming Complex in Deadwood, South Dakota, want to trade a motel and parking lot for the city-owned parcel containing the Deadwood Pavilion, the Rapid City Journal reported.  •  City officials in Reno, Nevada, are considering spending $175,000 to renovate the iconic Downtown Reno Arch, which welcomes visitors to the northern Nevada gaming destination. The welcome sign first was installed in 1927, with the current arch being erected in 1987.  •  A federal judge in dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, The judge ruled the casino is not liable for a problem gambler who eventually took his own life after embezzling millions.  •  The owners of the shuttered White Sands Motel on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip and located across from the Mandalay Bay and Luxor casinos wants $25 million for the 1.1-acre property, which local real estate analysts call prohibitive.   •  The National Indian Gaming Association on August 18 hosted the Tribal Economic Development and Internet Gaming Forum on Aug. 18, 2016, at the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The forum focused on discussion of legislation relating to economic development in Indian Country, economic diversification beyond gaming, re-examining NIGA’s internet gaming Principles of Sovereignty, and the 2016 election.