To accommodate growing demand the 2017 London Affiliate Conference will be held at the ExCel. Organizer iGaming Business magazine expects more than 5,000 attendees at the show, which will be held February 9-12, an increase of 10 percent over 2016’s event, which was held at the Olympia. The conference is held immediately after the ICE trade show in the same building. • The planning commission of Gilroy, California, has approved the move of the Garlic City Card Room from its small current location to a new 9,000 square foot location just east of Highway 101. It will sit amidst the Gilroy Premium Outlets. Besides 14 gaming tables, it will have a full service restaurant and bar and employ 30. The move also involves a name change from the old Garlic City Club, which the owners felt did not identify the operation as a card club. • The Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians of Southern California, owners of the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella are planning an RV park, hotel and museum for land next to the casino. A tribal representative last week shared this information with the Twentynine Palms city council. No time frame was given for the development. • The Puyallup Tribe of Washington’s economic arm, Marine View Ventures, announced last week that the tribe, owner of Emerald Queen Casino, has purchased an 18-hole golf course adjacent to its reservation, which is near Tacoma. It will officially change hands on September 9. The 50-year course is described as “just a little long in the tooth” and will benefit from capital infusion. • Star Entertainment Group Ltd., Australia’s second largest gaming company, announced last week that its full-year net profit increased 15 percent, a development largely attributed to revenue from tourist packages sold to visiting wealthy Asians. These VIP packages have grown 7 percent to a record of A$49.5 billion gross. Net profits for the year were A$194.4 million, actually less than what analysts predicted: A$238 million, although it was a record for the company. This activity is helped by crackdowns by the Chinese government on nearby Macau. • The 24th annual South American Gaming Suppliers Expo (SAGSE), one of the most well attended South American gaming industry shows, will take place November 15-17 at the Costa Salguero Convention Center in Buenos Aires in Argentina. Over 25,000 invitations have been sent globally. The expo attracts some of the most technologically advanced gaming companies, with a focus on the Argentine market. • The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, owners of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino and Madera County, California, are close to announcing recipients of almost $1 million. The grants were delayed from 2014 when internal battles caused the casino to be closed for more than a year, until the last day of 2015. Representatives of the tribe and the county have been meeting to go over requests that were submitted in 2014. These have been narrowed down to 66 requests. • Improper documentation on a $5,000 payout to one gambler and a $25,000 credit to another resulted in the Golden Gate casino in Las Vegas agreeing to pay a $250,000 settlement to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. • Boyd Gaming has opened the Cornerstone steakhouse at the Gold Coast casino in Las Vegas, which features eight selections of beef, 60 varieties of whiskey, and a classic, black-and-white décor with modern art, vintage photos, and mercury-glass sconces. • DetroitHockey.com reports entrepreneur Bill Foley has trademarked three possible names for his unnamed Las Vegas NHL franchise. Those names are Desert Knights, Silver Knights, and Golden Knights, but another could become the eventual choice, Foley said. • The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas will feature a new 36,000-square-foot addition that will open in time for the National Finals Rodeo and provide another entryway into the event. The new event space will host television broadcasters, saddle displays, and a Walk of Champion. • Ride-sharing app Uber will pull the plug on its operations in Macau this month. A statement from the company said it would cease operations on September 9. Though the company said it has “brought over 21 million patacas of economic benefits to Macau,” it will suspend its services because of fines levied on its drivers, and the government’s delay in authorizing its services. The San Francisco company launched in Macau last fall. ? Australia’s TAB has undertaken a “significant brand repositioning” ahead of the AFL and NRL final series. Its “We Love a Bet” ad campaign, which began August 28, will span TV, radio and digital platforms. ? Genting Malaysia Bhd, operator of Resorts World Genting in Malaysia, has informed investors that the 20th Century Fox World Malaysia theme park planned for the venue will open by the end of 2017. The firm’s Resorts World Las Vegas, to be built on 87 acres on the Las Vegas Strip, will open in the second half of 2019, instead of the first quarter.
NEWS & NOTES
Small Nuggets of News
