NEWS & NOTES

Scientific Games Corporation, which has worked with the Massachusetts Lottery for almost three decades, has been awarded the contract to continue to provide the state with so-called “instant games.” Scientific Games designs, produces and markets the games for the lottery, which is currently ranked first in the world for instant games per capita. The Lottery is also the most successful lottery in the U.S. and has had five years of record-breaking sales. The most recent fiscal year it recorded $986.9 million in net profits.  •  Chinese tourists looking to stay at Caesars Entertainment resorts in the United States can now book their rooms via WeChat, the popular social media platform that claims more than 800 million active users in China. The first phase of WeChat Booking, as it’s called, was set to go live last week and will be linked to nearly 24,000 hotel rooms across Caesars’ Las Vegas portfolio.  •  Horseshoe Casino Baltimore reports that it has paid the city $22.8 million in taxes, lease payments and local impact grant funding in its second year of operation, a 13 percent increase from the previous year. The casino has contributed more than $42 million in city taxes and impact grants since it opened two years ago.  •  Boyd Gaming announced that its Peninsula Gaming unit has repaid all outstanding amounts, including interest, under its $875 million senior secured credit facility. Boyd said also that on September 3 the company fully redeemed its outstanding 9 percent senior notes due 2020 at 104.50 percent of the $350 million principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.  •  Summit Ascent Holdings, the lead partner behind the Tigre De Cristal casino near Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, reported EBITDA of US$4.5 million for the six months ended June 30. The Hong Kong-listed company, in which Melco Crown Entertainment boss Lawrence Ho is majority shareholder, attributed the performance to strong VIP business. Rolling chip turnover, a measure of betting volume generated by junkets, rose from $33.2 million in the casino’s first month of operation last November to $283.6 million in August.  •  Nevada gaming revenues surpassed $1 billion in July for only the third time in the past three years. Most of the revenue ($613 million) came from the Las Vegas Strip, where baccarat win was up 44 percent, contributing to an overall increase of more than 17 percent for Strip revenues.  •  International Game Technology announced last week that the company has installed its live electronic table game (ETG) Dynasty cabinets, featuring live roulette and live baccarat games, at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  The installation includes IGT’s Dynasty cabinets and three tables. “The expansion of IGT’s live electronic table games footprint into Bellagio is a great example of our momentum in this growing product segment,” said Nick Khin, IGT senior vice president of sales, North America Gaming and Interactive.  “IGT customers in all parts of the world are recognizing the market potential that IGT’s ETG portfolio can bring to their casino floors.” •  The Austrian Federal Competition Authority has blocked efforts by gaming equipment manufacturer Novomatic Ag to enlarge its share of stock in Casinos Austria AG. The Authority cited concerns over competition. In a press release Novomatic declared, “Unfortunately, it has become evident that the BWB, and the experts appointed by the BWB, have adopted a viewpoint that has precluded any solution that would be economically feasible for Novomatic.”  •  The parliament of Kenya has approved of raising taxes on gaming in the country. Gaming companies will pay 12.5 tax after paying out winnings, lotteries will pay 5 percent, and 15 percent will be levied for competitions where prizes are offered.  •  The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians have announced that the Augustine Casino in Coachella, California, will close for a full-blown remodel. It will get new paint, carpets, wall coverings, lighting and signage. The facelift will take place from September 19 through October 16.  The “refresh” will be done in partnership with casino architects I-5 Design.  •  Scientific Games Corporation will introduce the North American market to the company’s Fusion Hybrid electronic table at the Mohegan Sun, which will premier the system’s Blackjack game. The system will connect four live-dealt games to the Sun’s two casinos. The system allows players to engage in several games at once from one location in a stadium set-up, although it also allows for smaller configurations.  Besides Blackjack it offers roulette and baccarat. All three games can be played simultaneously.  •  Scientific Games Corp., based in Las Vegas, has won a competitive bidding process to provide lottery technology to the Sächsische LOTTO-GmbH in Saxony, Germany.  It will provide 1,460 new point of sale terminals, software and maintenance services to the lottery. The Lottery, which had $343 million in retail sales last year, has used Scientific Games technology since 1990. Scientific Games provides lottery technology for all 16 German provinces.  •  Scientific Games also last week successfully launched the newest generation lottery system for the Arizona Lottery. The new integrated system went live with retail terminals across the Grand Canyon State. It has enhanced data security and communications between retails and the Lottery. The state last month signed a five-year contract with SGI.  •  The Crowne Plaza Los Angeles at Commerce Casino, which has the world’s large card room with 240 tables, has hired Crescent Hotels & Resorts to manage it. The casino opened in 1983 and provides 40 percent of the City of Commerce’s tax revenue. Crescent Hotel, which recently upgraded, is located six miles from downtown Los Angeles. It is part of Crescent Hotels and Resorts, whose CEO Michael George, called the card room “a great fit for our expertise.”  •  Full House Resorts has begun a $1.5 million improvement on its Stockman’s Casino in Fallon, Nevada. It has demolished its administration office to make room for a new, landscaped parking lot that will provide improved access to the casino. The two entrances will be enhanced with new foyers and a porte-cochere. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Scott Ruhl, general manager of Northern Nevada for Full House Resorts, commented,  “Our entire team is excited with the upcoming improvements. We look forward to welcoming our guests into a newly energized casino.”  •  Philippine agribusiness Calata Corp. will sign a memorandum of understanding and lease deals this month for its planned US$1.4 billion casino resort in Lapu-Lapu City. The planned Mactan Leisure City will be developed in partnership with the Sino-America Gaming Investment Group LLC and Macau Resources Group Ltd.  ?  Macau’s Federation of Trade Unions is petitioning Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong to enforce the casino smoking ban to protect workers’ health. The organization claims that some casinos are breaking the rules by letting visitors light up and also calling by VIP rooms “smoking lounges” without permission. About 90 complaints have been made since July 21. According to the association, 86 smoking lounges have been authorized and another 21 requests are still being processed.  ?  Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd., operator of Saipan’s temporary Best Sunshine Live casino, has announced that its majority shareholder will give it an interest-free loan worth approximately $19.3 million. IP is spending some $500 million to construct the Grand Mariana Casino Hotel and Resort via its own Best Sunshine International subsidiary and has previously pledged to invest as much as $7.1 billion in the Mariana Islands.  ?   The Macau government had ordered the temporary suspension of work at the construction site of the Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai due to a fatal accident of a construction worker on site.According to the Labor Affairs Bureau, the worker died on site after being hit by a glass curtain wall that fell from a platform due to a sudden malfunctioning of a hoist.  ?  NagaCorp has reached a deal with the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance for a new tax rate on non-gaming operations. The higher rate comes as a result of an audit of the casino’s business expansion and its non-gaming operations found “discrepancies.”  ?   888 Casino has launched a redesign of its website that the company says includes UX technology and in-house innovative design that guarantees that players will enjoy the same trusted online experience that they have known since 888 casino launched in 1997. The relaunch includes a new registration offer to welcome new players by spinning a Wheel of Fortune and receiving from £15 up to £888 in bonuses.