NEWS & NOTES

MegaLuck Co. Ltd., operator of the foreigners-only MegaLuck Casino on Jeju Island in South Korea, will open marketing offices in the South Korean capital of Seoul as well as the Chinese territory of Macau.Its parent company, Hong Kong-listed New Silkroad Culturaltainment Ltd., said the offices will serve as reception points for VIP customers in the two cities.  ?  The 2017 Smiling Report shows that Macau ranks rock-bottom among 67 countries and regions in the “smiling index” for customer services in the service industry. Hong Kong ranked second to last. All information is gathered by mystery shoppers.  ?  AirAsia Bhd., a low-cost carrier run by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes, plans to start a Vietnamese carrier in a local partnership to take advantage of a surge in travel to the Southeast Asian nation.The budget airline will partner with the Gumin Co., Hai Au Aviation Joint Stock Co. and businessman Tran Trong Kien for the venture, which is expected to start flying early next year.  ?  Five food and beverage outlets and 10 shops were among the amenities launched at the March 31 opening of Philippine casino resort Okada Manila, along with a large fountain in the center of the property. Tiger Resort, a subsidiary of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada’s Universal Entertainment, says the casino at Okada Manila is said to have space for up to 500 gaming tables and 3,000 electronic gaming machines.  ?   The ultra-luxury 13 Hotel in Macau is expected to be open by the end of July, according to filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from the 13 Holdings Ltd. No plans for a casino have been announced at the US$1.4 billion, 200-villa property.  ?  A federal judge in Philadelphia upheld a 2016 bankruptcy-court ruling blocking a trustee for the defunct Foxwoods Philadelphia casino project in South Philadelphia from recouping the group’s $50 million license fee from the state. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. held that the lower-court ruling properly applied standards for the fraudulent transfer claims. The lawyers for Foxwoods had made the claim against the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, which refused to refund the $50 million fee after Foxwoods was stripped of its license in December 2010.  •  Following an exclusive long-term partnership with Carm Productions and The Jockey Club, London-based Inspired Gaming confirmed that its Virtual Grand National 2017 will be broadcast for the first time on national television in the U.K. Inspired’s Virtual Grand National has been developed to feature the 40 declared runners and riders from the 2017 Grand National field, and will use complex data algorithms to deliver the most realistic and sophisticated predictor race to date. In an industry first, experts will try to outwit technology in what promises to be an exhilarating start to one of the biggest racing weekends of the year.  •  Apache Sky Casino, owned by the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona, opened on April 1 with a 15,000-square foot temporary casino located on 170 acres in the high desert.  Baseball great Randy Johnson helped lead the ribbon cutting and stayed around for photos.  •  Show tickets in Las Vegas now average $92, although you can pay as much as $855 for a Britney Spears ticket or as little as $21.95 for a Dixie Dooley ticket. The average price is $2 higher than last year, according to the Las Vegas Advisor, which crunches numbers for dozens of shows and which has been called a Las Vegas version of Consumer Reports.  •  Oregon’s Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians last week welcomed 125 acres of wetlands, the Fivemile Creek, back into their traditional homeland. Hailing the return of the land through a purchase made with grant money, Tribal Chairman Delores Pigsley said “The Siletz Tribe is pleased to acquire this property of our ancestors and help protect coho salmon. It’s part of our cultural tradition to take care of the land and its inhabitants, and this is another opportunity to do both.” The tribe’s reservation once included one-third of the Oregon coast. Today it has 15,000 acres.  •  Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, Washington, is the first casino in the U.S. to offer virtual reality games, in this case games called “Time Zombies,” “Barking Irons,” and “Planktos,” all developed by VR Studios, whose vice president of corporate development, Brian Vowwinkel, declared, “Anything you can imagine we can create.” He added, “This is the only system in the world that is untethered. Also, the only multiplayer system in the world.”  •  Caesars Entertainment has announced the pricing of $1.4 billion of senior secured credit facilities for Caesars Entertainment Operating Company to finance transactions in connection with CEOC’s emergence from bankruptcy. The borrowings consist of a $1.2 billion, seven-year senior secured term loan and a $200 million, five-year senior secured revolving credit facility.  •  New York’s Turning Stone Resort Casino has launched a free-to-play social casino platform?play.turningstone.com.  •  Greenberg Traurig attorney Mark A. Clayton has received a top ranking in the 2017 edition of the prestigious UK-based legal services directory, Chambers Global, for his work in the gaming industry. A former member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Clayton is co-chair of the firm’s Global Gaming Practice.