NEWS & NOTES

Three Hong Kong men who stayed at the Parisian Macau in recent months have contracted Legionnaires’ Disease. Following the outbreak, the Macau Health Bureau closed the hotel’s fountain, jacuzzis, swimming pool and water pipes and collected air samples. Two of the three men remain hospitalized.  ?  Macau Chief Executive Chui Sai On said the city’s population is estimated to reach 710,000 by 2020, and 750,000 by 2025. Chui noted that these estimates do not necessarily mean that Macau will have that number of people by that time, but pointed out the importance of keeping Macau’s public facilities updated.  ?  Caesars Entertainment Corp. and Caesars Acquisition Co. said Caesars Growth Properties Holdings has priced senior secured credit facilities in the amount of approximately $1.45 billion. These consist of a term loan of approximately $1.3 billion and a revolving credit facility of $150 million. The term loan carries an initial interest rate of LIBOR plus 300 basis points, the companies said. Growth Properties is a wholly owned subsidiary of Caesars Growth Partners, a joint venture between Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Acquisition.  •  Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage has been certified by animal welfare group American Humane for meeting “the highest standards of animal care”. The 10-acre attraction on the Las Vegas Strip is home to nine dolphins and 24 big cats and attracts around 500,000 visitors a year.  •  Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau continues to seek new inspectors for the city’s leading industry. The group says it’s making an “effort to reorganize our manpower allocation” and “streamline our work process.” All inspectors must be residents.  ?  Macau is considering a cap on casino shuttle buses in the city. As of February, 454 buses were running on a total of 62 routes. The number of buses running between local casinos and casinos and the Border Gate dropped 26.3 percent and 33.3 percent respectively, after the six gaming operators launched joint shuttle bus services last year.  •  Five New Mexico horsemen have signed a letter of intent to buy Ruidoso Downs Racetrack from the Hubbard family that has owned it for 30 years. The sale is expected to close this fall. The five, who include retired AT&T President and CEO Stan Sigman, will be equal partners. “We’ve had success in business outside of the horse business,” Sigman told a radio show. “We’ve had success in the horse business. Most importantly we want to see the horse industry continue to move forward and Ruidoso be the center of the universe for quarter horse racing as we see it today and into the future.”  •  The Golden Hill Paugussett tribe of Trumbull, Connecticut, has hired the J.C. Watts Companies lobbying firm to hold it make a second attempt at federal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which rejected its first attempt in 2004. The tribe of about 200 members is recognized by the state, but the state opposes federal recognition. It successfully lobbied the BIA to change its rules so that tribes previously denied recognition can’t try again. Nevertheless, the tribe intends to try.