NEWS & NOTES

Macau’s new Taipa Maritime Terminal, also known as the Pac On Ferry Terminal, opened last week, but without any commercial entities at the site. It could be a year before any shops or restaurants open there, said officials. The terminal will trim travel time to Cotai Strip casinos by up to 30 minutes for tourists arriving by ferry.  ?  The Philippine Economic Zone Authority announced last month that online gaming firms may not lease space in accredited PEZA sites, but an exception will be made for licensees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the state-run gaming regulator.   ?  In 2016, tourist arrivals and spending in Singapore hit record highs, thanks in part to visitation by Mainland Chinese residents. More than 2.86 million tourists went to Singapore last year, a 36 percent year-on-year increase.  ?  Details of the recently announced public smoking ban in the Philippines will be issued in July. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order last month banning smoking in public places nationwide; it is unknown if casinos will win an exemption.  ?   Pechanga Resort & Casino, in California’s Riverside County, already one of the largest Indian casinos in the state, plans to add 560 new jobs in conjunction with a $285 million expansion that will be finished early next year. Besides posting the jobs online the casino will be holding a job fair to hire workers for its new hotel tower, eateries and other jobs, ranging from entry level to managers. Most of the jobs will be for the resort, in food and beverage and the hotel, said a spokesman for the casino resort.  •  The 1^st U.S. Court of Appeals has told the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head it may not begin construction of its small bingo hall on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, until opponents of the casino, which the Appeals Court upheld last month, file their appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. The opponents, which include the town of Aquinnah and the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association Inc. said they were happy the “decision keeps in place a prior injunction to prevent construction of a casino.” The state of Massachusetts, which has been party the lawsuit, says it supports the appeal. Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairman of the Wampanoag, called the stay “procedurally routine.”  •  The Oversight Panel for Convention Facilities in Clark County has approved a $1.4 billion expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The OK from the panel, a key group of seven resort industry and finance experts, allows the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to take the plan next to a committee of the LVCVA board and from there to final approval by the authority’s full 14-member board. That is expected to occur on June 13.  •  MGM Resorts International has received national recognition for its sustainability efforts across multiple resorts. The gaming giant was lauded for excellence in its use of management and information systems to reduce energy costs and improve building performance. The recognition came from a program developed by the U.S. Department of Energy called Better Buildings created the SEA campaign last year.  •  The Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians who operate the Coyote Valley Casino, seek permission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to relocate their casino to a similar-sized footprint in what is now an open field south of the existing casino. This will allow for 25 more slots, bringing the total to about 300 and to add a 50-seat restaurant. The tribe’s Chairman Michael Hunter plants to meet with state and federal officials about the possibility of adding a hotel to the complex. • A woman arrested by San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of counterfeiting casino chips for Barona Resort and Casino, reportedly told deputies she flew to China and Vietnam for fake chips. Documents chronicling this were obtained by local reporters. She apparently used glasses to identify the fake chips and switch them for the real thing, which she cashed in.  Barona casino became suspicious and alerted the police. Authorities obtained a search warrant last December for the home of Lien Do, Hao Nguyen and Ben Ven Pham last Christmas. They found $300,000 worth of chips. “It appears that what they were seeking to do was convert those chips into cash and to walk out the casino with the cash,” commented District Attorney Prosecutor Daniel Shim. Barona was the only casino victimized.  •  Olympic Entertainment has completed the liquidation of its Belarusian subsidiary, Olympic Casino Bel Ip. According to the company, the liquidation will have no direct influence on the economic activities of the group. The company also stated that members of management and supervisory boards have no personal interest in the liquidation.  • As a part of its national Get to Know Gaming campaign, the American Gaming Association took its American Gaming Small Business Jobs Tour to Regents Maintenance Supply in Missouri. The tour highlights casino gaming’s commitment to small businesses around the country, where 350,000 jobs are supported by the industry. AGA’s tour centers around a new report that details how the casino industry positively impacts small businesses nationwide. The report, The Gaming Industry’s Impact on Small Business Development in the United States, completed by Spectrum Gaming Group and commissioned by AGA, was released earlier this year.