NEWS & NOTES

Wynn Macau Ltd. has announced a “special bonus” to be paid to employees, excluding senior management, equivalent to one month’s gross salary. The special bonus part of twice-yearly special bonuses first established in 2014 and running through 2017. Wynn Macau has not indicated if the program will continue beyond this year.  ?  The Senate in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has formed a new committee to address gaming concerns on the island, home of the newly opened Imperial Pacific resort. The Committee on Gaming will “address anything and everything to do with the gaming industry in the CNMI,” said committee vice chairman Senator Jude Hofschneider. The committee is led by Senator Justo Quitugua.  ?  Korea’s foreigners-only casinos, which saw declines in 2015, reported a 2.6 percent increase in turnover in 2016 to KRW1.3 trillion (US$1.15 billion), according to the National Gambling Control Commission.But visitors dropped 9.6 percent in the same year: 2.36 million visitors compared to 2.61 million in 2015.  ?  Sands China has launched its Strategic Leadership Program for Integrated Resorts. The program will send 25 local managers and team members around the world for training at the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics in Lisbon, Portugal; the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York; and the University of St. Joseph in Macau.  ?   Macau casinos received a total of 179 exclusion requests in the first half of 2017, up from 172 in the first six months of 2016.There were 149 applications for self-exclusion in the first half and 30 sought by third parties.  ?   Work is still suspended on the construction site of City of Dream Macau’s fifth tower, Morpheus, after the death of a 33-year-old worker from Mainland China. Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. said it will “assess the findings from the investigation and implement any further measures to ensure our highest standards of safety at our sites.”  ?  A Chinese high-roller accused of shooting at an acquaintance after a night at Melbourne’s Crown Casino has been denied bail.According to law enforcement, suspect Renxiong Xu was captured on closed-circuit TV pointing a handgun at man identified as Mr. Wei on Clarke Street in Southbank.  ?   In Hangzhou, China, a 13-year-old boy jumped off a building after his father tried to stop him from playing the video game Honor of Kings. The boy, who broke both his legs, thought he could fly like characters in the game, his father said. The case is being held up as a cautionary tale as video games become an entrenched part of youth culture in China.  •  The Mohegan Sun has posted slot revenues of $49.2 million for June, a 7.65 percent increase over last year, according a report in the Bulletin newspaper. The increase was attributed partially to an increase in the hold percentage to 8.14 percent, despite 177 fewer machines. Another help was holding the very popular 2^nd annual Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction during June.  •  Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, which operates four casinos in Monaco, including the Casino de Monte-Carlo, has joined the European Casino Association ECA. The ECA includes 27 members across the continent who run more than 900 casinos that employ 70,000 people. Pascal Camia, executive vice president of gaming activity of Monte-Carlo – Société des Bains de Mer commented: “The work of the ECA has been exemplary and important for the entire regulated gaming industry, which is why we have now decided to join.”  •  Washington’s Gambling Commission has amended the gaming compact with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, who operate 7 Cedars Casino. The amendment (the sixth since it was adopted in 1993) would allow the tribe to add a casino and share progressive slot jackpots with other casinos. The compact awaits the signatures of Governor Jay Inslee and the Secretary of the Interior. The tribe has no plans for another casino—but wants to keep its options open.  •  The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council of Michigan has voted 11-1 to spend $26.5 million to renovate the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. Ray Brenny, hired nine months ago as chief executive officer, promised to “focus on improvement.” That included an assessment by the I-5 Design Company to improve the guest experience. The renovation is expected to start in August and be completed by the spring of 2018. It will include a new sports bar and nightclub, upgraded entertainment hall, relocated and expanded poker room and a new high limit and VIP lounge. Work will be broken into seven phases.  •  Las Vegas sports books are reporting a surplus of cash on their balance sheets this year for an odd reason—thousands of winning bets on the Chicago Cubs to win last year’s World Series that went uncashed. According to a report on Chicago’s ABC 7 news, Cubs fans are keeping mementos from last year’s historic World Series win, which ended a 108-year drought. Long-suffering fans were keeping anything Cubs-related from the year, including ticket stubs from Wrigley field, souvenirs from games… and evidently, betting slips from Las Vegas sports books. According to the report, of around 4,000 bets on the Cubs to win the World Series, more than 30 percent of the tickets were not cashed by May, when the 180-day deadline for cashing winning bets expired.  •  New Jersey Lottery officials went to one of the state’s best-known bar towns to unveil its latest product, a keno-like game of chance called Quick Draw available in 400 Garden State bars, restaurants, and other locations where patrons can play and see results every five minutes. Quick Draw lets players place bets of $1, $2, $3, $4, $5 or $10 per game on up to 10 numbers at a time from 1 to 80, on up to 20 consecutive drawings, with their winnings a function of those variables. As with other games, Quick Draw results are posted on the Lottery Commission website.  •  Intralot announced a renewal of its contract with the Vermont Lottery through June 30, 2020. Under the agreement, Intralot provides technology solutions including a central gaming system that delivers, manages and accounts for all current tristate and multi-state draw games, control and logistics for scratch games, progressive games and other services.   •  Pennsylvania’s 12 casinos reported a slight decline in overall revenues for the fiscal year ended in June, even though table game revenues were up by 3.25 percent. The monthly table game revenue of just under $70 million represents a 2.16 percent rise over June 2016. June’s figure brought the fiscal year table total to $866.5 million, up 3.25 percent over the 2015-16 fiscal year. For the 12 months ended June 30, Pennsylvania’s overall casino gaming revenue totaled $3.2 billion, a decline of less than 1 percent from the previous year’s record $3.22 billion.  &b
ull;  Las Vegas ranks fourth worldwide for the most hangover-related Instagram posts, according to a new study by the website Detox.net. Nationwide, Nevada came in at No. 3, joining Oregon, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia for tops in the results, which were compiled from analysis of geotagged posts with relevant hashtags such as #hangover, #hungover, #stilldrunk, #hairofthedog, #hangoverface and #hangovercure.   •  Las Vegas City Council is scheduled to vote this week on whether a United Soccer League team can take up the lease for the Cashman Field sports complex. If approved, the team will begin playing there in 2018.  •  The Downtown Grand has received approval from the Las Vegas Planning Commission to build a third hotel tower. The eight-story, 495-room venue will raise the property’s room complement to 1,124.  • Wynn and Encore resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are joining MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Cosmopolitan in charging for parking. The rates, ranging daily from $7 to $20 for self-parking and valet, commence August 7.  •  The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has overturned a National Labor Relations Board ruling allowing surveillance technicians at Las Vegas’ Bellagio and Mirage casinos to join a union with other coworkers. The 2-1 decision states the techs legally qualify as security guards and therefore can organize only with guard unions.  •  The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has settled a longstanding leadership dispute between two factions of New York’s Cayuga Indian Nation by endorsing Clint Halftown, Tim Twoguns and others as the legal governing council of the tribe.  •  The Virginia Lottery and the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling are partnering to operate and staff a problem gambling help line for state residents.