NEWS & NOTES

SJM Holdings Ltd. CEO Ambrose So says the firm has resume construction work at its new Cotai casino resort, the .6 billion Grand Lisboa Palace, halted after the death of a construction worker. “We have already lost about seven to eight weeks,” said So, but estimated the property can still open in the second half of 2018.  ?  Mainland Chinese real estate firm and casino investor Landing International Development Ltd. will launch a Four Seasons hotel at its new Jeju casino resort in South Korea.The hotel is scheduled to open in 2019 with about 240 guest rooms, suites and villas. Other facilities include restaurants and bars, event facilities and a spa.  ?  The global online marketplace Alibaba Group will partner with the Macau government to bring Alibaba’s data processing and cloud computing technologies to enhance local public services. The agreement will create a “smart transportation network” to optimize the management roads, waterways and air traffic, among other things. It will also launch certificate programs to train professionals in business-to-business e-commerce and cloud computing technology.  ?  Hong Kong-listed real estate developer China New Town Development Co. Ltd. will join with MGM Resorts International invest in non-gaming tourism projects in China.The fund will “build large-scale tourism resorts” that focus on “non-gaming tourism, leisure and cultural developments,” China New Town said in a filing last week.  ?  Arrivals at Macau International Airport will increase by 8 percent this summer on a year-on-year basis, according to estimates by Eric Fong, director of airport marketing. Fong said visitor numbers were up 9 percent in July and 10 percent in the first week of August.  ?  AirAsia flights once again have linked Macau to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, following the termination of a direct link between the cities when Viva Macau filed for bankruptcy. To start, AirAsia Indonesia will run three times a week—Monday, Friday and Sunday—may add an extra flight September 1.   •  Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has been award certification accreditation in Argentina’s province of Mendoza. It has been accredited for certification of gaming devices by the Provincial Institute of Games and Casinos for five years. But updated regulations were issued recently that strengthened requires for test labs. GLI submitted its application and is now accredited under the new requirements, the first to achieve that distinction.  •  Crown Resorts plans to develop skill-based games that will be showcased at future gaming events, the company’s CFO Ken Barton told the Australian website. He said, “Skill-based gaming is an interesting concept that is getting traction in a number of markets. It is a reaction to the emergence of games that are different to traditional games.” The company has developed prototypes and will demonstrate them at upcoming gaming shows, he said.  •  The Kalispel Tribe, owners of the Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Washington last week broke ground on a $20 million expansion. The casino will add 40,000 square feet to make room for a family-oriented entertainment center, a retail outlet and expanded food court. An RV park with pool and sports facilities will be added adjacent to the complex. Also in the works is a cinema, dining and apartment complex with 216 units. It’s all expected to be completed next year.  •  A new program called Casinos at Sea will allow customers of Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas and Oceania Cruises to earn loyalty points and use that at floating casinos that have between them 4,000 games.  The points can be used for stateroom and suite discounts, free play and onboard credits. Customers will be issued a Players Card, good at any of 24 casinos on the three lines.  They will earn one point for each $5 they spend on reef and video slots and one point for each $10 they spend on video poker. They can also earn points for table game play.  •  A survey by Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (Hilda) concluded that Australia has 200,000 problem gambles and that men are more likely to gamble than women, and that incidence increases with age. Gambling is the most prevalent in the 45-75 age group. Poker is the most common form of gambling. Other favorites are lottery, instant scratchers, poker machines, betting on races and sports, keno and bingo. The problem affects about 1.5 percent of men and 0.8 percent of women, the report said.  •  At the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) Legislative Summit in Washington D.C. Video Gaming Technologies (VGT) President Jay Sevigny presented NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens with a check for $250,000 to support the association’s Capital Building Fund. The building fund, said Stevens, “helps us maintain our important presence in Washington and provide a first-class facility that enables NIGA to continue its work on behalf of Native American gaming.” In presenting the check Sevigny said, “This demonstrates our pledge to work with our tribal partners in these efforts.”  •  The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is remodeling all 2,895 rooms in the Strip resorts two towers. The $100 million project will be completed in stages, with the Boulevard Tower slated for completion by the end of the year and the Chelsea Tower work scheduled to start in January and finish later in 2018.  •  Caesars Entertainment said has completed a $6.5 million renovation of its meeting center at the Flamingo Las Vegas. The company said the work is the first phase of a larger remodeling of the Strip resort, including a planned renovation of its 1,270 rooms at a projected cost of $90 million.  • New York’s Resorts World Catskills plans to operate dealer training schools in its home county of Sullivan and in neighboring Orange and Ulster counties. The property plans to hire 600 people in the casino, which is scheduled to open next spring.