NEWS & NOTES

The administration of Florida Governor Rick Scott has reached a deal that should end a legal battle over the Florida Lottery. The state’s lottery department agreed last week to change a massive new contract that had been challenged by House Speaker Richard Corcoran. A copy of the new agreement shows the state is dropping a proposal to significantly increase the number of automated ticket machines around the state. A judge in March ruled lottery officials lacked the legal authority to approve a 15-year contract worth more than $700 million. Attorneys for Corcoran had argued a contract with IGT Global Solutions was illegal because it exceeded the Florida Lottery’s authorized budget. The Scott administration maintained it was legal.  •  Slot and table game manufacturer AGS has taken another step toward becoming a public company, filing a public Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AGS filed a confidential S-1 in April. Neither filing gives the number of shares to be offered or a price range. The stock will trade under the ticker AGS. AGS is owned by Apollo Global Management. While it started as a Class II gaming manufacturer, the company has expanded into Class III, table games and interactive gaming.  •  Casino titan Lawrence Ho has been honored by the Macau government for his contribution to tourism. The chairman of Melco International Development Ltd. was among 42 people and companies recognized for “achievements, outstanding contributions and distinguished services.”  ●  Hard Rock International will open a Hard Rock Hotel and Café in the Maldives in October 2018. As part of the Emboodhoo Lagoon project, the destination will “appeal to the rapidly growing niche of medium to upscale tourism, as well as the affluent travelers who typically frequent the nation,” Hard Rock said in a statement.  ●  Sands China continues to help rebuild parts of Macau damaged by Typhoon Hato in August. The subsidiary of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. has pledged to donate MOP65 million (US$8 million) from Sands China and the Adelson Family Foundation.  ●  Macau’s Judiciary Police recently shut down an illegal gaming ring operating out of an apartment in the ZAPE area. Three suspects were taken into custody pending further investigation.  ●  The 13 Holdings, developer of a luxury resort in Macau, has extended the deadline to sell its construction arm, Paul Y. Engineering Group from December 2017 to March 2018.The company will sell 51.7 percent of the subsidiary for HK$300 million (US$38.41 million).  ●  A 5,597-square-meter (60,000-square-foot) site in Taipa worth HK$3.51 billion (US$449.29 million) was recently sold to Hong Kong-listed Jiayuan International Group Ltd. The parcel comprises 5 percent of the overall land supply of the MSAR, according to reports.  ●  LATAM airlines plans to launch the first regularly scheduled flights between Las Vegas and Brazil in June. The three-day-a-week summertime service will connect McCarran International Airport with São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport.  •  Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel has agreed to a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board resolving charges filed by Culinary Workers Union Local 226 that management at the resort engaged in unfair labor practices to try to block a unionization drive. Terms of the settlement were not publicized.  •  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill to rescind a state ban on online raffle sales by charitable organizations. The change is slated to take effect in the first quarter.  •  Skyline Casino in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson plans to spend $7 million to add 41 new hotel rooms, a swimming pool and other attractions. The expansion, scheduled for completion by the end of 2018, will bring the property’s room offering to 92.  •  The Apache Sky Casino, which the San Carlos Apache Tribe began operating in April of 2017 near Tucson, Arizona, recently awarded grants of $11,588 to the town of Kearny for its ambulance and a similar amount to the town of Globe. Both towns are close neighbors of the casino, which operates 24/7. • Codere, a privately-owned Spain-based company has been awarded concessions to operate eight casinos and the Presidente Remon racetrack by Panama’s Gaming Control Board. Codere operates 11 casinos. It paid $9.5 million for the concession. • The Kalispel Tribe, which operates the Northern Quest Resort and Casino near Airway Heights, Washington, has created its own electric utility and drastically cut casino power bills. The Kalispel Tribe Utilities buys electricity generated by dams along the Columbia River directly from the Bonneville Power Administration, and sets its own rates to the 300-acre reservation.  This is payback, in a sense, as the tribe lost important cultural areas and fisheries due to inundation and dam construction.  • The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, is awaiting U.S. Supreme Court’s decision whether it will hear the case of opponents of the tribe’s proposed Class II casino on land it acquired in a federal land settlement. Opponents include the State of Massachusetts, the town of Aquinnah and a community group, who are appealing the loss of their case. The tribe signed an agreement in 1987 to abide by state and local land use rules, but argues that the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act trumps that deal. • Argentina’s province of Rio Negro has extended a license agreement by ten years with casino operator Crown for seven casinos. Crown agreed to build a casino complex called Paseo Sol del Rio in the provincial capital and to invest $450 million in the complex, to include a casino, 54-room hotel, convention center and retail shopping. The project is expected to take three years. Crown will purchase two hectares (about five acres) of waterfront property. • Lady Gaga has committed to 36 shows at the Park Theater at Monte Carlo in Las Vegas. The shows run through 2020. Gaga is currently filming in “A Star is Born,” oppose Bradley Cooper. Performers that have played at the Park Theater include the Pretenders and Stevie Nicks, Bruno Mars, Ricky Martin and Cher.  The theater seats up to 6,300. • The Star Wars Void Experience Centers’ virtual reality experience will debut at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian in Las Vegas early next year.  The immersive “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire” will be offered via VR headsets on a stage that will allow players to explore without being attached to a computer.  The Void experience was developed with Lucasfilm’s ILMxLab and has so far opened in London and Orlando.