NEWS & NOTES

Outgoing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pocket vetoed a bill to create an economic growth zone at Atlantic City International Airport. The bill was designed to offer tax incentives for a new aviation park being built on the site. Christie’s office said the bill was one of more than 150 bills “hastily” passed by the legislature as Christie was leaving office and the governor was not willing to simply rubber stamp all the bills before his last day in office January 16. The bill will now have to be re-introduced to the state legislature. Christie did sign a bill that renames Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall after James Whelan, a former city mayor and state Senator who died last year.   •  Allied eSports has slated March 22 for the grand opening of Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor Hotel & Casino. Plans for the Las Vegas Strip’s first dedicated e-sports venue include a competition stage, LED video wall, telescopic seating, individual gaming stations and television production studios. A gaming-inspired food and beverage offering also is planned under the direction of celebrity chef José Andres’ ThinkFoodGroup.  •  Golden Entertainment plans to sell more than 7.4 million shares, an offering valued at around $237 million based on recent prices. Proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures and acquisitions, Golden said. Shares of Nevada’s leading gaming tavern operator (Nasdaq: GDEN) nearly tripled in value in 2017 after the company acquired American Casino & Entertainment Properties, whose four casinos included Las Vegas’ Stratosphere.  •  Pennsylvania’s Parx Casino christened its new music venue, the Xcite Center, with a concert by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Chicago. Parx CEO Toni Ricci and Bob Green, chairman of parent company Greenwood Gaming, cut the ribbon on the 30,000-square-foot venue prior to the concert. The theater is part of a $50 million expansion project that also includes a poker room that opened last week, and the Liberty Bell Gastropub.  •  Australian businessman Tibor Vertes publicly apologized last week for comments he made about former Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission Executive Director Richard Schuetz. Schuetz sued Vertes over an email the businessman sent to former Bermuda Premier Michael Dunkley, in which he said Schuetz was not capable of performing his job at the commission. In apologizing last week, he said the statements “were based on information that had been given to me by third parties,” adding, “I now believe the information to be incorrect. The statements I made were therefore unjustified and unsubstantiated.”  •  The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced fines for four state casinos for a series of gambling violations. Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh was fined $40,000 for violating table game procedures, and Lady Luck Casino in Fayette County was fined $10,000 for violating self-exclusion procedures. Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe was fined $7,400 for a self-exclusion violation, and Parx Casino in Bensalem was fined $5,000 for violating table game procedures.  •  Spanish gamin conglomerate Cirsa has put itself up for sale. Company owner Manuel Lao has started the process of selling anywhere from a stake to the entire company, which has annual revenues of around €1.9 billion and annual EBITDA of approximately €400 million.  •  Karen Nocella, a longtime staffer for the Miss America Organization has been named its executive director of operations. She will oversee day-to-day activities in the organization’s Atlantic City office, the Press reported. Her appointment comes after an email scandal caused several pageant officials and board members to resign. The scandal also caused several Atlantic City area politicians to question whether to continue the city’s relationship with the pageant, which has included subsidies to the pageant of casino reinvestment development funds.  •  Pala Casino Spa & Resort in Southern California has opened Bar Meets Grill as part of its $170 million expansion and renovation. The new eatery is in the space that was formerly the CAVE lounge and restaurant. It offers California casual cuisine, plus cocktails, wine and beer. The wine CAVE will continue to operate. Pala CEO Bill Bembenek said, “Bar Meets Grill is yet another unique dining experience at Pala that also offers beautiful views of the Palomar Mountains. Its California casual menu can satisfy the tastes of all our guests.”  •  France’s ministry of interior has approved a manufacturer’s license to Zitro S.A.R.L. a leading manufacturer of video bingo games to provide its Bryke Video Bingo and Video Slots products. They will be distributed by Mascot SFM.  France has more than 20,000 slot machines, making it the largest gaming market in Western Europe. • The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise celebrated the six-year anniversary of the Northern Edge Casino near Farmington, New Mexico. Figures from the state indicate the casino is grossing between $19 to $21 million per quarter. That’s before subtracting expenses or paying revenue sharing.  •  Aristocrat Technologies has been recognized by the silver medal in the “Best Advance in Online Coaching Tools” category of the 2017 Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Technology Awards. It was recognized for its “Being Safe with Coach Jesse” safety training program. This program was designed for Class II and Class III field service technicians. Created by Christiana Houck, PhD, Aristocrat’s director of learning solutions, it uses a SMS-based coaching platform called Mobile Coach.  •  The Four Seasons hotel at the Venetian Macao has not yet applied for an expansion from the city’s Land, Public Works, and Transport Bureau According to a filing, the company plans to add 295 new suites in a separate tower. Sands Cotai is in the process of being rebranded as the Londoner Macao.  ●  The northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna has announced it will spend millions to fight problem gambling, allocating €3,712,000 (US$4.5 million) for 2017-2018.  ●  Macau’s Gaming Employee Advance Association is calling for salary increases for casino employees to match those of civil servants. The association also advocates government-funded loan money for gaming employees who want to start their own businesses.  ●  The Macau legislature has passed a draft bill which would prevent the development of casinos on newly reclaimed land in the territory. The bill will be reviewed by members of the Legislative Assembly before its final version is submitted.