Star Entertainment Group plans to build a second tower at its Gold Coast site, in addition to the $345 million refurbishment of the Jupiters Hotel and Casino and the 17-storey luxury tower under construction.

The Star Entertainment, formerly known as Echo Entertainment Group, said that it had begun the planning process for the new 200m-high, 4.5 star hotel at Gold Coast site.

The new tower, which will cost more than $500 million, will include 700 hotel rooms and apartments, bringing up the casino and resort’s room numbers to almost 1400.

A live sports theatre is also planned to be a part of the transformation and the total investment under consideration to reach $850 million.

The group of foreigners arrested in an island in Thailand for playing bridge will “likely” walk away as free men and women, local media reported.

According to Pattaya Mail, authorities will likely drop the gambling charges filed against the 32 foreigners, all over the age of 60, arrested last week. However, Jomtien & Pattaya Bridge Club President Jeremy Watson could face penalties for organizing the card sessions, which have been going on since 1994.

Quoting Thai police chief Pol. Col. Sukthat Pumphanmuang, the report said Watson’s group “is not legally registered as a club and was using cards unapproved by the Excise Department.”

Last week, Thai law enforcement officers and members of the military raided a second-floor room above a restaurant in Pattaya and found a group of men and women, mostly Britons who live on the island, playing bridge. No money was seen changing hands, but authorities said the players violated a local law from 1935 that forbids anyone from possessing “more than 120 playing cards at a time,” and that “the cards did not have an official government seal on the boxes.”

The group of foreigners arrested in an island in Thailand for playing bridge will “likely” walk away as free men and women, local media reported.

According to Pattaya Mail, authorities will likely drop the gambling charges filed against the 32 foreigners, all over the age of 60, arrested last week. However, Jomtien & Pattaya Bridge Club President Jeremy Watson could face penalties for organizing the card sessions, which have been going on since 1994.

Quoting Thai police chief Pol. Col. Sukthat Pumphanmuang, the report said Watson’s group “is not legally registered as a club and was using cards unapproved by the Excise Department.”

Last week, Thai law enforcement officers and members of the military raided a second-floor room above a restaurant in Pattaya and found a group of men and women, mostly Britons who live on the island, playing bridge. No money was seen changing hands, but authorities said the players violated a local law from 1935 that forbids anyone from possessing “more than 120 playing cards at a time,” and that “the cards did not have an official government seal on the boxes.”

Macau casino operators MGM China Holdings Ltd. and Sands China are expecting growth in their business for the Chinese New Year (CNY) period.

Macau welcomes the Year of the Monkey this week and during the celebration, MGM CEO and executive director Grant Bowie told the reporters that the company’s performance during the CNY would remain stable year-on-year.

“Traditionally, the first two or three days are always quieter but business is looking very strong for the rest of the Chinese New Year period,” Bowie said, quoted by public broadcaster TDM.

Bowie has observed that the local mass market had rebounded and believes that the city’s gaming slump is recovering. He also revealed the company’s plan to study the prospect of salary hikes for employees during the MGM’s annual meeting in March.

Macau casino operators MGM China Holdings Ltd. and Sands China are expecting growth in their business for the Chinese New Year (CNY) period.

Macau welcomes the Year of the Monkey this week and during the celebration, MGM CEO and executive director Grant Bowie told the reporters that the company’s performance during the CNY would remain stable year-on-year.

“Traditionally, the first two or three days are always quieter but business is looking very strong for the rest of the Chinese New Year period,” Bowie said, quoted by public broadcaster TDM.

Bowie has observed that the local mass market had rebounded and believes that the city’s gaming slump is recovering. He also revealed the company’s plan to study the prospect of salary hikes for employees during the MGM’s annual meeting in March.

Integrated resorts in the Entertainment City are proving themselves to be the country’s biggest players, particularly in terms of local taxes.

The 120-hectare Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) development project is located in the city of Paranaque, and the local government said operators of the recently-opened City of Dreams Manila and the Solaire Resorts and Casino led the city’s list of top taxpayers in 2015, the Philippine Star reported.

According to the news outlet, Belle Corp. topped the city’s list after remitting a total of PHP 135.9 million (US$2.86 million) in real property tax last year.

Belle Corp.’s principal assets include properties at the Pagcor Entertainment City, which are being leased on a long-term basis to Melco Crown Entertainment. The 6.2 hectares of land is the site of the City of Dreams Manila, which opened to public on February 2, 2015.

Integrated resorts in the Entertainment City are proving themselves to be the country’s biggest players, particularly in terms of local taxes.

The 120-hectare Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) development project is located in the city of Paranaque, and the local government said operators of the recently-opened City of Dreams Manila and the Solaire Resorts and Casino led the city’s list of top taxpayers in 2015, the Philippine Star reported.

According to the news outlet, Belle Corp. topped the city’s list after remitting a total of PHP 135.9 million (US$2.86 million) in real property tax last year.

Belle Corp.’s principal assets include properties at the Pagcor Entertainment City, which are being leased on a long-term basis to Melco Crown Entertainment. The 6.2 hectares of land is the site of the City of Dreams Manila, which opened to public on February 2, 2015.

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has made an effort to change its negative narrative by acquiring mixed martial arts fantasy operator Kountermove Fantasy MMA.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Kountermove’s estimated 30k registered users have already found themselves redirected to the DraftKings site and asked to transfer their accounts.

DraftKings cofounder Matt Kalish told MMAjunkie that he expects an additional 5k paid users to migrate to the DraftKings platform to take advantage of the larger MMA prize pools.

DraftKings, which already has an exclusive partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, said it was excited about expanding its combat sports offering. Kountermove, which became the first MMA DFS site when it launched in 2011, also offers DFS contests on non-MMA dustups like boxing, kickboxing and jiu jitsu.

Casino operator Wynn Resorts’ Q4 and FY15 results showed continued weakness in Macau but at least chairman Steve Wynn managed not to publicly insult the city-state’s leadership this time.

Wynn’s overall revenue in the three months ending Dec. 31 fell nearly 17% to $947m, while full-year revenue was down 25% to just under $4.1b. Wynn’s Q4 profit fell 20% to $87.2m while the full-year figure fell from $731.5m all the way down to $195.3m.

As expected, Macau was the millstone dragging Wynn down. Macau revenue was off 27% in Q4 while adjusted earnings fell one-third. Turnover at Wynn Macau’s VIP tables fell 37% while the mass market tables were down 11% and slots handle slipped 4.7%.

As with other operators with businesses in Macau and Nevada, Wynn’s Las Vegas numbers were far rosier. Overall Vegas revenue rose 3.8% in Q4 to $391m despite gaming revenue being flat at $171m. Table drop was down nearly one-quarter while slots handle fell 5% but both slots and table win improved thanks to higher hold rates.