IN THE (INTERNATIONAL) NEWS
1. Macau Casino Win in May Totals Just $413M, Nearly 90 Percent Lower Than 2019
Macau casino revenue last month totalled just MOP3.34 billion (US$413.7 million). While that’s a 25% improvement from April 2022, the gaming win was 87% below May 2019.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported that May gross gaming revenue (GGR) began a rebound from April, which marked the region’s lowest monthly total since September 2020. But with visitor traffic remaining light, GGR in what was the world’s richest gaming market prior to the pandemic remains greatly suppressed.
Market analysts say casino business will only substantially improve when mainland China more freely allows people to travel without COVID-19 testing requirements
Read more >>> https://www.casino.org/news/macau-casino-win-in-may-2022-totals-just-413m/
2. Las Vegas’ Mirage Volcano Days Numbered, But Online Petition Wants Landmark Spared
The iconic artificial volcano outside of The Mirage Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip is likely to be removed when property operations are taken over by Hard Rock International. It is unclear when the volcano will be cleared away, but it will reportedly be a casualty of the deal involving the current casino operator MGM Resorts International.
But some people are fighting to keep the volcano alive. So far, 5,137 people have signed an online petition on Change.org to keep the volcano in place.
The volcano has been outside of the South Pacific-themed Mirage Las Vegas since 1989.
Still, it The volcano continues to rumble several times nightly, followed by the flow of simulated lava. Flames jump many feet into the air during the presentation. The show also features the aroma of pina colada.
Read more>>> www.casino.org/news/las-vegas-mirage-volcano-days-numbered-online-petition-wants-landmark-spared/
3. No more Elvis-themed weddings, Vegas told
Las Vegas chapels of love that use Elvis Presley’s likeness could find themselves becoming Heartbreak Hotels. The licensing company that controls the name and image of “The King” is ordering Sin City chapel operators to stop using Elvis in themed ceremonies, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels.
With Elvis so closely tied to Vegas’ wedding industry, some say the move could decimate their businesses.
“We are a family-run business, and now we’re hanging with the big dogs,” said Kayla Collins, who operates LasVegasElvisWeddingChapel.com and the Little Chapel of Hearts with her husband.
“That’s our bread and butter. I don’t get it. We were just hitting our stride again through COVID, then this happens.”
Clark County Clerk Lynn Goya, who led a marketing campaign promoting Las Vegas as a wedding destination, said the order for chapels to stop using Elvis couldn’t have come at a worse time for the sector.
The city’s wedding industry generates $US2 billion a year, and officials say Elvis-themed weddings represent a significant number of the ceremonies performed.
In the cease-and-desist letter, the Authentic Brands Group says it will halt unauthorised use of “Presley’s name, likeness, voice image, and other elements of Elvis Presley’s persona in advertisements, merchandise and otherwise”.
The letter also said “Elvis”, “Elvis Presley”, “and “The King of Rock and Roll” are protected trademarks.
Read more >>>https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/weddings/no-more-elvis-themed-weddings-vegas-told-c-7011133